TV Guilty Pleasures: Jon and Kate Plus 8

You can’t help but fall in love with the Gosselins, a family of ten—mom, dad, twins, and sextuplets—whose days are chronicled by the TLC series Jon & Kate Plus 8. The heartwarming reality show follows Jon and Kate and their eight children, all under the age of eight, on their daily adventures—from Kate’s unsuccessful quest to find a housekeeper to the family outing of picking up a side of organic beef at a local farm.

Kate is the impeccably-organized matriarch of the Gosselin family who rears her children on organic food, teaches them always to wear shoes in hotel rooms and maintains a spotlessly-clean home—few mothers scrub their kitchen floors as diligently and regularly as she does.

The sextuplets and elder twin girls, with adorable names and even more adorable faces, have an innate kindheartedness and ceaselessly exhibit their love for one another. In one episode, one of the three sextuplet girls makes viewers’ hearts melt when she helps her brother Aaden, one of the three sextuplet boys, gently put on his glasses. Another episode shows the sextuplets as toddlers positioned (according to Kate’s seating chart) around a half-moon table, one parent moving a peeled banana down the line of six hungry mouths, each taking a bite in turn. How can you not love this family?
Kate’s dry sense of humor and incredulity at her ability to maintain such order and affection in what is often a hectic environment are revealed to us during segments in which the producers ask her and Jon about the episode’s events. The pair’s love for one another is obvious, even when Jon pokes fun at Kate’s strict organizational and controlling nature. The show’s refreshing innocence reminds us of the simple pleasures of family and love, keeping us coming back every week for more.