Prime Video’s latest docuseries Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets dives into the controversial lives of the titular family, who rose to fame in TLC’s 2015 reality show 19 Kids and Counting. The docuseries tries its damndest to make sense of the controversies caused by the Duggars and their practices, but some things can only be addressed by its source – and two key culprits denied participation in the show.
The Duggar’s TLC program ran for 10 seasons before being canceled after one of the titular children, Josh Duggar, was revealed to have sexually abused multiple girls in his adolescence.
Prior to the resurfaced reports, the family was already criticized for practicing in Bill Gothard’s cult-like church, which has fallen to the wayside due to Gothard’s own sexual abuse allegations.
At the end of Shiny Happy People, it is revealed that Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar — the parents of the Duggar family — refused to comment for the series, aside from a statement released through their representative, despite the participation of their children and family friends.
The statement reads, “[They] love each of their children tremendously and always desire each live their god-designed lives to the fullest.” Regardless of the statement being simple and straightforward, it leaves a bad taste for viewers as it comes at the tail end of an explosive episode about Josh Duggar’s crimes.
The fourth and final episode of the series discusses how several Duggar family members were molested by the eldest Duggar son, and the Duggar parents failed to properly intervene. Amy King, a Duggar family cousin, addresses the parent’s inadequacy in the docuseries, saying, “The fact that he [Jim Bob Duggar] can say that he doesn’t remember his own daughter’s abuse makes me sick.”
While Duggar’s past offenses were made public prior to his trial, it never fails to be shocking. When Duggar was a teenager, he sexually abused multiple underage girls, including four of his siblings. Over a decade later, he was found guilty of possession of child pornography. According to the docuseries, the agent tasked with reviewing the files on Duggar’s technology said it was “in the top 5 of the worst of the worst” he’s ever examined.
In 2022, Duggar was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison, which will be followed by 20 years of supervised release. He will have to register as a sex offender and will be barred from unsupervised contact with minors.
During the trial, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar were uncooperative and Jim Bob claimed to not remember the teenhood assaults. Shiny Happy People says that, aside from the statement above, “they otherwise declined to comment for the series.”
The series premiered June 2 on Prime Video and, in addition to exploring the Duggar’s rise and fall from fame, it also criticizes their church, The Institute in Basic Life Principles, and brings forward the accounts of several former practicing members.
Shiny Happy People is currently streaming on Prime Video.