Jon & Kate Plus 8

*Jon & Kate Plus 8*
Jon & Kate Plus 8
	File:JKP8logo.png
Created by	Figure 8 Films
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	([[List of Jon & Kate Plus 8 episodes\|list of episodes]])
Production
Producer	Jennifer Stocks
Running time	approx. 23 minutes; specials approximately 46 minutes
Original release
Network	Discovery Health Channel (2007) ; TLC (2008-present)
Release	April 16, 2007–present

Jon & Kate Plus 8 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—a set of fraternal twin girls and a set of sextuplets (three girls and three boys, all fraternal). 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. It is consistently one of the highest rated shows on TLC.^{[citation needed]} The family originally appeared in a one-hour special titled Surviving Sextuplets and Twins.

Family history

Kate Irene Gosselin is one of five children.^[1] She has three sisters and a brother. Jonathan Gosselin is the middle child of three boys. The couple met on October 5, 1997 at a picnic. 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 and immediately began intrauterine insemination.^[2] In February 2000, Kate became pregnant with twins. On October 8, 2000, Cara Nicole and Madelyn "Mady" Kate Gosselin were born, six minutes apart.^[3]

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.^[3] 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.^[3]

The sextuplets were born on May 10, 2004 at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. All six children were delivered within a span of three minutes with more than fifty doctors, nurses, and other specialists involved. Since 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 Wernersville, Pennsylvania.

Gosselins

Parents

Kate Irene - born March 28, 1975
Jonathan - born April 1, 1977

Twins - born October 8, 2000
In birth order:

Cara Nicole
Madelyn "Mady" Kate

Sextuplets - born May 10, 2004
In birth order:

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

Dogs-adopted near Christmas time (German Shepherds)

Shoka(the male)
Nala(the female)

Both dogs are German Sheperds

Production

Discovery Health started filming the show in the form of two hour-long specials, then TLC continued the filming for a weekly series around Jan 1, 2007.

Between the specials and the series, permanent light fixtures were installed in the Gosselins' home to facilitate filming, and prevent the children from tripping over the wires and cables of temporary lighting. Jon & Kate Plus 8 is 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.

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.^[4]

Multimedia

Kate Gosselin has written two books, one called Multiple Blessings which was released November 1, 2008; it entered the list of New York Times best-sellers a week after its release. Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson co-authored the book, however it credits Jon as a co-author as well. The other, Eight Little Faces, is planned for a future release sometime in April of 2009.^[5]

Seasons 1 and 2 were released on DVD on July 16, 2008, distributed online only by Discovery. It was released to mass market on September 9, 2008 (October 21, 2008 in Canada), to be distributed by Genius. After this, TLC started selling Season 1 and Season 2 on separate DVDs.

Season 3 was released in November 2008 by TLC and was available to the mass market on February 3, 2009.

Season 4 will be on DVD, in stores, May 12, 2009 and will include bonus features.^[6]

The Gosselins are managed by Media Motion International in Los Angeles.^[7]

Episodes

References

^ Gosselin, Kate (July 3, 2008). "Naptime Musings From Jon & Kate Plus 8". Orato. Retrieved on July 3, 2008.
^ Mosteller, Rachel. "Celebrity Dish: Jon and Kate Gosselin". ParentDish. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Our Story". Sixgosselins.com. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
^ Woo, Michelle (May 2008). "JUST THE 10 OF US". KoreAm Journal. Retrieved August 7, 2008.
^ Multiple Blessings: Surviving To Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets book listing. Christianbooks.com. Retrieved on July 3, 2008.
^ " Season 4 DVDs Due to Hit Stores in Mid-May". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Retrieved 2009-02-10.
^ Media Motion International client listing. mediamotionintl.com. Retrieved on July 3, 2008.