Andy DehnartTLC has cancelled Kate Plus Eight, the follow-up to Jon & Kate Plus Eight, the series that killed a marriage and became a sensation that consumed the media and exposed the network’s disturbing control over the family. TLC dumped Jon in September of 2009, and has aired periodic episodes since the summer of 2010, bringing the total of episodes following the family to 150 when it concludes.
However, TLC threatened us, saying it may still air more of Kate and the clan’s adventures: “TLC hopes to check in with Kate and the family periodically with specials in the future,” its statement said.
On Twitter, Kate called the show “a great run” and thanked TLC and “diehard fans,” and said the kids cried when they learned the news. Those kids have an intense attachment to the camera crews, probably because that’s all they’ve known, but it’ll be good for them to live outside the public eye, at least until their parents or the network figure out a new way to exploit them.