Gotta love those wacky, quacky Robertsons.
There's always something going on down on the Duck Dynasty bayou -- if not with the hirsute elders, then among the clean-shaven younger crowd.
How many of us were amazed with the lovely and talented Sadie when she stole our hearts last year on Dancing With the Stars? Finishing second behind Alfonso Riberio was impressive. Alfonso is practically a professional.
Sadie! Who saw that coming?
But Sadie (now 18) isn't Harding University graduates Willie and Korie Robertson's only child. They adopted Rebecca, 26, and Will, 13; and there are biological children Bella, 12, and John Luke, 19.
Now it's John Luke's turn in the spotlight with the Season 8 finale of Duck Dynasty at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The episode title, "John Luke Gets Hitched," just about says it all.
The first episode of the season gave us John Luke and Mary Kate McEacharn's "couple's shower." Now we see the end result of their eight-month engagement. Mary Kate, by the way, turned 19 in May and is Sadie's best friend. She comes from Delhi, La., about 40 miles east of West Monroe down Interstate 20.
You can read all about Mary Kate's deepest, most innermost personal thoughts on her blog, thelittleduckwife.com. You'll be in good company. As of last week, the thing had 19.6 million views.
In the season finale, fans get to follow along as the couple make their wedding plans, get a marriage license, and guests "from all over the world" arrive for the outdoor ceremony at the Robertson family farm in West Monroe.
The nuptials took place June 27 in front of 800 family and friends. Keeping it in the family, Willie, an ordained minister, officiated.
John Luke popped the question on his 19th birthday back on Oct. 11. And, yes, John Luke realizes that he and Mary Kate are young.
"I know my parents married young as well," he told Us Weekly magazine, "and they have always been examples of what could be to me. They are more in love than ever, and I hope Mary Kate and I are the same way in the years to come."
The couple first met in 2010 at a Christian summer camp and started dating in 2013.
In an earlier interview with Entertainment Tonight, John Luke addressed their youth and the marriage success percentages.
"Eighty-seven percent of people who have not had sex before they are married have successful marriages," he said. "So, for a Christian couple, whose God is at the center of our lives and who also haven't had sex, our percentage is, like, 90 something. We're gonna make it!"
After the wedding, Mary Kate posted a half dozen photos to Instagram of the happy couple's honeymoon in Australia and Bali.
What's next? In her blog, Mary Kate says, "One of our first adventures together is moving away from Louisiana to [Lynchburg] Virginia to go to school at Liberty University. We will be 14 hours away from our family and friends, so that is how I got the idea to start a blog."
TV TIDBITS
And now, short stuff from the TV critics' summer press tour as reported by The Associated Press.
• More George. TV Land has ordered 12 episodes of the comedy Lopez starring George Lopez. The half hour, set for 2016, revolves around Lopez and his struggles to fit in between his working class Hispanic background and his affluent celebrity life.
• The Last Ship. TNT has ordered a third season for next summer of the action/adventure starring Eric Dane and Adam Baldwin. It currently airs at 8 p.m. Sundays. Past episodes are available at tntdrama.com.
• Britney and Jane. Britney Spears, a big fan of the show, will play herself in the fifth episode of Season 2 of The CW's Jane the Virgin. The season debuts at 8 p.m. Oct. 12.
• Timely tales. Showtime's Homeland returns for Season 5 at 8 p.m. Oct. 4. Picking up two years after Season 4, with Claire Danes' Carrie Mathison living in Berlin after having left the CIA, the show will include topics ripped from the headlines, including ISIS, the Paris Charlie Hebdo massacre, and Edward Snowden.
• Opening guests. When CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert debuts Sept. 8, the first two guests will be George Clooney and Jeb Bush.
About the presidential contender, Colbert said on Twitter, "My first GOP candidate! Luckily I do 200 shows a year, so I think I can fit them all."
Bush responded, "Only if you have at least two of us on each show."
• Fond farewell. CBS says it will give CSI a much-deserved two-hour series finale on Sept. 27. Original cast members, including William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger, will be on hand.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email:
mstorey@arkansasonline.com
Style on 08/18/2015