Jon & Kate Equals Hate

05:00 AM CST, Jun 23 2009

'Jon & Kate Plus 8's Mom and Dad will "separate", says Jon Gosselin, the soon to be ex-husband of Kate Gosselin, both of whom are the stars of the hit reality series on TLC. The anticipated, yet still somewhat surprising news came Monday night as the show featured both of them discussing the matter on camera in separate interviews leaving the rest of the nation wondering, "What now?".

"The current plan is to have the children remain in the house while Kate and Jon alternate their time with them.", said Jennifer Stocks, the show's producer. "That will be the arrangment for the remainder of this season."

While this isn't the first time that a reality show has seen the suffering and ultimately the failure of on screen relationships, this sets the precedent for shows that involve children as far as the negative impact is concerned.

"We have been very pleased with the way that the show has taken off in the ratings and we don't want to see that taken away from us because of what is happening.", Stocks said. "TV has seen marriages come and go before, so it's not like this is anything new."

One proposed idea was to take the show into an entirely new direction with a reboot of the 1970's classic, 'The Brady Bunch". "We sat around the table one afternoon and pitched ideas about how to keep the show alive should we see a slip in the ratings." said Stocks. "We tossed around the notion of replacing the parents and writing out the twins altogether and focusing on the sextuplets in their new environment, but that went straight into development hell. We decided to break for lunch...well, Lunchables. All they have at the craft services table is that. Bologna and Turkey. I'm not a fan. Anyway, we came back and Rick (another producer) had this phenomenal idea of sticking with writing the parents out and letting the kids fend for themselves. See what happens when the power bills go unpaid and the food runs out."

As it stands now, TLC has approached Jon and Kate with the proposed new season and both seem to be in agreement. "For the sake of all parties, "it's the best way to go.", Kate said.
"It'll let John and I get back to normal without, you know, the lights, the tabloids, those eight little reindeer shits."

However, TLC has recently come under some crossfire concerning child labor and with the new season's format in the works, the legality and moral implications of it are outraging those on the outside. A spokeswoman for chlidren's rights has said she will fight for the rights of the eight children and try and work with the parents to form a resolve. "We cannot stand idly by and watch these innocents be used as some form of tasteless and wretched entertainment. We cannot let them become the next Lindsay Lohans and Robert Pattinsons of the world."

When approached with the allegations that season 6 might bring unwanted troubles to the show, Stocks retorted with only this, "Kids have always been a staple to a family's entertainment, whether it's at home in real life or watching them on TV. I don't see any problem with that. And as far as morals go? They're not my kids."

-Travis Lickey