Jon & Kate Plus 8 (also known as Jon & Kate Plus Eight, and stylized on the title card as Jon & Kate Plus Ei8ht) is a reality television show produced in the United States by Figure 8 Films about the Gosselin family, consisting of parents Jon and Kate and their eight children: fraternal twins and sextuplets. The show follows the family through their daily lives, focusing on the challenges of raising multiple children. The show originally aired on Discovery Health, but has aired on TLC since season 3. The show was one of the highest rated programs on TLC during its run[1] and the fifth season premiere was seen by a record 9.8 million viewers, the most watched show of that evening including broadcast television, twice as many viewers as the show’s previous series high. The family originally appeared in a one-hour special titled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins.

Ever since the announcement of Jon and Kate’s separation, ratings on the show has dropped dramatically. On September 29, 2009 TLC announced that as of November 2, 2009, the program would undergo a name change, to Kate Plus Eight. The series will focus on Kate as a single mother raising 8 children. Despite the new title, Jon Gosselin will continue to appear on the show, just less frequently. After receiving a cease and desist order from Jon’s attorneys on October 1, 2009, TLC announced that filming the children had been suspended.

On October 15, 2009, TV Guide reported that TLC has temporarily dropped the renaming of the show due to Jon’s cease-and-desist order. If the new series does not go into production, TLC would like to do “a series of specials” instead.

Family history

Kate is one of five children; she has three sisters and a brother. Jon is the middle child of three boys. The couple met on October 5, 1997 at a picnic and they were married on June 12, 1999.

The Gosselins’ desire to start a family was met with infertility. Kate underwent medical testing and was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome. The couple turned to fertility treatments. In February 2000, Kate became pregnant with twins; Cara and Madelyn were born six minutes apart on October 8, 2000.

They began thinking of having another child and, according to Kate, a biracial infant of a teenage girl became available to adopt while Kate was an obstetrics nurse. They decided not to adopt the baby, but instead returned to fertility treatment. In October 2003, Kate became pregnant again. Five weeks later, (after being hospitalized for over-stimulated ovaries) at the initial ultrasound, the doctor announced that there were six sacs with seven yolks (embryos). According to Kate, this was emotional news for them. The doctor suggested selective reduction, but the couple was strongly against it.

Birth

The sextuplets were born on May 10, 2004 at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. All six children were delivered via a Caesarean section within a span of three minutes with more than fifty doctors, nurses, and other specialists involved. Because the sextuplets were born in Hershey, they were called “Hershey Kisses” by the nurses and doctors who delivered them. In late 2008, the family moved from their Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania home to a larger residence in Lower Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania.

Separation

In April 2009, it was reported that Jon was having an affair after he was spotted late one night with various women and leaving with one of them. The couple has denied these allegations, saying the woman Jon left with was just a friend. However the woman’s brother insists that she was romantically involved with Jon. This is supported by the existence of video and photographs of Jon with Deanna Hummel. Kate has also been accused of having a personal relationship with one of her bodyguards, Steve Neild. Kate has denied the allegations, stating that she requires a bodyguard for protection.

Kate has said these issues will be addressed throughout the fifth season of their show. In the season premiere, the incident was addressed by both Jon and Kate. Throughout the episode, they stated they are devoted to their children and vehemently rejected the cheating allegations, but agreed that they are unsure about where their relationship is headed.

On June 22, 2009, legal proceedings were initiated in Pennsylvania to dissolve the ten-year marriage of Jon and Kate Gosselin. The episode announcing their separation became the most watched episode of the series, with 10.6 million viewers.

Rebranding

TLC has announced that Jon & Kate Plus 8 will adapt to the changing Gosselin family and relaunch in November under the new title Kate Plus Eight. The program will continue to film the family’s lives but will now include a deeper focus on Kate’s role in the family and her role as a single mother. TLC will continue its exclusive relationship with Jon Gosselin and he will continue to appear on the show, but on a less regular basis. Jon has since publicly apologized for socializing with women so soon after his separation from wife Kate.  He has also halted the couple’s divorce proceedings in an effort “to regain control over the future of our family”.

On September 29, 2009, lawyers for Jon Gosselin delivered letters to TLC demanding that they cease and desist production and bar production crews from the couple’s Pennsylvania property.

Family

Parents

* Katie “Kate” Irene (née Kreider) – March 28, 1975 (1975-03-28) (age 34)
* Jonathan “Jon” Keith – April 1, 1977 (1977-04-01) (age 32)

Twins – born October 8, 2000 (2000-10-08) (age 9) – in birth order:

* Cara Nicole
* Madelyn “Mady” Kate

Sextuplets – born May 10, 2004 (2004-05-10) (age 5) – in birth order:

* Alexis Faith
* Hannah Joy
* Aaden Jonathan
* Collin Thomas
* Leah Hope
* Joel Kevin

Four seasons have aired and the fifth season began airing May 25, 2009 and was on hiatus from July 6, 2009 through August 3, 2009.

Production

Between the specials and the series, permanent light fixtures were installed in the Gosselins’ second home to make filming easier and prevent the kids from tripping over the wires and cables from temporary lighting. Jon & Kate Plus 8 was filmed three days a week, with one day set aside for the interview sessions where Jon, Kate and occasionally the children, discuss the events which take place in each episode. In the house that the family lived in before their move in late 2008, the “interview corner” was located in the basement, and was transformed from the playroom when needed. It was painted green, unlike the rest of the playroom. In their new house, the interview set was reproduced and constructed in an unfinished area of the basement. At the end of season four’s finale, Jon and Kate said they would be making a new set for season five.

Jon and Kate also work closely with producers to decide what themes will be presented in each episode. Jon and Kate have remarked that over the years the production crew has become part of the family.

Multimedia

Kate Gosselin has written two books, one called Multiple Blessings (co-authored with Jon Gosselin which was released November 1, 2008; it entered the list of New York Times best-sellers a week after its release. Kate, Jon and Beth Carson co-authored the book. The other, Eight Little Faces, was released in April 2009.

The Gosselins are managed by Media Motion International in Los Angeles.