MTV is bringing back “16 and Pregnant,” which launched in 2009 but hasn’t aired since 2014.
What MTV is calling “a newly reimagined docuseries” will air a six-episode season beginning next month with all new moms and stories.
The 2020 iteration – part of MTV’s “16 and” franchise – will follow the unexpected pregnancy journey from multiple perspectives, not just from the young mother, according to MTV’s description. Video confessionals from members of each family aim to allow the series to more substantively explore the lives of those impacted by the experience.
Readers can watch a promo via the video above.
The original “16 and Pregnant” spawned three spinoffs, “Teen Mom OG” (a.k.a. the original “Teen Mom”), “Teen Mom 2” and “Teen Mom: Young + Pregnant.”
MTV recently launched a new “16 and” sister program “16 and Recovering,” a four-part documentary series that follows the triumphs and challenges of nine students attending Northshore Recovery High School in Beverly, Massachusetts. The high school was founded to address the rise in adolescent addiction in the midst of the opioid epidemic.
“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,” said Nina L. Diaz, the president and chief creative content officer for ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth Group.
Diaz’s remark about the original “16 and Pregnant” helping to reduce the teen pregnancy rate is referring to this study from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
“16 and Pregnant” is executive produced for MTV by Morgan J. Freeman and Dia Sokol Savage of Anxious Eleven LLC, and by Larry Musnik. Benjamin Hurvitz, Jessica Zalkind and Nadim Amiry are executive producers for MTV.
The revamped “16 and Pregnant” premieres Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.