''The Willis Family'' is an American

reality television show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

about a musical family that aired on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

in 2015 and 2016. The show follows a family of 14 from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, 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. The show was cancelled on September 11, 2016, following the arrest of Toby Willis on four counts of

child rape Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whethe ...

Family

The family has a strong Christian and musical heritage with roots from south

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They moved to Nashville in 2001 and 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 occurred in Nashville in 2004. On July 11, 2017, Willis pleaded guilty to four counts of child rape. Cheatham County Circuit Court Clerk Julie Hibbs confirmed that Willis received two 25-year sentences on two counts and two 40-year sentences on the other two. Those sentences will be concurrent, and served at 100 percent, giving Willis a total of 40 years in prison.

''Speak My Mind'' and Comeback

In early 2018, the six eldest children besides Jessica surfaced to speak out about the abuse. On July 25, 2018, the group announced that they would "see our younger siblings on their respective roads to recovery out of the spotlight," while the other siblings besides Jessica would be touring, beginning September 7. They announced the same day that they would be releasing the single "Speak My Mind" on August 10 as a promotion for their album of the same name, released on September 28, 2018.

Episodes

Series overview

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis Family, The TLC (TV network) original programming 2010s American reality television series America's Got Talent contestants 2015 American television series debuts 2016 American television series endings Television series about children Television series about families