There is great debate about the state of John and Kate’s conjugation as a new season of their hit show debuts.  It’s smart of them to create hype that inflates the viewer rate of their story that began with a difficulty to procreate that lead to the birth of six of eight kids after having only 30 weeks to gestate.

If you’re having trouble following along Jon And Kate Plus Eight is a television show that profiles the lives of the parents of eight children, a set of twins and a set of sextuplets.  The most recent season started Monday night with a bang, it’s big this year because rumors of infidelity and divorce have been flying around like eight kids on a sugar high.  You can get caught up here, but it isn’t necessary to understand the message of this post.

Anyone that reads a blog like Weakonomics with any regularity is already the type of person that isn’t into “reality” shows.  You know they are mostly scripted and that production companies love to make them because they are SOOOO cheap compared to traditional shows.

It goes much deeper than this.  Jon and Kate Plus Eight is so much more than a show, it’s a brand.  It’s a brand worth millions to the family, and TLC.  No one involved in the show has any interest in it ending.  The Gosselin family has milked those children, but there is much more lactate to be had.  Kate is currently promoting a book and is expected to release a cookbook of sorts this fall.  Expect many of the shows in the current season to feature food as a subliminal promotion.

With regards to their marriage, one of two things is happening.

Situation 1: Prior problems have basically ended their marriage a while ago; this was reported long before Jon’s indiscretions in which he allegedly told people near him he was getting divorced and some extended family members confirmed it.  This would also mesh well with Kate’s possible affair with a bodyguard.  However everyone involved decided it would be much better for ratings to promote the hell out of the Jon thing, it being no coincidence the media hype picked up just less than one month before the premiere of the new season.  The end result would be a season where they pretend to have some troubles but ultimately decide to stay together because they love each other.  Whenever the show does finally end, they’ll then get a divorce.

Situation 2: Jon really made a mistake by going out and partying, but it wasn’t a big deal.  Secretly Kate and Jon reconciled any real concerns, however the public became fascinated with the story.  TLC and the family decided it would be really good for ratings to ride the infidelity train for the season.  This can be a constant source of stress and arguments between the two and serve as an underlying theme for the season.  As the season ends there will be a public reconciliation and by the time they do the next season it will be all but forgotten.

Either way you look at it the viewer is being scammed; you’re witnessing a problem that has been resolved in one way or another rewritten for a good story.  It couldn’t be more brilliant from the perspective of TLC and the Gosselin family.  They put the Heidi/Lauren beef to shame and they’re going to make millions from it.  I say more power to em.  Enjoy the show – suckers.

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics.

categories: media