MTV has explored the world of teens dealing with an unplanned pregnancy with its show 16 and Pregnant, and now it will take a deep dive into the world of teenage drug addiction.
The network announced on Monday that its new show, 16 and Recovering, will focus on the students of Northshore Recovery High School, a school located in Beverly, Massachusetts, that specializes in helping students who are struggling with addiction, trauma and mental health issues.
According to the show bio, “16 and Recovering” will air over four episodes and follow “the triumphs and challenges of students attending a recovery high school in Boston.”
“With unprecedented access over the course of a school year, the series follows the lives of students on the challenging road to graduation who must also battle substance use and mental health disorders along the way.”
“These children, in their worst day, come here,” the school’s founder Michelle Lipinski says in the official trailer. “That doesn’t happen in regular schools. They just disappear.”
The series will show the ups and downs of addiction life. In one scene, we see the students proudly announce their sobriety dates in class, and later, graduation day for some of the students.
In another scene, the students sob after Michelle tells them that someone (presumably another student) overdosed and died earlier that morning.
In the extended preview, one girl tells us that, “once you hear drug addiction, everyone thinks, ‘Oh, they were a junkie.’ People look down on us. They don’t want us in their school districts. They don’t want us hanging out with their kids. When you take a drug addict and you put them alone, they’re going to do more drugs. That’s what we do.”
“People are afraid of drug addicts because people fear the unknown,” another student says in a voiceover in the trailer.
Michelle explains that currently, she has about 50 students enrolled in the school. Students are drug-tested, and are offered alternative means of therapy, including yoga and counseling.
“Traditional education is built for the needs of the masses,” Michelle says. “It’s built for students who can. What happens when those kids can’t because they have untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders?
“I can’t put lipstick on the pig of addiction anymore,” she added. “I kind of have to own who were are, because we’re in the middle of an opioid crisis.”
Watch the trailer below.
The first episode of “16 and Recovering” airs Tuesday, September 1 on MTV. Watch the extended preview below:
(Photos: MTV)
23 Responses
Ok. Youll are not fully embracing these kids. They are way beyond ccft iop laxadaisy and u put them on tv. We need The Rancg stripped down raw with more psychiatrist than recovery addicts guidance counselors. Everyone in recovery asks are you in recovery… the education positively and multiple dimensional mental health substance abuse and Hollistic including exercise eating right following a schedule is more important. This show also fantasizing hard-core drugs. So if Dr Drew who I use to study is a producer and went from breaking hard-core celebrities and changing someone as difficult as Jason whalers life to this crap. There minds not developed were in personify and family at this age…oh and no one in treatment needs in 28 30 days or more whole waking hours they need reading sound therapy exercise individual help support systems closely monitored whos allowed family visits case management extronaite making appointments making sure they following through no bedbugs non amity for aslds whe they get home while making them still not isolated and treated like humans when in treatment
Did anyone watch last night?
I really liked it, but these kiddos do NOT need big FAT checks from Mtv.
They need more people like Michelle ( the principal)
The girl w/ pink hair, her Mom was deaf. I am really rooting for her to stay clean!
I can’t believe some of y’all actually think the students are going to be the ones getting paid. If ANYTHING, they’re getting a ‘day rate’ similar to what the friends/family of TM/TM2 gets. And it’s not much. I’m gonna go with that the school got a generous donation from MTV/Viacom, which I’m sure they badly need. Schools like this rely solely on donations, volunteers, (possibly) grants, but I think this show is a great idea. High school is where my addiction got started (my friends and I used to play ‘X-death’ with my friends sisters Xanax prescription, and see who could eat the most before we passed out. When I got my wisdom teeth, I fell in love with the 90 10mg norco with one refill that I got prescribed. No way would someone get that now, for a simple wisdom tooth extraction. I came from an upper middle class family, and school district, where the school administrators swept the drug problems under the rug. Kids could get the money from their parents for the drugs, and the parents were none the wiser. I’m sure it’s different now, this is late 90’s I’m talking about. Sorry for the tangent lol… but like I said, a school like this is a great idea.. and I’m surprised they only have 50 students, especially with as bad as the Boston area has been hit by the opioid epidemic. Sadly though, it’s pretty rare for someone of high school age to finally ‘get it’ and get clean at that young of an age. It happens, of course. But not much. Unfortunately, with all the fentanyl around, many don’t get the chance to experience true sobriety, and it’s sad.
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This God sent keep this going. I m 34 years sober from pills booze anything. I’m crying because this GOG working Thur you. Many of my friends are dead in there teens and and twenty. please take seriously I can donate money so will millions of other people. Don’t stop. Get it on the news tv program s MTV $$$$$$$&$$$ save the world like what AA alateen. God bless all You an you an you
I really hope they don’t turn this show into a spin off where they follow specific kids for 11 years, and they possibly become worse off than they were before because they’re now addicts with a ton of money…sound familiar?
I use to watch Intervention and liked it for a few years. I am in recovery and slowly realized that Intervention is exploiting the addict and/or alcoholic. The 8 minutes at the end was the only thing about recovery. The rest of the show was showing the antics of the addict. The more crazy and obscene the better! The producers of this “16 And Addicted” will try to portray this as all about recovery. Instead, it will focus on them nodding out, stealing, begging, manipulating, ect..I wonder if Morgan “No Morals” Freeman will help produce this show also?
I think I may be the only comment who actually supports this show. I think it is good to highlight a school that is trying to help these kids in need. I really don’t think this show will be giving huge paychecks like 16 and Pregnant / Teen Mom did. This seems more like a True Life type of show and it is good to #1 bring awareness to the severity of drug use and #2 show parents there are places like this and programs out there to help kids in need.
The girls on 16&Pregnant didn’t get paid much at all. Only the ones who got picked for teen mom made the money, and that wasn’t until season 2 until it was sure it was going to be a hit. I don’t think TM2 got paid much at first either, during filming, jenelle always lived with Barb and her little brother, because she was too broke to live anywhere else. You can tell they wouldn’t get paid til filming was done, cause on Twitter. JE would be showing off all her VS pink sweatsuits, tattoos, new apartments with whatever soulmate she had at the fine. And nothing for poor Jace. Fuckin scumbag.
Watched it tonight and feel it’s an important show to be put out there. Talking about teen addicts isn’t all that common.
Why did their parents and teachers agree to have them filmed by MTV? Why does nobody protect these kids?
Even when MTV was know for making documentaries with the greatest care and integrity, their issues, their behaviour on their worst days will be shared and remembered. The internet doesn’t forget and people and potential employers know how to use it.
Is there any group left for MTV to exploit?
Physical or mentally disabled teens, thank God.
MTV giving big pay cheques to young people with addictions then sitting back with their popcorn. How is this allowed?!
I highly doubt the kids themselves are getting paid, MTV probably have the school money, as schools like this are always looking for money. Actually, it’s probably why the school did the show in the first place.
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The opioid crises is real. However , mtv exploiting more children for profit is another crisis in itself . Disgusting
Jenelle turned out so well…
Oh, great. More children for MTV too exploit for monetary gain. Addiction is a very important issue right now, but we all know that MTV is going to ruin these kids’ lives.
A new low for MTV
16 years olds, drugs, bad choices, MTV casting this = JACKPOT!!!!!!
stay lit, and high
This is an awful idea. I hope they lock their earnings into a college/trade trust fund. Handing 5k to a person struggling with addiction may as well sign their death certificate.
Brilliant idea MTV!… Let’s exploit these children and call it “awareness.” MTV doesn’t give a shit and this is a whole new low… I feel so bad for these kids and others who are struggling… But I don’t see what good this will bring. I really don’t. They need real help. Not MTV.
Is this going to be followed by Teen Addict, a show that follows addicts into their 30s?
In all seriousness, addiction is a terrible disease… i hope the children on this show find peace and the inevitable exploitation by MTV doesn’t affect them or their recovery negatively (though sadly, i feel it inevitably will for most)