Bringing Up Bates: Story, Cast and Series Facts

Story and premise

Twenty-seven years ago Gil and Kelly Jo Bates tied the knot with no plans to have kids. Fast forward 19 kids later and this tight-knit family, seemingly too good to be true, has a tremendous bond but are far from perfect. As you will see, when you have a house full of 19 children, from ages two to 25, daily chaos is multiplied exponentially, but so are the joyful and poignant moments that life can bring.

Led by devoted father Gil (49) and his loving wife Kelly Jo (47), the Bates do everything in bulk while staying true to their values and rules for the family -- which means everyone has chores, little to no TV, only dresses for girls (though pajamas are worn in private), strictly side-hugs until marriage (except for front hugs on special occasions), and more. With a grand total of 19 children ranging in age from two to 25, they are the definition of a "big, happy family." But lately -- as viewers will see -- their simple rural lifestyle in Tennessee is in a flurry of transitions, see it all on Bringing Up Bates.

Series details

• Title: Bringing Up Bates
• Format: Reality
• Language: English
• Genres: Family
• Premiere date: 2015-01-01
• Status in TVmaze: Running
• Web channel listed by TVmaze: Tubi
• Typical episode runtime: 40 minutes
• TVmaze community rating: 5.2/10
• TVMaze ID: 2261

Seasons in the TVmaze catalogue

• Season 1: premiered 2015-01-01; final listed air date 2015-03-26.
• Season 2: premiered 2015-06-04; final listed air date 2015-09-03.
• Season 3: premiered 2016-01-07; final listed air date 2016-05-26; episode order: 13.
• Season 4: premiered 2016-06-02; final listed air date 2016-10-27; episode order: 19.
• Season 5: premiered 2017-01-05; final listed air date 2017-04-13; episode order: 18.
• Season 6: premiered 2017-06-01; final listed air date 2017-09-14.
• Season 7: premiered 2018-01-04; final listed air date 2018-09-27.
• Season 8: premiered 2019-01-03; final listed air date 2019-11-21.
• Season 9: premiered 2020-03-05; final listed air date 2020-09-24.
• Season 10: premiered 2021-03-25; final listed air date 2021-06-24.
• Season 11: premiered 2025-06-16; final listed air date 2025-06-16; episode order: 6.

Source and licence

Adapted from Bringing Up Bates on TVmaze. The synopsis is reproduced as plain text; catalogue facts, cast and season records are selected and reformatted. This adapted text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, following the TVmaze API licence. Network and web-channel credits identify the service listed in this source; they do not establish current streaming availability.