16 and pregnant biography

ByBrent Furdyk

16 and Pregnant debuted in 2009, when MTV took the reality TV genre in a controversial new direction, documenting the real-life struggles of teenagers in the midst of unplanned pregnancies.

From an entertainment perspective, the circumstances proved to be a natural source of drama, given the combination of teenage and pregnancy hormones, along with blindsided parents — to say nothing of the inherent challenges of taking a trigonometry final while suffering from morning sickness.

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Described by The New York Times as "a documentary-style series about real-life Junos," the show was a hit for MTV, which had long since abandoned the music videos of its heyday to embrace reality programming.

As The Wrapreported, when 16 and Pregnant returned for its second season in 2010, ratings were through the roof. That season premiere, in fact, attracted 3.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched cable show of the