Genre Reality television Country of origin United States No. of seasons 2 | Starring The Willis Family Original language(s) English | |
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No. of episodes 13 (as of April 19, 2016) | ||
The Willis Family was an American reality television show about a musical family, airing on TLC. The show follows a family of 14 from Nashville, Tennessee demonstrating their musical and dancing skills while "sharing ... talents and balancing a life at home". The family of entertainers, known onstage as The Willis Clan, reached the quarter finals of season 9 of America's Got Talent. Parents Toby and Brenda Willis have 12 children – eight girls and four boys – all of whose names begin with the letter "J", and their sons all have the middle name Scott. It was announced on September 11, 2016 that the show would not be renewed for another season following the arrest of Toby Willis on a charge of child rape.
Contents
Family
Parents
Children
The family has a strong Christian and musical heritage with roots from south Chicago, moving to Nashville in 2001. They have made regular appearances at the Grand Ole Opry.
Legal issues
Toby Willis was arrested in Kentucky on September 9, 2016 after fleeing there to avoid arrest on a child rape that allegedly occurred in Nashville back in 2004. The alleged victim is a female family member of Toby’s. Toby’s wife Brenda issued a statement after her husband’s arrest, letting fans know that the family band will not be giving any performances. Toby was extradited back to Tennessee on September 13, 2016. He now faces trial and up to 25 years in prison. His preliminary hearing was originally scheduled for September 21 in Nashville, but was then postponed to October 5, November 2, November 30, March 1, 2017, and is now expecting to start on May 31, along with a mental evaluation. As a result of his arrest, the website and all other social media accounts for the Willis Clan have been terminated.
Episodes
Season 1
Season 2