At 5:30 on a school morning in Las Vegas, Deon Derrico’s alarm goes off — and the first job of the day belongs to the man who once ran a television household of 16. He is not waking a camera crew. He is getting ready to drive a school bus.
Two years after Doubling Down With the Derricos ended its five-season run on TLC, the family’s days look nothing like the show — and everything like the show’s real subject: getting 14 kids through the day. The divorce, the auction, and the long road back split one television household into two school-run operations: Deon drives a bus, Karen Derrico substitute-teaches, and 12 of their 14 children live under Deon’s roof, according to court papers. And now, according to reports, the cameras are rolling again.
5:30 A.M.: The Bus Driver’s Alarm Goes Off
Deon revealed in a November 2025 podcast interview that he works as a school bus driver — the honest answer to what happens when the TLC paychecks stop. The man who spent five seasons counting 14 children in birth order now gets other people’s children to school safely, on time, every morning. In July 2026 he told The Sarah Fraser Show that three of his daughters were still sleeping in his bedroom — afraid, he said, after the family’s hardest year.
7 A.M.: Twelve Backpacks by the Door
By 7 a.m., the house is a small school in itself — twelve backpacks, twelve kids, seven to sixteen. The triplets are seven, twins Diez and Dior are nine, the quintuplets are thirteen — five teenagers at once — Derrick is sixteen, Dallas and Denver fifteen. And the eldest, Darian, is twenty — living on her own, chasing the music dream her parents once fought over, the only one of the 14 outside the custody arrangement.
Midday: The Substitute Teacher Across Town
While Deon is behind the wheel, Karen is across town at the front of someone else’s classroom. Deon drives a school bus while Karen substitute-teaches, according to his November 2025 podcast interview. A new room of strangers every morning — the same line-holding she once did for 14 of her own. The divorce was filed on June 4, 2024 and finalized two days later, after 19 years of marriage. Deon pays $1,166 a month in child support while Karen covers the kids’ health insurance, per TMZ and ET.
Las Vegas police arrested Karen on June 17, 2026, on charges including aggravated stalking and violating a protective order, over emails Deon says she sent. She pleaded not guilty, was released on $2,000 bond with an ankle monitor, and her attorney says Deon fabricated the emails — a claim Deon denies. The case remains open, and Karen is presumed innocent.
YOU MAY LIKE“We’re Filming Right Now” — Deon Derrico Confirms the Derricos’ TV Return Is Coming3 P.M.: Homework at the Table That Once Held a TV Crew
By mid-afternoon the kids are home, and the table that once held a TV crew holds homework instead. The Las Vegas home went to auction in September with no bids, according to reports. Through it all, one person has stayed constant: Marian “GG” Derrico, Deon’s mother and the family anchor, whose cancer battle was one of the show’s most emotional storylines. When Deon talked about filming again in May 2026, his words were “GG, and I will be filming.”
Evening: The Cameras Come Back to Dinner
And then dinner — the scene the fandom has waited two years to see. The comeback began in the kitchen: Deon posted the kids helping prep the Thanksgiving meal, a fan begged for the show’s return, and Deon answered, “Awww thank you, and yes you will definitely see more of us, we are filming right now for our new season.” Asked when it would air, he reportedly replied: “Not yet, next year.” No network, no title, no date — just a 2027 target, according to reports.
If the new season opens at 5:30 a.m. on Deon’s bus route, should episode one end at Karen’s classroom door — or stay with Deon and the 12 kids at home?
More Doubling Down with the Derricos drama
Doubling Down with the DerricosFrom a Detroit Dance Floor to Divorce Court: The 22-Year Story of Deon and Karen Derrico
Doubling Down with the DerricosShould Karen Derrico Be in the Comeback? The Fandom Is Split in Two
Doubling Down with the DerricosKaren Everett’s 5 Wildest One-Liners, Ranked — ‘Harvest the American Dollar’ Still Reigns
