Look out MTV– TLC is getting into the lucrative teen pregnancy market with its just-announced new show, Unexpected!
The show, which premieres next month, takes a look at the lives of three pregnant teenage girls, all of whom were raised by teen moms.
The six-episode series may sound a lot like MTV’s hit show 16 and Pregnant but its focus seems to be more on the relationship between mother and daughter, rather than the pregnant girl and her baby daddy like the MTV shows. However, there is a connection between this show and the ‘Teen Mom’ franchise. Heather Walsh, who worked on Teen Mom OG for years before being let go earlier this year, is now working on ‘Unexpected!’
“So honored and proud to work with these families!!” Heather tweeted on Wednesday.
As Dr. Drew Pinsky has told us at many a ‘Teen Mom’ reunion, children of teen moms are more likely to become teen parents themselves. ‘Unexpected’ takes a closer look at this statistic.
Let’s meet the teen moms…and their moms, shall we?
Lexus, is 15 years old and 38 weeks pregnant by her boyfriend Shayden. Lexus’s mom Kelsey, a former teen mom, is only 31 herself but about to become a grandmother. Lexus’ situation is especially interesting because her grandmother was also a teen mother.
“I never thought I’d be here, with my daughter being 15 and pregnant,” Kelsey says in the trailer.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Lexus replies.
Later, we get to meet Lexus’ grandmother, who also expresses her shock that their family has three generations of women who got pregnant as teens.
“All of us…teen moms…together,” she says.
McKayla is 16 and pregnant by her boyfriend Caelan. She was raised by her grandparents because her mother, Shannon, had her when she was a teenager and was not around. During the filming, McKayla becomes close to her mother, who is (of course!) also pregnant herself.
“I found out McKayla was pregnant through text,” Shannon says in the trailer. “I really wasn’t surprised.”
“Nobody ever told me it was so easy to get pregnant,” McKayla, who is from Florida, says.
McKayla’s son, Timothy, was born in July.
Lilly is also 16. She got knocked up by her boyfriend James just a few months into their relationship. She’s now 27 weeks pregnant, and her family is worried that James won’t stick around for her and the baby.
“I worry that Lilly will be left alone in this journey of motherhood,” Lilly’s mom says in the trailer. “This is not what a mom wants for her daughter — nobody wants this. It’s pretty much a mom’s worst nightmare.”
People reports that, with this show, TLC “is working in partnership with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy in the hopes of sparking meaningful conversations about unplanned pregnancies.”
‘Unexpected’ premieres November 12 on TLC. Watch the first trailer below!
(Photos: TLC)
44 Responses
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Why wouldn’t these girls get pregnant to be on these shows? They watch Teen Mom and they are taking trips, getting new cars, new homes, etc. Almost every single one of them has gotten pregnant again without being married. Are the shows teaching them something or is it just a lucrative career and once the cameras turn off where are they going to be?
Quick Question: The one young father has impressive tatts and a lot of bling. Where’d he get that money, exactly?
I don’t know where he got the money but he should hawk the bling for diapers
I make my teenage daughters watch this to make three things clear: 1. They ARE NOT bringing a baby in to my house until they’re married. And then they and their husband will be living somewhere else. 2. Girls who get pregnant in high school are going to have long hard lives. This isn’t 1940, everyone knows where babies come from. Don’t be stupid. 3. I know NO WOMEN who look back and say “I’m glad I slept with a bunch of boys in high school… it was so worth it”. JUST SAY NO.
Oh, and I don’t believe in Abortion. They turn up pregnant and there’s gonna be an adoption.
(And the one girl, pregnant after a month? Sheeeeeesh.)
@Tim Browne – I’d give you quadruple thumbs up if I could. You are 100% correct in all your assessments.
This is why my daughter got comprehensive sex-ed at 11 years old, and an IUD for her 15th birthday.
People think I’m completely insane about wanting my daughter to get an IUD around the time that she becomes a teenager. I think it’s being responsible and not naive. I don’t want to preach abstinence, abstinence, abstinence knowing full well that that would only drive a wedge and pump up the anxiety and fear of my daughter coming to my husband or I when something does happen.
The sad thing is, it’s not only the parents that failed their kids here, it’s the school system as well. In my school district, we had Sex Ed three times (Grades 6,8 & 9). I lucked out and the teachers I had for these lessons, had no problem talking to the class about any of it. However, there were a handful to teachers who were too uncomfortable, and the proof was in the fact that there were boys and girls in grade 8, going through puberty and panicking because they had no idea what was happening to their bodies, after having taken sex ed twice at that point. Parents and Teachers both need to really step it up, and take the time to explain these things to their children/students, if they want to prevent these things from happening.
I just find it amazing that the STB grandmother in the first family is younger than I was when I had my first child.
I’m still trying to recover from the fact that there are people younger than me becoming grandparents. I’m only 33. Just wow.
Right. My daughter is 32 expecting her first child and I was just thinking I am not sure if she is mature enough to be a mom. LOL
Maybe they should have named the show “Unprepared…or NOT THINKING”..
“UNPROTECTED”
Unexpected?! “Nobody ever told me it was so easy to get pregnant” And the family with a third generation of teen moms………are you kidding me?! I know sex education is bad or non existent in America but really?! I would maybe understand if the grandmother’s daughter got pregnant (even tho she could have told her daughter to be careful) but that another teen in the family gets knocked up, the cycle just goes on. So she will be a great grandmother at what, about 46 year old, that’s crazy! How come not one of them told her daughter not to get pregnant at that age and use protection?!
And yeah, that’s the fate of Teen Mom cast’s children. Most of them will have children when they are 16 themselves. Esp Danielle’s who is already a third generation of teen moms.
Totally agree with you! My best friend is a third generation teenage parent who raised his daughter almost entirely alone; he has never hidden his struggles from her and from the time she was about 12 years old, he’s been entirely open and honest with her about sex and the responsibility that comes with choosing to have sex. He spoke to her and also showed her by example, how a relationship should go and that she should be treated with respect by any boy who wants to date her, letting her know that she should never have to say yes to sex in order to keep a boyfriend.
After she started her period, he got her started on the Depo shot and faithfully took her to get them every three months. He let his daughter know that this wasn’t permission to have sex but rather him understanding that teenagers make hasty decisions without thought to consequences. He spoke to her about STD’s and let her know that her Depo shot would not protect her from those STD’s, so she needed to use condoms too, if she chose to have sex.
His daughter made it to the age of 20 this past March and she has no children, nor any thought toward having any kids anytime soon. She has a good job, her own apartment, her own car and now assumes responsibility for her own birth control regimen (which she does maintain – she’s still very honest with her dad). They’ve had a bumpy road at times but his honesty, diligence, and dedication to his daughter has helped to prevent a 4th generation of teen parents. He still doesn’t consider it a success because he worries that she could be a single parent down the road but either way, she’s still successfully put off parenthood into her 20’s and she is proof that the teen parenting cycle can be broken with education and open communication. The conversations required to get to this point were sometimes difficult and uncomfortable for all involved but they were so necessary. There’s no excuse for a 15 year old girl to say that she “had no idea that she could get pregnant so easily”, especially when her mother and her grandmother both had children in their teens!
How can you name your daughter Lexus?????
And she’s pregnant by SHAYDEN. I can’t wait to see what they name their baby…
“Couldn’t afford a car so she named her daughter a Lexus”
-Kanye
I know a girl who literally said to my face ‘I’m not going to name my kid Mercedes or something tacky and trashy” and then 3 months later popped out a kid she called Kash- with a ‘K’ because “it’s much more unique.”
There is something seriously wrong with education when teenagers say “I didn’t know it was so easy to get pregnant” – uhm, YEAH.
Shouldn’t this show be called “Not Surprised” or something?
Was about to say aomeing similar. A statement like that is just sad. If a teen doesn’t know how easy it is to get pregnant, her mom and/or school has failed her.
didnt tlc already have my teen is pregnant..and so am i?
Yes, they did. I immediately thought of that show when I saw this.
i would like to see a teen choose adoption and actually do something besides sleep and eat out..im looking at you catelynn and tyler..id like to see a girl deal with that while in college and job hunting ..
sounds like some people weren’t paying attention during sex ed. I think I remember taking the class in 7th and 10th grade. they were very clear on how easy it is to get pendant and also how to prevent pregnancy.
Not sure where these girls are from (aside from the one from Florida) but far too many schools in the South do not stress sex ed that isn’t abstinence only based. Pretending that teens won’t have sex has never worked and just results in higher teen pregnancy rates.
I went to Catholic school back in the day. The nuns told us we could get pregnant by sitting at the same lunch table as a boy. I still will not eat dinner at the table with my husband
Wait a minute… Isn’t Heather the producer who was all buddied up to Farrah?
Yes.
MTV claims they fired Heather cause she was getting so close with Farrah, sleeping at her house etc. That was against the contract Heather had with MTV.
Simon claims Amber had Heather fired. Amber did not like how Heather made her look and told MTV to choose between her or Heather, according to that rumor.
Is it the same Heather >
Yes
A lot of groans for another teen Mom esque show but y’all still gonna be watching I bet!
You bet I am!
Also, the person who said they weren’t surprised McKayla got pregnant and found out through text was her grandmother. Her Mom was not in the trailer. McKayla found out she was pregnant at her Mom’s house. lol!
Here is a thought.., let’s not highlight this irresponsible behavior of these young girl and guys but tape the lives of these innocence babies for 18 yrs and conceal the video… then give them a choice to be exploited! if they choose to let it become a reality show let them decide and make all the money instead of the indulgent little girls who had sex to early.
McKayla actually has a YouTube channel, she’s had it since the beginning of her pregnancy. She did a Q&A with her and her Mom, in the video they revealed that when her Dad committed sucide her Mom wasn’t mentally stable to take care of her and her brother and that’s why she lives with her grandparents! I believe she was between 4-6 when that happened.
that’s so sad! I guess getting pregnant was her way of putting a bandaid on those feelings she has about nor having her parents in her life.
The next show will follow a group of great-great-grandmothers as they prepare for retirement.
I really hope Lilly and James name their baby Harry…
Bahahahahaha!! That’s the best comment ever!
As long as it’s not Albus Severus. Still incredulous about that…
They always say these shows are meant to stop teen pregnancies, but I think they do the opposite. MTV and TLC need to stop throwing money (and new baby bonuses) at teen moms.
Ugh…here we go again. Thanks producer Heather in your effort to create more entitlement for irresponsible teens (and their mothers).
Agree!! They sensational teen pregnancies!! Why not show a good show about teens who do the opposite!! Like study and go to college. Hey, maybe they work AND go to college supporting themselves!! Or maybe they have really horrible parents, etc., but rise above it. And later……guess what they get a job, get MARRIED and have a nice life!!