"Jon and Kate Plus 8" to drop Jon... officially

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I kinda predicted this would happen. In June, right as the Gosselins were set to air their "very special announcement," I guessed correctly that the show's title would eventually change.

TLC announced this morning that its hit reality show will change its name to just "Kate Plus Eight" to adapt to the impending divorce of the Gosselins. Jon will still appear on the show, but will no longer get the special privilege of being in the show's title (probably good since he's gotta spend time cultivating his next tabloid move or outing with Papa Lohan).

Here's a little something from the AP on the not-so-shocking decision:

The renamed "Kate Plus Eight," which begins Nov. 2, will continue to chronicle the lives of the Gosselin kids (5-year-old sextuplets and 8-year-old twins) but will also focus on Kate's role as a single mother.

The rupture came after weeks of tabloid reports of marital strains and infidelities, which both spouses denied. On the show, the parental co-stars barely spoke to each other.

Since then, media coverage of the squabbling exes has continued full-bore, and both Jon and Kate have made separate he-said-she-said talk-show rounds. They are in divorce proceedings.

I've caught a few episodes of the post-split episodes, but let's be honest, the only reason I was watching was to see the awkward interactions between Jon and Kate. Without the pleasure of even that, is there any purpose in watching? Will any "Jon and Kate" fans watch just Kate? Should they just cancel the show?

--Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com