Teen Mom OG continues to chug along into its eleventh year on the air; however, the ratings for the long-running MTV have started to become a trainwreck!
The ninth season of ‘Teen Mom OG’ premiered on January 26, featuring original girls Maci Bookout, Catelynn Lowell and Amber Portwood as well as replacement girls Cheyenne Floyd and Mackenzie McKee. So far, four episodes have aired from the season. As The Ashley previously reported, the eighth season of ‘Teen Mom OG’ ended with the worst ratings the show has ever had— until now.
Season 9 got off to a somewhat decent start— with numbers in the mid- to high-600,000s— but they’ve quickly fallen into 500,000s. This marks the first time the show’s ratings have ever fallen so low.
The season premiere on January 26 brought in a respectable 687,000 viewers. From there, though, things began to fall, with the February 2 episode bringing in 656,000 viewers, according to Showbiz Daily.
The third episode of the season was the lowest-rank episode of ‘Teen Mom OG’ ever, with only 541,000 viewers. This week’s episode was up slightly (but still pretty dismal) at 572,000 viewers.
While these numbers aren’t as bad as, say, Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant (which usually brings ratings in the low- to mid-400,000s), they are a huge plummet from where the show once was.
The June 2, 2020 season finale of ‘Teen Mom OG’ garnered only 692,000 viewers. That episode’s ratings were the worst of the season, except for the episode that aired the week before on May 26, which brought in only 644,000 viewers.
In its heyday, ‘Teen Mom OG’ was a huge ratings-grabber for MTV. For example, the Season 5A premiere— which aired on May 25, 2015— had a whopping 1,538,000 viewers! If you go back even more, to when the show was simply called ‘Teen Mom,’ the ratings were even higher. The pilot episode of ‘Teen Mom’— which aired in December 2009— premiered with 2.1 million viewers. By the end of the first season, ratings were at 3.6 million viewers. By the Season 2 finale— which aired in October 2010— the show had an astronomical 5.6 million viewers!
As The Ashley previously reported, the decline in ratings is likely due to the show’s age. However, the last two seasons may have taken a hit due to the network’s decision to keep Amber on the show, despite her 2019 domestic battery arrest and the aftermath. The Ashley broke the news in September that Viacom had chosen not to fire Amber, and it appears that some loyal viewers are still not happy about that decision. Some fans took to social media to let MTV know that they are not watching this season, due to the fact that Amber is still on the show.
If you want to read The Ashley’s recaps from the current season of ‘Teen Mom OG,’ click here!
(Photos: MTV)
66 Responses
When catelyn gets political, amber is not had any consequences, wtf wants to watch that shit – I mean wtf goes to a psychic to find out if they’re pregame??
This season sucks so far. The only story line that has any legs is Maci’s, but I hate to see Bentley go through what he’s going through with his dad and his dads side of the family…Maci and Cheyenne are the only ones I actually pay attention to, and a little bit of Cate and Tyler….the other 2, I have no interest in McKee constantly whining about these fake problems in her marriage, and absolutely no interest in Gary trying to make Ambo and Kristina sister wives. I can’t believe I’m saying it, because I’ve watched the show for YEARS, but it might finally be time to pack it in.
This season has been incredibly boring. Literally nothing is happening. I get there’s a pandemic and it’s hard to find storylines when everyone is (supposed to be) staying at home, but there’s just nothing happening. I also think it was a mistake to have five moms on instead of four, because it seems like each storyline gets about 5 minutes an episode. They should just have one “Teen Mom” franchise and put the ones with the interesting storylines in. Or just scrap both and focus the attention on “young and pregnant,” because those storylines are actually compelling, because the girls aren’t making the big bucks yet.
Amber is a domestic abuser and Cheyenne’s racist comments about killing white babies seems to be ok. If it was a white woman making comments about black children there would be outrage. Those two pieces of trash are the reason we stopped watching.
These girls are senior citizens of teen mom. Bring in some teens and get rid of the AARP’s
You can only watch people who are being paid hundreds of thousands sitting on couches complaining about the poor choices they made in baby makers for so long. Then it gets boring.
The poor ratings for this show have been discussed ad nauseam. There’s a new season of 16 and pregnant going on, maybe they’re waiting till the episodes to air before deciding whether to recast or not.
It’s time for the show to be done. Hopefully these girls have saved up some money…
*it’s*
MTV needs to get some fresh material. Lame AF Jersey Shore Family Vacation, Teen Mom OG….these shows are past their prime and need to be cancelled NOW. Even Snookie had enough sense to move on. I only watch Teen Mom for the Ashley’s recaps and it’t hate watching.
The storylines just keep on repeating themselves. Maci’s is ‘Ryan is still a scumbag’, Cate and Tyler’s is ‘They “stole” Carly from us and we DESPERATELY want a baby boy’, Cheyenne I don’t watch but it’s probably just about Cory, Mackenzie’s is “Will me and Josh stay married or not? Oh, he screwed another girl, oh well, as long as we stay married…” Then the’re Amber, siting on the couch, bitching about Gary and Kristina and how she wants to see Leah while she can’t go see her son because there’s a chance of rain?! Imagine if something happened to that precious little boy, “Oh sorry, I can’t visit him in a hospital, a raindrop fell on my foot!” She is the only one who doesn’t deserve the title ‘MOM’.
I don’t think firing Amber wouldn’t made much of a ratings difference one way or the other. Morally it would be the right thing, but look at how long they hung on to Farrah and Jenelle. They don’t make any casting corrections quickly. I think it has just run its course. No new car members, 12th baby, or for the show business can fix that.
*cast
This needs to be over. Two of the 5 girls aren’t even OG, and I don’t care one bit about either of them.
As for the originals, Amber is a train wreck and a liability, she needs to be gone.
I am so over Cate and Tyler’s bullshit. I used to have so much sympathy for them, and I still admire them for being mostly stable and sober given their upbringing. But they are wasting their opportunities, they are a terrible couple and it turns out they’re shit parents too.
Maci is meh. Nothing to see or care about. Tired of hearing about Ryan and his attention-whore wife.
Really, this should have come to an end years ago.
If this season promo picture is any indication of the future, then I would say this season is the TM OG series Swan Song.
It’s definitely run its course. Chelsea was pretty, but so boring, and her Rick Steves-voice husband was equally dull. Ditto for Maci – also, I’m so tired of waiting for her to change that hair style.
The only thing I will miss is The Ashley’s hilarious round up on the show.
What is the average age and the educational background of viewers?
Apart from the fact its so confusing which is in which order when you begin… im Australia 1st off its near on impossible so watch or locate the original episodes die to their age apparently ( yet i can get movies older then this).
2nd its impossible to get all the episodes on any payed tv… some scattered here and there but nothing completely!
The only place where it all comes close to being able to be watched is on YouTube…. but the cost to watch is absolutely insane and very unrealistic for the everyday person… let alone for the average teen these days that would like to learn from the originals.
I watch the real housewives of _____ when I want to see rich people “struggles”. These ladies have not really grown up, and it’s boring. And if the storylines EVER changed, it would be interesting but I can tell you what every girl will “tell” each season and it’s BORING
No. One. Cares.
Who wants to watch rich ungrateful 30 or close to 30 not teen moms? No one. Even the 16 and pregnant season- I’ve only seen a few that are 16. MTV needs to shut this down!
I won’t watch it anymore. The fired Jenelle when she’s living with abuser instead helping her. They penalized her but Amber can continuously beat on men and they keep her. MyV sucks they should be ashamed of themselves for firing an abused women who only means of support was that show. Whether agree with staying with an abuser the dynamics of abuse is different. I’m a survivor of abuse so I understand it. Jenelle has problems. It’s sad but she loves her kids
Is that you Jenelle?
If that was Jenelle’s only means of support, that was her own damn fault. She could have focused on herself and her one child she had at the time and secured herself a good job… She did go to school for M.A. Certification but that went to waste… She chose to date and live with scumbags, it’s disgusting how many men she’s lived with before she turned 30. Her job was picking losers to be with then moving on to the next. No sympathy.
Stay tuned for some stay-worthy story lines…. Cate and Tyler fighting! Ryan back on the H-train! Amber attempts to murder her boyfriend and son with a machete on the 4th of July!…. wait. That last one actually happened. Ok, go ahead and scrap the show.
Yes I hate-watch (more a folding laundry show) but can’t wait til this series meets its much overdue end.
The ratings are dropping because 1 everybody tired of Maci talking about Ryan she has a husband an other kids move that story line to them now let Ryan and his wife have they on family drama an bliss
2 chyanne boring an keep secrets
3 Tyler an Catlin story is just sad an boring they still have the same storyline we tired of hearing about butch an having depression it’s been they storyline from the beginning show what catlin do all day from sun up to sun down in a day without the same stuff
3 amber we tired of seeing her look like she this crazy horrible angry female let her go on an adventure with her family on they on episode let her find herself she need a spin off
Kailyn she good let her go on an adventure stop showing her babydadddy drama’s it’s boring she not a teen anymore show what they do everyday when the cameras off
That’s why the show boring they are not teens no more
It’s not Amber….the show is boring now. There isn’t any drama, and that’s what hooked viewers. Chelsea leaving is HUGE, Janelle and Barbara kept it interesting, and Maci is as dull as watching paint dry. More needs to be seen with Amber, the drama, and there are too many shows. Teen mom, Teen mom 2, teen OG….wtf. Make one or two shows..the Og’s and then the replacements in another one. Period. Also it’s on MTV and most don’t have cable anymore, and stream. I can’t stream MTV without paying and I’m not paying. Put them on HULU as part of the package. Just some suggestions. We need more of Kale’s private life with baby daddy’s and nobody cares about McKenzie or whatever her name is.
Maybe MTV should start over with a brand new cast of 15/16 year olds? People want to see babies and reality, not 30 year old with incomes that show absolutely no hardships. Yah, it must be tough to have 3 different baby daddies in an $800,000 house….NOT.
There is no struggle anymore and no drama. People want to be able to relate, and nothing is relatable. What’s her name is just ANNOYING AF..Brianna. smh. She needs to sit down and stfu.
There is my two cents. ?
Amber is the reason I refuse to watch Teen Mom OG. I won’t support that abuser.
It’s not Amber….the show is boring now. There isn’t any drama, and that’s what hooked viewers. Chelsea leaving is HUGE, Janelle and Barbara kept it interesting, and Maci is as dull as watching paint dry. More needs to be seen with Amber, the drama, and there are too many shows. Teen mom, Teen mom 2, teen OG….wtf. Make one or two shows..the Og’s and then the replacements in another one. Period. Also it’s on MTV and most don’t have cable anymore, and stream. I can’t stream MTV without paying and I’m not paying. Put them on HULU as part of the package. Just some suggestions.
Well that’s great, that’s just f***in’ great man. Now what the f*** are we supposed to do? We’re in some real pretty shit now man… That’s it man, game over man, game over! What the f*** are we gonna do now? What are we gonna do?
stay lit
I thought that MTV was now just a continuous loop of “Ridiculousness” episodes!
Keeping amber on is NOT why people stopped watching. If anything it’s why the ratings aren’t even worse. People lie that they want the dramatic cast members off but in reality, al that does is destroy the ratings. Look how much ratings tanked after Farrah and Jenelle were
Booted. They were the stars of their shows whether you want to admit it or not.
Speak for yourself. I genuinely stopped watching TM2 after the dog murder and TMOG because they supported Amber through child and domestic abuse. Granted, I won’t be tuning back in if they drop Amber at this point because I’m happier to just catch the occasional update on Reddit and watching a show called Teen Mom in my 30s is not the best look. Had Viacom done the right thing in both of those situations, I would have likely still been a viewer.
Same reasons I no longer watch either show.
Same. RIP NUGGET
I stopped watching Teen Mom when they brought in Cheyenne and Bristol Palin. I have no issue with the decision to fire Farrah, but I did not think it was necessary to replace her at all. At that point in the show’s run I felt like I was somewhat invested in Maci, Amber, and Catelynn. I was hate-watching the show since by that point it was already so boring, but I was invested. When they brought in new cast members and now I was NOT invested in 40% of the cast, there was no reason to stay. I did not watch The Challenge or Are You The One, so I had no idea who Cheyenne was, but never understood why they brought her in when she is not a teen mom. You have ONE job to qualify for this show called “Teen Mom” and Cheyenne did not do it. I was never a fan of Bristol Palin and avoided all of her other failed reality TV stints so this one was no different. I stopped watching Teen Mom 2 a season or two ago too. If I wanted to watch Young & Pregnant, I would have watched Young & Pregnant.
I may come back for an actual OG show with Maci, Amber, Catelynn, Leah, and Kail, but it’s probably too late for that even.
I don’t like or care about any of them, anymore. Haven’t watched.
The show has gotten really boring. I fast forward through Cheyenne, idk who she is, and she wasn’t a teen mom.
Amber is disgusting. On this last episode, she was talking about staying in Gary’s backyard and how Leah talked about how she would just come over. And Amber commented “well, she better call first.” And all I could think, is what kind of mother says that to her child??? She talks like she wants to be a parent, but she doesn’t. Otherwise, she’d be fighting for both those kids. She’s disgusting. I always routed for her, but never, ever again.
Maci and Catelynn are just boring. The show needs to end
I think one problem with the show is tons of their drama plays out on social media months before it even airs on the show. Why watch it on TV when you already seen it play out on IG and reddit threads? It’s just not interesting anymore.
The last episode I watched was when they brought it back as OG and they showed Farrah at her house in TX.
End the show and then bring it back in 5-10 years. Then we’ll all be interested in how they’ve fended in real life. Now it’s just boring.
I still like the show but as I see it their life stories are not as bad as they were when they were teens struggling to take care of their kids and pay their bills- they all seem to have help from families and MTV pay them quite well .
Honestly, there isn’t any reason to watch since they aren’t relevant. If you do watch this, you pay their salaries and delay them from getting real jobs. REAL WORK…..not just sitting on a couch-b*tching about life/real life!
I think letting cameras follow you constantly and air your dirtiest laundry on national tv is a real job. When people say stuff like this, I just imagine y’all laughing at them being forced to work at Walmart or something which isn’t likely to happen. “Real job” encompasses a lot, even being on television. I find it sounds like jealousy, honestly.
How about instead of a “real job”
we replace it with contribute to society in a way that is meaningful?
I’m not saying that these girls don’t “work” but what they are paid it do vs how much they are paid to do it…. yeah it’s really annoying, particularly when it’s not entertaining.
i hope this show does end tbh, nothings really happening with their lives anymore which is why i stopped watching it and the whole drama with mackenzie is honestly just mackenzie being dumb at this point
Perfectly stated.
I was rewatching tm2 and it was so entertaining until about S8. Their storylines are old and run through. Now we all watch them live in mcmansions and pretend like nothing has changed.
It’s too bad young and pregnant has questionable ratings because at least that show was entertaining.
Unexpected is easier to watch and hopefully they’ve learned from TMs mistake and don’t keep the girls on too long.
I think people just mean that they aren’t relatable- not that they need to work at Walmart.
This show thrived when they presented as average Joe’s. It is likely some of them will have actual, average jobs at some point considering most of them haven’t completed an education and subsequently blew through the money. Some (like Chelsea) may just ride that Instagram train all the way to the bank.
Look at Farrah. She has to buy the majority of her online followers and sells pictures of her taking a deuce. I think I’d rather work at Walmart.