‘Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets’ Review

If you were a teenager in the early to mid-2000s, I am sure you are aware of 19 Kids and Counting. Back then, we tuned into the TLC show because we just could not believe there existed a family like them. If you aren’t aware, 19 Kids and Counting (though, I believe it started as 17 Kids and Counting) followed the lives of the Duggar family. A seemingly good-intentioned family who had a lot of children. If you were like me, you stopped watching after a while – perhaps you just disagreed with the decisions the family made. And then, the controversy dropped.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of Abuse, Religious Cults, and More Pertaining to the Duggar Family

While you might suspect that the documentary Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets would focus more on the fact that the eldest son Josh sexually assaulted his sisters, the Amazon Prime show shifts its focus on a bigger picture. Rather than diving into that controversy (though, it certainly talks about it), it focuses on why the Duggars are the Duggars. Who are they? What do they really believe in? If you weren’t a real avid watcher, which I wasn’t; you’d just assume that they were simply a religious family. You didn’t know that there was essentially a cult behind this family.

Without getting into the religious beliefs or anything like that, I’d rather focus on why I thought this was a good documentary. Not many of the Duggars participated in the show and I don’t know if that’s because many of them support the strict lifestyle in place or if it was because they’re tired of being put under a microscope. You have to remember that many of these children grew up on TV – wanting to be away from cameras is probably something they want. And, there’s definitely no current interviews from the parents – but, their archived interviews are very telling.

Who is Speaking Out

Instead, we have one sister speaking out, though; it seems that she less wanted to speak of her brother and what her parents did and more so just wanted to make sure that there was someone actually affected by the events of the Duggar family fallout there. We also had a cousin and family friends. All who provided good intel. However, it was ex-members of the church that were the biggest parts of this documentary. People who weren’t afraid to really talk about what is going on in that religious organization. We often think of cults in the way of Heaven’s Gate, Jim Jones, or Waco – but, seeing this focus more on Christian televangelism was shocking. And I am sure triggering for many people.

While I may have wanted more resources close to the Duggar family, I understood that that was probably impossible. So, the documentary filled itself up with other resources, which gave us a better perspective of what some families like the Duggars believed in. The documentary, I think; succeeded in essentially tainting the 19 Kids and Counting experience. Besides the controversy with the eldest son, we have a money-hungry father, a complacent mother, and an insensitive network that was capitalizing on brainwashed children.

Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets is on Amazon Prime. It’s four parts and while I am sure most people have even forgotten about the Duggar Family, it’s worth revisiting. TLC tried to make this family feel like America’s family and there were a lot of darker aspects at play. Give it a watch and let us know what you thought!