16 and Pregnant is about to return to MTV.
But it's not gonna look like it did the last time around.
Far from it, in fact.
The original version of this franchise launched in 2009 and introduced viewers to the famous names you now see each week on Teen Mom 2 and/or Teen Mom OG.
The program, however, often came under extreme fire for glorifying pregnancy at a young age.
These teenagers got pregnant out of wedlock, often a serious and troublesome circumstance for the expecting mothers, and were handed both a large paycheck and an influential platforrm.
Was this really a good idea?
Fast forward over a decade later and the network sounds as if it's trying to learn some lessons from past mistakes.
The new iteration of 16 and Pregnant will chronicle the unexpected pregnancy journey from multiple perspectives, not just from the young mother.
According to a MTV press release:
"Intimate video confessionals from members of each family will allow the series to more substantively explore the lives of those impacted by the experience, with honesty and empathy."
Says Nina L. Diaz, President and Chief Creative Content Officer, ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Group:
"More than a decade after 16 and Pregnant played a significant role in bringing the teen pregnancy rate down to record lows, we are sharing the stories of a new generation of young parents and underscoring the impact of an unplanned pregnancy on families – beyond the moms and dads-to-be – by showing authentic and intimate moments with siblings and grandparents-to-be addressing the life change."
The new (and improved?) 16 and Pregnant episodes will still be brought to us by the show's well-known executive producers, Morgan J. Freeman and Dia Sokol Savage.
They will also feature Larry Musnik, who is pictured above and who appears frequently on the Teen Mom franchise, along with several others.
MTV recently announced it was expanding its 16 and franchise with 16 and Recovering, an up-close, four-part documentary series that follows the triumphs and challenges of nine students attending Northshore Recovery High School in Beverly, Massachusetts.
It was founded to address the rise in adolescent addiction in the midst of the opioid epidemic.
Check out the trailer for 16 and Pregnant now!
