There are few more effective ways to try and break the record of fastest-acquired trauma than being a child to a reality television family; it’s bad enough that a fair chunk of the genre is nothing more than an exploitative blight on humanity that preys on our rapidly growing weakness of parasocial fascination, but to be thrown into a mess like that as a small child, with little to no control over how you’re involved (or whether you’re involved at all, for that matter), is a perturbingly unique type of tragedy.
And if you somehow need proof about how debilitating being in these families can be, look no further than the fact that Prime Video is releasing Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets this weekend, a four-part docuseries which will take a deep dive into the behind-the-scenes truths of the Duggar family, the stars of the now-defunct TLC show 19 Kids & Counting; if you can make a show about how awful it was to be involved with a reality television family, that says quite a lot.
Of course, as with all traumatic experiences, it’s never easy to address them in a vulnerable setting, but that didn’t stop Jill Dillard, the third oldest of the Duggar children, from contributing to Shiny Happy People with what will no doubt be a difficult-to-listen-to account. Although, the 32-year-old did admit in a recent interview with ET Online that she was reluctant about telling her story at first.
“Yeah, I mean, doing an interview like this isn’t easy, and I didn’t want to do it. There’s a lot there. Like, do I want to open that can of worms?”
And no one can blame her for having such reservations; from growing up in an independent Baptist family with infinitely problematic values to the infamous scandal that rightfully landed her brother Josh in prison, it’s safe to say this was no easy experience for her to unpack. Here’s hoping that Shiny Happy People does some good for the spirits of the 19 Kids & Counting survivors, and also encourages people to think twice about the content they consume.
Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets will release to Prime Video on June 2.