Entertainment

Duggar Fans, The 'Counting On' Season Finale Will Air Sooner Than You Think

Things are as busy as ever for the Duggar family, which I guess is the way it is when you have a family of 19 kids. There always seems to be a courtship, a wedding, or a baby on the way, and generally a combination of all of the above for fans of TLC's Counting On to get excited about. Still, the show has to end some time, doesn't it? Apparently it does, and if you're wondering when the Counting On season finale might be, you're going to be in for a shock. Because it looks as though it will be sooner than you think.

Counting On shares the stories of the next generation of the older children of Michelle and Jim-Bob Duggar. Fans first got to know Duggar daughters Jessa, Jill, Jinger, Joy-Anna, Jana, and sons John David, Joseph, and Josiah on the original TLC Duggar series, 19 Kids & Counting. After the original series ended in 2015, the network seemed to realize there remained extensive interest in the younger Duggars in particular, and the reboot was born. Counting On has seen five weddings so far, with at least one more well on the way now that Josiah Duggar has gotten engaged to Lauren Swanson.

Unfortunately, fans will not be watching Josiah marry Lauren on Counting On any time soon; according to the Duggar family blog, which is moderated by family members of the famous brood, next Monday's episode is meant to be the last of this season.

Next week, TLC will air a two-hour special with all the details of Joseph Duggar and Kendra Caldwell's wedding. Sadly, that episode will also be the Counting On season finale. The network has not yet announced another season, but stay tuned.

A TLC rep confirmed with Romper via email that next Monday's episode will be the season finale, and that it will feature Joe and Kendra's wedding.

It's an awfully short run for this season of Counting On; when the season ends next Monday with a two-hour special (although the network is also reportedly planning to release a 20-minute webisode featuring Joy-Anna Forsyth and her journey to giving birth to new son Gideon with husband Austin Forsyth), there will only be seven episodes for the entire season.

The first episode of the season, In Love In Switzerland (all about Joy-Anna's honeymoon with new husband Austin) aired on Feb. 26 and there have only been a total of six episodes so far. Six episodes to cover so much territory, I can't even believe it.

A brief rundown of all that is happening in Duggar world right now:

  • Jinger and husband Jeremy Vuolo are expecting their first child
  • Joy-Anna and Austin welcomed their son Gideon
  • Joseph married fiancee Kendra Caldwell (their wedding is expected to be heavily featured in the season finale)
  • Oh, and Joseph and Kendra are also expecting their first child

While the network might not have renewed the contract for the series yet, Inquisitr reported that there was a period of several months in 2017 when the Duggar family (and their anxious fans) were waiting for TLC to announce a renewal. Some fans speculated at the time that the show might be in peril due to some anti-transgender tweets shared by Jill Duggar's husband Derick Dillard, who appeared to attack fellow TLC star Jazz Jennings of I Am Jazz, writing that he believed being transgender "was a myth," according to In Touch Weekly. However, the network renewed the show, and announced that Dillard will no longer be featured on Counting On, according to In Touch Weekly.

Diehard fans of the TLC hit are likely hoping for another season of Counting On ... there's just too much happening to back out now, right But, when the season is over after next week, fans will remember it as something of a wild ride. So much to cover and not enough time. But if the Duggars keep on multiplying, TLC is going to need to do some serious catching up next season.

Check out Romper's new video series, Bearing The Motherload, where disagreeing parents from different sides of an issue sit down with a mediator and talk about how to support (and not judge) each other’s parenting perspectives. New episodes air Mondays on Facebook.