The executive producers of the new Duggar family documentary have revealed they were stunned by the levels of abuse survivors suffered at the hands of ‘cult-like’ religious teachings.
The show, titled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, is set to ‘expose the truth beneath the wholesome Americana surface of reality TV‘s favorite mega-family.’
It will also delve deeper into the Duggars’ controversial church – radical organization The Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), founded by shunned minister Bill Gothard in the 1960s.
Executive producers Olivia Crist and Julia Willoughby Nason have now spoken out about their shock at ‘how far and wide the IBLP ideology went’ and described it as a ‘pandemic of abuse.’
The show, titled Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets, is set to ‘expose the truth beneath the wholesome Americana surface of reality TV ‘s favorite mega-family’
In a first look at the new show, Jill said: ‘There’s a story that’s going to be told. And I would rather be the one telling it’
Jill’s younger sister Jessa, 30, who was one of the few remaining older siblings known to have maintained a good relationship with her parents, is also seen in the trailer, looking downcast
Speaking to People, Nason said: ‘The far-reaching quality of this ideology was extremely shocking to me, especially how it’s so ingrained in our modern-day culture present day with the political stakes of our human rights at play here.’
She continued: ‘That’s shocking to me. And what’s shocking to me, too, is listening to the survivor stories.
‘I feel like being a woman in this culture, whether I’m coming from a place of a high control system as IBLP or coming from not that place, just inherently being a woman, I could identify with the themes of abuse and trauma that were going through these people’s lifelines.’
Crist, too, argued the the IBLP culture is incredibly pervasive and said ‘there’s certainly a lot more’ that could have been covered.
Several members of the Duggar family appear in the docuseries including Jill and husband Derick Dillard as well as Amy and spouse Dillon King.
Crist said that Jill had been ‘hesitant’ to speak out at first and hinted that she needed ‘a little bit more time and care and conversation’ to get on board.
But the producer said that ultimately she was ‘just really honored and humbled that they trusted us with their stories.’
In a first look at the new show, Jill said: ‘There’s a story that’s going to be told. And I would rather be the one telling it.’
Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle Duggar, 56, (pictured) along with their 19 kids, were propelled into the spotlight after they starred in the TLC series 19 and Counting from 2008 to 2015
The reality show documented the family-of-21’s (pictured together previously) day-to-day lives as members of The Institute in Basic Life Principle
Jill’s younger sister Jessa, 30, who was one of the few remaining older siblings known to have maintained a good relationship with her parents, is also seen in the trailer, looking downcast.
‘World domination was the goal,’ an unidentified man told the camera in the teaser, while discussing IBLP.
Someone else added: ‘The IBLP teachings aren’t Christianity. They’re something completely different.
‘The biggest feature of Bill Gothard’s teachings is authority. Kids obey the parents and wives obey their husbands. Everyone obeys Bill Gothard.’
‘He turned every father into a cult leader and every home into an island,’ said another person.
It also seems that the docuseries will delve into Josh Duggar’s child pornography charges. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison back in 2019.
It also seems that the docuseries will delve into Josh Duggar’s child pornography charges. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison back in 2019
Years prior to his arrest, an explosive police report emerged on the web that said the father-of-seven, 35, had admitted to molesting underage women, including four of his siblings – and that his own parents knew about it and failed to report the abuse.
‘How deep do we go? Because that’s a rabbit hole. Damn,’ a man said in the teaser, after an old clip of reporters discussing Josh’s scandal flashed across the screen.
Jim Bob, 57, and Michelle Duggar, 56, along with their 19 kids, were propelled into the spotlight after they starred in the TLC series 19 and Counting from 2008 to 2015, followed by its spinoff, Counting On, from 2015 to 2021.
The reality show documented the family-of-21’s day-to-day lives as members of The Institute in Basic Life Principle.
The Christian group imposed a set of strict rules that controlled almost every aspect of their lives – including who they should date and how they should dress.
Jim Bob and Michelle also read their text messages, told them what they were allowed to watch on TV and what music they could listen too, and they even had a say in who they were friends with.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets will premiere on June 2 on Prime Video.
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