Duggar Sisters Return to Spotlight in TLC Spinoff Show After Brother's Scandal
Jill and Jessa Duggar of "19 Kids and Counting" fame are returning to television next month with their own spinoff series, "Jill and Jessa: Counting On."
The TLC network has released a teaser trailer for the new series, set to premiere on March 15, that shows the two Duggar girls raising their children with their respective husbands, Derick Dillard and Ben Seewald.
The series, which was recently given the green light for a full season, follows Jessa and Ben as they raise their infant son, Spurgeon, who was born in December 2015, and Jill and Derick as they raise their 10-month-old son Israel while living abroad as Christian missionaries.
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The promotional video, released this week, starts with a voiceover of Jessa explaining that "2015 was a very difficult year" for her family.
"We've shared this journey with the world," Jessa continues, adding "Family is everything."
This is one of the first television appearances by members of the Duggar clan after they suffered a very public scandal involving 27-year-old Josh Duggar, who checked himself into a Christian rehabilitation facility in Illinois last year after it was revealed that he had a pornography addiction and held multiple accounts on the Ashley Madison extramarital affairs website. Josh is married with four children.
Media outlets also reported last year that Josh, son to Michelle and Jim Bob, had molested multiple underage girls while in his teen years. Jill and Jessa later came out as two of Josh's victims.
Following the negative media attention last year, Jill and Jessa sat down with Fox News' Megyn Kelly to discuss the molestation, saying that they were forced to relive the decade-old traumatizing experience again when it became national news.
"Definitely it was difficult whenever all this came up, the shock of this happening and then talking about it with the family and counseling, I mean, every step was kind of like difficult to walk through, but I'd definitely say that these past two weeks have been a thousand times worse for us," Jessa told Kelly in June 2015.
Following news of Josh's scandals, TLC canceled the Duggars' "19 Kids and Counting" show, saying in a statement that it is "deeply saddened and troubled by this heartbreaking situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and victims at this difficult time."
The Duggar family released a subsequent statement saying, "It is our prayer that the painful situation our family went through many years ago can point people toward faith in God and help others who also have lived through similar dark situations to find help, hope and healing, as well."
The new spinoff series will include cameos from other Duggar family members, including Joy Anna Duggar, who says in the recent trailer that "through all our family's gone through, I've grown up a lot" in the past year.
As People magazine reports, Duggar siblings Jinger, Jana, John David, Joy Anna, Josiah and Joseph Duggar will also appear in the spinoff series.
