It was revealed at the end of last week that Teen Mom 3 would not be returning for Season 2. Cast members from the show took to Twitter to express their disappointment over the news, and I figured I’d do the same from a fan’s perspective. So, here is my list of the Top 10 Teen Mom 3 Stories We Didn’t Get To See In Season 2 because the show was canceled:
10. Joey Maes’ completed “I’m your huckleberry” chest tattoo
Actually, it’s no guarantee that this complex chesterpiece would have been completed prior to the end of filming on the second season, but just the possibility that it might have means a mandatory entry on the list! The elaborate tattoo is a tribute to Joey’s grandfather and is a reference to a line from their favorite movie, Tombstone. It features two crossed pistols, a few diamonds and a banner containing the quote “I’m your Huckleberry” (actually, it looks more like “I’m Your huckle Berry”), which was famously said by Doc Holliday (played by Val Kilmer) in the film.
9. Matt McCann falls off a cliff
In November of 2012 Alex Sekella’s ex Matthew McCann fell of Bake Oven Knob, an elevated outcropping of rocks located on The Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania, and broke his neck, shattered his skull and broke several bones in his spine. (Click here for more details and photos of Bake Oven Knob.) He spent a good deal of time in ICU and was forced to wear a neck brace for quite a while after the accident. I’m pretty sure it would have been the first time a character on a major reality TV show fell off a cliff. (In the photo above Matt and his fiancee Lekota Koch revisit The Knob almost a year after his accident.)
8. More of Alex Sekella’s dad Jim
Judging from what Alex has said online (on Twitter and in Q&A sessions on ask.fm) she has always been close to her dad, but they had a bit of a falling out around the time 16 and Pregnant was filming so he did not appear in her episode. (Jim made his first major appearance in episode 12 of Teen Mom 3 Season 1 when he came to Arabella’s first birthday party.) Alex has since moved out of her mother’s house and is living closer to her dad and they appear to be getting along much better now. I think their relationship would have been explored further in Season 2 and would have helped us get a better picture of Alex. (Which isn’t to say Wendy isn’t one of my favorite Teen Mom parents of all time!)
7. Mackenzie McKee’s brother Mike
Mackenzie McKee revealed on the Teen Mom 3 Season 1 Catch up Special with Dr. Drew that she had a brother named Mike who had Down syndrome and passed away in 2008. (Mike was adopted by the family at the age of 38 in 1991.) His death, combined with Mackenzie’s diabetes diagnosis, had a HUGE impact on her and I just can’t imagine Mackenzie and her family weren’t going to open up about the effect Mike had on their lives.
In case you missed it, Mackenzie Douthit’s mom Angie Douthit published a book about the experience titled Life With Mike, something we pointed out in our very first profile post about Mackenzie prior to her episode of 16 and Pregnant. We assumed Mike’s passing would be addressed in Mackenzie’s 16 and Pregnant episode, and then we assumed it would be addressed in the first season of Teen Mom 3, and after Mackenzie mentioned it on the Check Up Special, we fell very confident it would have been a part of her story line in Season 2, even with everything else that is going on in her life.
6. More all-female DeJesus awesomeness
What can I say? The four ladies of the DeJesus household are just a joy to watch! Mom Roxanne is so great about reiterating that self-confidence and self-reliance are not just masculine aspirations while at the same time not really seeming to be a female chauvinist. As an asterisked addendum to this entry let me add the optimistic hope that Season 2 would have included Briana dating a great guy that even Roxanne couldn’t say no to. 🙂
5. Matt McCann’s recovery
Alex Sekella’s ex, and father of Arabella, Mathew McCann had drug addiction issues throughout the taping of 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom 3 Season 1 with multiple stays in rehab facilities, an overdose, and even a period of homelessness. But Matt has been sober for close to a year now and it’s a shame that we won’t get to see the clean Matt, who, judging from his Twitter account, appears to be a really bright and funny dude.
In addition to Matt finally getting to be something other than a drug addict on screen, I think his sobriety would have created a compelling storyline for Alex. There’s no question that Matt burned some serious bridges as far as Alex (and thus Arabella) goes, but since he has apparently proven he can stay sober it’s going to put pressure on Alex to forgive and move on — and knowing what we know about Alex, that is going to be one hell of a struggle!
4. Mackenzie McKee’s wedding
I know the wedding card gets overplayed a lot on reality TV these days, but who wouldn’t have wanted to watch Mackenzie’s cowboy and cowgirl themed extravaganza, especially given all that led up to it! Remember, Mackenzie made the public announcement that she was pregnant for a second time just prior. And let’s not forget that she and Josh McKee actually officially tied the knot well before the public ceremony, which I would hope MTV would have been able to capture as well.
3. The real Katie Yeager
Anyone who follows Katie Yeager on Twitter knows that she is a very intelligent and hilariously insightful gal who is as hip as she is self-deprecating, which is why it was so frustrating watching an entire season of her and Joey constantly fighting episode after episode. I realize that their break up was the most important thing going on in their lives and that it did take a painfully long time, but I just hate that we never got to see Katie in joyful non-Joey rage and/or heartbreak mode. I can only hope that Season 2 would have provided that opportunity.
* Yes I am a huge fan of Katie personally and this entry might be considered biased by some who would argue that you could say the same thing about just about any reality star, but it’s my list and I can be biased if I want to! I wanted to see the Katie Yeager who quotes Tom Waits, laughs off online drama and is absolutely obsessed with facial hair — male or female — and unless we are all getting catfished by a really damn cool tweeter, that Katie does exist! 🙂
2. Mackenzie McKee’s second pregnancy and birth
Obviously a cast member on any of the Teen Mom franchises getting pregnant a second time is going to be compelling television (See: Leah Calvert), but Mackenzie McKee’s second pregnancy is extraordinary given her type 1 diabetes and the extreme health risks she is facing, not to mention the fact that her potential inability to have children at all in the near future was a major contributing factor to wanting to have another child so soon after her first.
Although Mackenzie experienced a number of difficulties stemming from her diabetes during her first pregnancy (you can read more about those in our exclusive interview with her), she is apparently having a lot more problems this time around. Perhaps it’s selfish, but given that we have been allowed to follow her story so closely so far, I for one am going to be extremely disappointed that I will miss out on being able to share in her experience this time around.
And speaking of Mackenzie’s second pregnancy, she is currently seven months along (The baby bump timeline above includes a photo of Mackenzie from this weekend) and I know I have my fingers tightly crossed!
1. All the kids turning two
What can I say? When it boils down to it, all of the Teen Mom franchises are as much about the children, if not more, than it is about the moms. This notion really hit home with me when I watched the Being Maci special and I realized that there are still huge chunks of Maci’s story that I don’t know, but I knew just about all of Bentley’s story. And I have to confess that seeing him after such a lengthy absence really pulled at my heartstrings because I feel like I missed out on so much. (Pitiful right? But that’s the magic of Teen Mom!)
We’ve basically seen the first chapter in the lives of Nova, Molli, Arabella and Gannon and when it’s all said and done, it’s their stories that aren’t getting a Season 2. Im not arguing with MTV’s decision — running a television network is a business after all — but that doesn’t mean I’m not saddened by the fact that I won’t get to continue to watch them (and their mothers and fathers) grow up on my TV.
That being said, we will continue to keep you updated on the moms, dads, and kids of Teen Mom 3 as best as we can, so stay tuned for Teen Mom 3 Seasons 2, 3, 4, 5 and beyond right here on Starcasm!
