Should TLC be blamed for the demise of Jon and Kate Gosselin’s marriage?

That’s the question I asked myself as I was writing the latest news out of the Gosselin camp, that the now exes had to get the cops involved last week after Kate got into a yelling match with Jon over his choice of babysitter. 

How could TLC have known, back in April of 2007, that Jon & Kate Plus 8 would become A) one of the biggest hits on the network ever, and B) that the success would lead to the dissolution of the couple’s marriage?

The answer is that there is no way that they could have known, but they sure as heck could have controlled things when the relationship started to go south.

Instead, TLC has capitalized on Jon and Kate’s marriage breakdown, something that never should have been made so public in the first place.

And while the couple themselves should certainly accept some form of blame – not even having eight kids on the go all the time can make you so sleep-addled that you’d agree to have TV cameras capture your breakup.

My guess it that being the stars of a reality show made the two feel powerful. After all, TV cameras and cameramen snapping away at you while you do mundane tasks like going to the beach or hitting Wegman’s for a case of water can go to your head. “Really? I’m that important? Cool!”

In fact, when Jon started to rebuff the cameras, and even suggest that they should back off on filming and focus on family, Kate said no. I imagine the $75,000 per episode paycheque had something to do with her reasoning, as well as TLC picking up the tab for anything that is shown being bought for the Gosselin’s home.

Kate’s sister-in-law, Julie, told Us Weekly that the show’s producers staged episodes, relying on what people were writing on Jon & Kate blogs about what they would like to see on the program, twisting their lives to appease the network that puts food on their table, clothes on the kids’ backs, and enough coin so the two don’t have to work.

When the marriage began to dissolve, rather than back off, TLC amped up the coverage, playing up the on-air announcement that the Gosselins were going their separate ways.

Since then, viewership for Jon & Kate has waned; it turns out that TV audiences have no taste for seeing a fractured marriage on TV. Now the gossip magazines are circling the couple like vultures, reporting on babysitters, Jon attending parties and Kate crying at the drop of the hat.

Where’s TLC to pick up the pieces, and to say “enough is enough”? Suspiciously absent. Are they finally feeling guilty? Doubtful.

But they should.

Am I off base? Do you agree with me? greg@tvguide.ca

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Greg has been a fan of TV since he was five years old, eating dry cereal in front of the TV with his sisters watching Sesame Street, and scrambling downstairs after dinner to watch Polka Dot Door. His influential teen years were taken up by equal parts of The A-Team, The Greatest American Hero, The Incredible Hulk, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, Magnum P.I. and Friday Night Videos as well as daily doses of Toronto Rocks and the Power Hour on MuchMusic.

He is continually fascinated with the television process from idea to pilot episode and network pickup, development and casting right through to air, and likes all genres of TV.

 

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