Jon and Kate plus their litter.
See what a little marital turmoil can do? The fifth season of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 premiered last night to record ratings for the network, after weeks of tabloid talk regarding the crumbling of the two stars' marriage.
Jon & Kate Plus 8 was watched by 9.8 million viewers, according to Broadcasting & Cable, more than double the previous series high. The premiere scored a 9.1 rating among women aged 18-34 with a 9.1 (the network's key demographic) and among both genders aged 18-34 with a 6.3, both of those being records for the network.
The premiere even accomplished that rare cable feat: it outperformed anything on the major networks schedule last night.
The show, about a couple with sextuplets and a set of twins, received a boost from recent tabloid coverage about their troubled marriage. Jon and Kate Gosselin have both been rumored to be having affairs as their union crumbles.
Has this show changed to be more about the parents than the family? What do you find more interesting--the struggle to raise eight children or the drama between Jon and Kate?
I don't like this show. I don't understand how anyone would let millions of people invade their privacy like that.
I agree with those of you who think it is time for this family to set the cameras aside and work on their marriage and put the children first. They are exploiting their children; no amount of money will be able to undo the damage they are doing to them now.<BR><BR>
On the other hand, anytime you put yourself on national TV you know that people will scrutinize your every move. Jon and Kate basically signed away most of their rights to privacy, backing up my original solution which is to pull the plug on the show and focus on family.
I wish everyone would back off and leave these people alone. It's their life and their business what they do with it. Would you like someone judging your life and telling you what to do with it in forums all over the internet? Gad, people give it a rest.
I've watched week in and week out for three years as Kate treated Jon like a second-class citizen. All she's done is complain about all the work she has to do (with plenty of help from volunteers) and put Jon down at every opportunity. I don't know if he did, but I wouldn't blame Jon if he went outside of the marriage to get some respect!
I'm sick of all the tabloids, and ...everyone all saying different things about Kate & Jon each. yes, I know everyone has their opinions, but it's really annoying.I just feel so sorry for the kids to have to be under this kind of...stress and hardship.
I never heard of the show until a couple of months ago with the stories of both parents cheating on each other. Sounds like they don't need to be parents if they don't know how to act responsible.
They are only on the show for the money. I hate Kate. All she does is put Jon down.
Wow. People are funny.
I just wish that everyone who comments on this board or any other about this whole mess would keep in mind that there are 8 innocent children stuck right in the middle of all this and someday they just might Google their parents and read all the nasty things being said. We are all entitled to our opinions, whether we are pro-Jon & Kate or against, but don't forget even if you think the show/situation is fake, those kids are real. That said, either way you look at it, paparazzi & tabloids suck.
The show I like but it has become about the money. Jon needs to get back to work and they need to take a year off this show and figure out their lives in private.
If they really cared about their marriage and their family, they would quit the show and work on rebuilding their relationship. I think the show itself has created the stress in their marriage -- not the kids. Family stability should take precedence over everything else.... even a reality show with high ratings. The kids deserve better.
This Show IS fake any one can see that it is all about the MONEY...........
This fame and fortune for a so called family that had two sets of multiples (big whoop dee doo) is able to get rich because of the 9.8 million viewers that contribute to watching. I use to watch as well until you could start seeing all the money they are getting from the show by taking vacations buying a 1.1 million dollar house. It is a grotesque farse to display these children for all to see because I believe these parents have already effected their lives by exploiting them. These kids are not going to be normal. I only hope some of this "cash" is going towards college for all eight. I'm never viewing this show again. Same goes for the Little People Big World. Their lives have changed as well since the beginning of their show. Lots of vacations, big farm. No thanks TLC I'm not viewing and adding to these people's paychecks.moreless
My daughter and I on a whim started watching this show during the marathon before the premiere. We're not normally reality show fans and we're definitely against folks having big families, but we got curious. We fell in love with the kids, they're delightful and mostly unspoiled despite their lifestyle and the cameras in their faces each day. We were touched by Jon's parenting before the premiere, Kate's efficiency and crazy need to boss everything, although I'm not sure either one of us "liked" them. So there we were watching for the kids.The premiere left us depressed and worrying for the children. Such self absorbed parents can't be good. IMHO, they need to refocus on their family, their priorities and the need to repair their marriage. With that many kids. a divorce would be devastating to them all. Get back to basics, Jon and Kate and even if you don't call a halt to the show conduct yourselves in such a way that the paparazzi don't want to follow you. Then you'll be headed back on track. You have a responsibility to those lovely children. Like it or not. Too late to change your mind now about each other or your life.moreless
first off, most of the time a split takes 2 people , jon and kate, even though she has the idea in her head that nothing is wrong with her or how she acts, she is demanding, bossy, how jon puts up with it i really dont understand, i have watched season 4 and i did notice how jon was distant from her every week,i am sure all those little ones are a handful but come on when jate wants something she ends up getting it, new house ...kate gets it, dogs kate gets it, come on ,maybe jon is going through an early life change, maybe he justs wants a little down side,so if he was in wrong place at wrong time, then he had to deal with it, as for kate i read that she had a thing going on with her body guard and we all know she would not admit it if she did or not, in kates eyes she is always right and jon well is always wrong, she does not have to correct his words or what ever she does and she does find every little thing she can to correct him, get real kate life is not perfect and neither are youmoreless
I just want to say one thing....
That if kate wants to continue doing the show, then let her even if its by herself, because since she is always alone with the kids then maybe she wants to feel economicaly stable to be able to support 8 kids by herself.
And on another note
i just wanted to say the premiere of jon and kate plus 8 was awesome but i just wanted to say i hated the way jon showed up to the party like if he was the one who helped kate with anything, he probably took credit for everything kate did,
And no one and i mean no one wants to se that OCTO MOM get a show.
Well all the things he said i think was a lie he does not care about the kids. He may think that he is all that but he to get in there and help these kids he has 8 kids to take care of kids of his
9.8 million viewers - you people don't have anything better to do?
I watched the show Jon and Kate plus 8 new episode. It was ok. Jon not helping with the kids 5th birthday party shows that he is really not the father he should be, he and Kate maybe having marriage problems but he should have been there for his kids,they only turn 5 once.And I thought it was very sick that he came to the party in his new sports car, the man is married with 8 kids ,GROW UP!!! Maybe the fame and money has lead to their marriage problems. Kate should quit her job and take care of the home and let Jon go back to work and with the money they are getting from tlc,they should be able to have a comfortable life.This is suppose to be a family show so if they decide to divorce the show should be cancelled. I loved watching this show to see the kids, they are soo cute,and so funny, but I am sure having a camera always on the family would get tiring and start to interfere with their lives. I believe that when someone is married and especially with kids they should grow up ,take responsibilty and not be out on the town with the opposite sex. Maybe they should have stopped having kids after the first set of twins. And as far as OTTOmom , that clown should not be able to have a reality show, she just wants money so she can sit on her butt,a waste of skin on bones.moreless
Hey Baldhog - just curious ... would this family be better off if the MAN made his wife #1, thereby guaranteeing happier children (biblically speaking)
The Bible teaches that the man and woman are number one with each other....not the children.If this lady put her husband number one instead of putting the children FIRST in her life, then the kids would be happier because they would have happy parents
I feel bad for the kids. Sad, they didn't even have any choice in the matter, thanks to pshyco mom and crappy dad. People who watch this show should be put down.
I tend to think the whole thing may have been a stunt for rating, but that would be pretty sick in general. Either way Pops are a bunch of buttholes and the only people who's business it is real or fake is Jon and Kate.
It was not a great show to begin with. But to take advantage of this situation for ratings if its real, or to manufacture it for ratings if its not real, is just pathetic.If viewers were smart, the viewership would have been (should have been) zero...
What a sad world.
Possibly the worst show on tv. It is unreal to think there are 10 million idiots watching this pathetic excuse for a show.
It's all a ploy to get more ratings and it worked! Junk program!
Wow! I've never seen the show but WOW!
They should go back to focusing on the kids, everything else is irrelevant.
hi jon & kate
first of all i would like to say that you two have done such a wonderful job with the show and raising your children. i'm very sorry to hear about what is going on in the media. its very disturbing to know how this world really wants to view you and your family. i think what ever is going on between the two of you is no ones business. im sure its really hard to go thru this. i dont keep up with gossip and dont care to. i dont care for the "P-People". they are only out there to hurt you and your family and that is their only goal. the dirt they dig up is what they get paid for and it sickens me. i believe you and your family deserve soo much more then what is dished out to you. yes, i think the popularity will change a person. i would hate if it changes you too much. please for the sake of your relationship keep it together. show or no show, you guys are a good couple and should try to keep it. not just for the children but for each other. you have made it thru this, you will get thru so much more together. i was real sad to see your new show and how much our society has hurt you two. i would feel displaced also. so what if jon was "seen" with another woman...means nothing!!!...so what if kate fired everyone....means she wants her life back and doesnt trust this world. i dont blame her!!! so what if she has a body guard..means nothing!!!...what matters the most is what jon & kate do together. even if the trust was broken..its not our business, its only yours. and only yours to work out.....i'm real sorry that this world is the way that it is....the media doesnt have feelings, they only want pain and anguish cuz that is what people like. well i dont..i like the trueness the show brought. i dont care what happens in the privacy of your home, i only like what you brought to the show.
people should just leave you alone and let you live your life and do the show. please dont let this ruin you. that is what the "P-People" want is to rub your pride and trueness in the dirt.....dont let them...stay true to yourselves...lean on each other and please stay together. you make the most awesome couple and the best parents i have ever seen!!!moreless
How Gross! People who watch this show should be ashamed of themselves. Jon and Kate are publicity whores who are exploiting each other and their children to make money. We know that you guys once struggled to support eight kids but now you make $50 thousand an episode. The last thing you need to do is ruin the lives of your children by trying to make more money. Jon and Kate make me sick and no matter what they say all of the recent gossip is just a publicity stunt. Move over Miley Cyrus, Jon and Kate are officially the most repulsive people on television.
If this would have aired on a Monday night against some REAL competition, nobody would have noticed it's numbers (as usual for a TLC show). Come on, nothing on the networks now but garbage, now that sweeps week has come and gone we are officially in the summer doldrums and there won't be jack worth watching until September.
i like the show and often watch. it is sad to hear what all the publicity and media is doing. of course i think one reason why many people tuned it is that there was nothing else new to watch.
This show just frankly depresses me now...it used to be far more pleasant and about the kids.http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-11363-Dallas-TV-Examiner~y2009m5d26-Jon-and-Kate-plus-8-descending-into-depressionMore thoughts.
I started to watch this show about a year ago I do like it as with most shows on TLC. I am sure all the hype leading up to the premiere caused a lot of ppl to tune in we will see next week if that changes. I just hope they get back to showing more of the kids. I also hope that this a new trend in Tv viewing because the networks seam to forget there are other options out there. I for one am sick and tired of my favorite shows getting cancelled and it is for that reason alone that I watch these other shows. I said it before on this site I am not watching anymore new shows esp. on abc because I have no faith in the longevity of these shows. I have invested enough time watching these shows to no avail. they get cancelled all the time especially the shows I like.moreless
i love this show and while i dont think Jon and Kate played up their drama or had anything to do with the tabloids i do think all of that played a factor in the ratings. you also have to consider that most shows on the major networks were reruns as the finales aired two weeks ago. had the show been up against new episoded it probably would not have done as well.