We’ve known for quite some time that MTV needs to address its growing Teen Mom problem.
Ratings for Teen Mom OG, Teen Mom 2, and all of the other spin-offs in the Teen Mom-iverse have been on the decline for years.
And that’s a problem for the network, as the stars of the franchise continue to receive raises with each new season, meaning that the shows are becoming more expensive to produce while attracting smaller and smaller audiences.
Yes, it was only a matter of time before execs did something about the situation, and while we’ve been expecting them to take action, we weren’t expecting — this.
According to a new report from The Ashley’s Reality Roundup, MTV might soon engage in a “Hail Mary! attempt” to rescue its formerly popular franchise.
The plan is to combine TMOG and TM2 into one mega-show, which may or may not be called just Teen Mom.
More on that later!
“This is like their last-ditch effort to keep the shows going,” a source close to the situation tells The Ashley.
The insider adds that the news is “circulating through the casts and crews but I don’t think it’s made its way to everyone,”
The cast probably isn’t thrilled with the retooling plan, but hey — it beats the alternative of outright cancelation!
Obviously, it would impossible to squeeze all of that “talent” into one show, so it’s likely that some of the less popular moms will be handed their walking papers.
Another possibility is that producers will work with a rotating cast, which might cut down on the boredom factor that’s been chipping away at the franchise’s viewership in recent years.
“That way it would only cover the girls who actually had something interesting happening in their lives at that moment,” says the source.
“There are just too many people working on this franchise and it’s not bringing in the ratings and money it once did,” the insider adds.
“They needed to come up with a way to keep the show going but in a cheaper way. The casts’ salaries are enormous and it costs a lot of money to fly all over the country to film the girls.”
Yeah, it turns out that sending an entire production crew to rural Pennsylvania so that Kailyn Lowry can get half a mil to talk about remodeling her kitchen just wasn’t sustainable as a business model.
Who would’ve thought?!
The new, condensed format might require the ladies to spend more time filming in the same location.
Ratings for Teen Mom: Family Reunion were also quite poor, but it seems that producers were impressed with every other aspect of the project.
“Everyone was in one place, making the cost, scheduling and COVID protocols much easier than going to the girls’ homes,” a second source tells The Ashley.
Whatever they decide, it’s clear that the TM producers need to do somehting.
The Teen Mom 2 Season 11 premiere brought in the third-lowest ratings in franchise history, and premieres usually perform better than the episodes that come later in the season.
So yeah, the situation will probably only get worse from there.
As for the title of the new project, it seems that nothing has been decided on yet, but producers are aware of the need for a change.
“These girls haven’t been teens in over a decade. It’s ridiculous that they’re still on a show called Teen Mom,” the second source says.
“Fans have been saying it for years, so it’s likely that the [new] show’s name will not be Teen Mom, or at the very least, will be changed to better reflect their current situations.”
Might we recommend True Life: I Peaked In High School?
Just kidding, ladies!
