MTV announces Teen Mom UK reality show

MTV UK’s Jersey Shore-inspired export Geordie Shore has been a huge success, and, now, the network has announced they will be exporting another of their most valuable American reality show commodities over the pond, with Teen Mom UK!

“The U.K. version of the show will have the same core value of authenticity as the original and will follow a cast of teenage girls juggling their emotional teenage years with becoming a parent for the first time,” said the network in a statement.

Teen Mom star Farrah Abraham, who is now familiar to UK TV viewers thanks to her unforgettable appearance on Celebrity Big Brother, took to Twitter to share her excitement over the news in her own special way:

Congrats @mtvuk on the #TeenMom spin off I can only imagine the new tittle. Happy you care to decrease teen pregnancy #bettereconomy ???

— Farrah Abraham (@F1abraham) January 14, 2016

MTV UK’s managing director, Jill Offman, points out: “MTV UK has a great track record of re-versioning hit shows from our sister channel in the U.S. — we turned Jersey Shore into Geordie Shore and smashed ratings records in the process. We’ll use this expertise to give Teen Mom a fresh lease of life, combined with a unique British twist, which we’re confident will have massive appeal to local audiences.” If you, or if someone you know is a pregnant teen living in the U.K. with dreams of becoming the next Maci Bookout, Jenelle Evans, or Farrah Abraham, then hop on over to this link and fill out the casting application! The details on the casting call are pretty general:

We are looking for teen mums who want to share their story and experiences, and we will need the teen mums family to be involved and to be supportive of the project…

  Seeing teen pregnancy documented on the small screen will be nothing new for UK viewers. BBC Three premiered their Underage and Pregnant series less than six weeks after MTV aired its first episode of 16 & Pregnant back in 2009. The series ran for three seasons and featured 22 moms. Here is the production company’s description of the show, which will probably sound very familiar to fans of 16 & Pregnant:

This intimate, challenging and life-affirming series was the highest rating pre-watershed origination on BBC Three and goes behind the headlines to reveal what it’s really like to be underage and pregnant. Following a mix of schoolgirl mums and dads from varied backgrounds over a period of several months, the teens tell their own story of how their lives are transformed from pregnancy to birth and life with a baby. They share their hopes and fears and we see how the pregnancy affects the rest of their world, joining each girl at a different pivotal point in their pregnancy to explore how it impacts on every aspect of their life: relationships with boyfriends, family and friends; where they live; finances, education and social life. As well as the clinics, cravings and ante-natal classes.

  Also very familiar to fans of 16 & Pregnant will be the show’s graphics, which also resemble high school illustrations: Here are a few full episodes: In addition to Underage and Pregnant, there was also the heart-breaking story of Beckie Williamson, who was featured in the BBC One documentary ONE Life: To Courtney, With Love. Here is a description, followed by the actual show:

Beckie Williamson is 15 and lives in Leeds with her parents and older sister. She became pregnant at 13 and had a daughter, Courtney. At 14, Beckie was diagnosed with cancer. Treatment was ineffective and the cancer spread to her vital organs. Now Beckie has just weeks to live. She and her sister Vicky set out to make a film for her daughter, Courtney, so that she will know her mother in years to come. ONE Life follows them on their emotional journey. This is Beckie’s film… for Courtney, with love.

  OK, Starcasm readers across the Atlantic: will you be tuning in for Teen Mom UK? I will confess I’ll be watching it when it makes its way back to the States! On a nit-picky side note, I think it would have been better to call it Teen Mum instead of Teen Mom UK. Am I the only one?