The latest season of 16 and Pregnant introduced a whole new host of baby daddy drama and questionable parenting from teen moms. Since MTV claims their show is actually doing wonders to lower the teen pregnancy rate, they network seems reduced to casting crazier and crazier teen moms, each one with a nuttier situation than the last! That trend will continue, sadly.
I’ll admit I didn’t watch very many episodes from this season after I saw one girl who got knocked up after a one-night stand, another girl desperately in love with a pothead, and a third girl who was living with her boyfriend to escape her drug addicted mom. What I’m saying here is that it all became too frustrating and I tapped out. Besides, I had my hands-full with the original Teen Mom nightmares: Farrah Abraham, Leah Messer Simms Messer Calvert Messer, again(?) and Jenelle Evans.
However, source say that MTV, which recently revived Teen Mom and renewed Teen Mom 2, is working to create Teen Mom 4 from the latest batch of teen train wrecks. Oh goody.
Above, 16 And Pregnant season 5’s Arianna argues with baby daddy Maurice on the reunion special.
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The network just aired a 16 And Pregnant Season 5 Update to follow-up on the girls from the latest season. As to be expected most of the baby daddies are not involved, most of the relationships have broken up, and most of the girls are struggling to get their lives together while raising children.
During the special, 3 of the girls didn’t film, instead doing Skype interviews to update viewers on where they are now. The success stories featured Jordan Cashmyer, mother of Genevieve, becoming a stripper, Arianna who actually is working and going to school, while caring for her son Aiden. She is also said she is on Depo to prevent future pregnancies. Plus Aleah and Shawn, who are still together, both working, and Aleah goes to college at night after caring for her kids during the day (Shawn has a son from a previous relationship).
According to TeenMomJunkies despite the failure of Teen Mom 3 (many people, including myself, blamed the casting choices), MTV is going ahead with a Teen Mom 4 because the girls from this latest season had so much drama and there is a sudden resurgence of interest in the franchise.
Apparently the network is basing it on ratings from the recent season 5 catch-up so if they are high enough they will begin filming for Teen Mom 4, which would serve as an audition for the future cast. Several of the girls were tweeting asking for fans to watch to boost ratings, which seems to support that theory.
Sources add that girls who did not show up for the Update (like Jazmin, the one with a ton of legal dramas with her baby daddy) are not eligible to be cast in TM4. Hmmm… not so sure about that – Karley, the Mormon girl with twins, did a Skype session because she couldn’t travel, but I’m positive MTV would cast her mess in a heartbeat!
Moving on, MTV also has another season of 16 And Pregnant in the works! An official casting notice, leaked by The Ashley’s Reality Round-Up confirms MTV is currently in the process of looking for girls who want to “give viewers a look inside the realities of teen pregnancy.”
The network is hoping to really up the ante by teaming-up with hospitals around the country to find girls in extreme and “unique” situations. As if any pregnant teen isn’t in an extreme situation, as is! Plus they’ve already had homeless girls, addicts, abusive relationships, girls whose parents are addicts – the list goes on!
TeenMomJunkies reveals that MTV is having issues casting subsequent seasons and are looking for outside help from hospitals, etc. because the girls are becoming increasingly demanding and difficult to work with now that they know the power of Teen Mom celebrity. Delightful.
As a result, MTV is planning to go in a different direction to sort of blend Teen Mom with 16 and Pregnant by filming the girls for a longer period time; filming for about 9 months through the pregnancy and after the birth, instead of the usual 5 months. This way viewers will get a better idea of the girl’s situations after the baby is born, which seems to be the thing that really interests viewers – and MTV won’t have to bother with so many update specials, etc.
Sources say MTV has other changes in the work to alter the stigma the show has received, i.e. round-aboutly promoting teen pregnancy by giving these girls a celebrity platform. Therefore the participants will be paid far less than in previous seasons!
It used to be that the girls were paid $5,000 upfront and reimbursed for medical expenses, as well as paid for time on-screen (i.e. if they shot the episode but didn’t air it the girls were still paid, but girls whose episode made it to TV got a bigger paycheck). But now since the network is tired of pregnant teen divas, they’re only reimbursing and compensating for time on-screen. This is a result of last season’s Maddy Godsey – the season premiere girl with the wonky bangs and the one-night stand baby-daddy who was an addict and had another kid already – apparently she was a real nightmare to work with and her town tried to prevent MTV from filming there citing negative connotations.
The new season is slated to air in late 2015! And MTV is hoping to keep the cast a bit-more underwraps to boost suspense.
TELL US – WHO WOULD YOU CAST FOR TEEN MOM 4? IS MTV TAKING 16 AND PREGNANT IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?
[Photo Credit: MTV]
