Bad News For Bringing Up Bates Fans
Fans of the UPtv series "Bringing Up Bates" were stunned by a January 18 network announcement. The family, led by Gil and Kelly Jo Bates, had been featured on the network for 10 seasons and had filmed another. Now, however, Bates fans will need to change how they stay updated on the family's developments.
Many reality television fans first met the Bates family via Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar during the "19 Kids and Counting" days. During the run of the show "United Bates of America," Jim Bob detailed meeting Gil and Kelly Jo. "Back about 15 years ago, I went to a conference, and I walked in and I saw this family with, like, seven or eight kids around a table," Jim Bob explained (via Romper). "That was Gil and Kelly Bates. And we've been friends ever since. It's been a really special relationship," he added.
While the Duggars live in Arkansas, the Bates family lives primarily in Tennessee, noted In Touch Weekly. Both families have 19 children and embrace strict conservative rules in their everyday lives. They've attended one another's weddings, and there have been rumors over the years of potential courtships across the two families. After Josh Duggar's scandals and the cancellation of "19 Kids and Counting," the Bates family seemed to distance itself from the Duggars a bit. Some fans wonder if the recent convictions in Josh's child pornography case may have impacted UPtv's interest in continuing to feature the Bates family, given the network's jaw-dropping announcement.
UPtv and the Bates family are going their separate ways
On January 18, UPtv announced on Twitter that they will not air Season 11 of "Bringing Up Bates." The network noted "we will be focusing our programming in 2022 on movies and a new scripted series to be announced soon" as they revealed the decision to step away from "Bringing Up Bates." "When we premiered 'Bringing Up Bates,' the series was focused on parents with 19 kids who were teenagers and young children," the statement explained. "The cameras were there to capture the love, laughs and big life moments, as the family continued to grow." The decision is a significant shift, given the announcement in September 2021 that "Bringing Up Bates" would be back for Season 11, per People.
The Bates family released a statement too, sharing with People, "As the next year begins, our family will be experiencing a lot of new changes. One of the biggest changes for us is that the network will be moving toward producing more scripted family shows and will not be renewing a contract to film new 'Bringing Up Bates' episodes." The announcement emerged as fans watched for baby news from Erin Bates Paine and her husband, Chad Paine, as they welcomed their daughter Finley on January 18 as well. The couple's Instagram page revealed their "miracle baby" Finley's arrival, and she joins siblings Carson, Brooklyn, Everly, and Holland.
"Bringing Up Bates" fans may be disappointed by UPtv's decision, but they can surely count on the Bates crew to keep everybody updated via social media going forward.