End may be
near for 'Jon & Kate'
Kate predicts that TLC will cancel the show
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Sep 29, 2009
Jon and Kate's marriage is over. Could their smash TLC TV show be next?
Kate Gosselin thinks that's a possibility. She posted a note on her Facebook page a few days ago predicting that the end could be near for "Jon & Kate Plus 8."
The show's ratings have plunged since the Gosselins, the parents of eight children, separated earlier this summer.
"With ratings falling, this might be the last season of 'Jon & Kate Plus 8.' I'm not sure yet," Kate wrote.
Fans reacted immediately. Posters on her web site begged TLC to reconsider, though the network has not made any official statement, and others offered Kate words of support.
She's right, though. Viewership for the show has fallen to less than a fifth of what it was at its peak, when 10.6 million curiosity seekers saw the Gosselins announce their separation in June.
Since then the pair have remained tabloid staples, but viewers apparently aren't interested in watching a harmless family reality show about a pair of separated and no longer fighting parents.
Last week viewership fell to a season-low 1.7 million for the Monday show. While that's a decent tally for cable, it's still a loss of some 9 million viewers.
Kate may have reason to want the show to end. She's reportedly been talking to Food Network's Paula Deen about a joint talk show, and they filmed a pilot for it in New York recently.
Jon, too, would likely stay on the small screen even if "Plus 8" was axed. He's reportedly been in talks about starring in "The Divorced Dads Club" with other celeb losers including Michael Lohan.
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