The Secret Life of the American Teenager

Show Info

Genre(s): Drama, Family

Created By: Brenda Hampton

First Air Date: July 1, 2008

Summary

Starring Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Mark Derwin, Daren Kagasoff, Megan Park, Greg Finley, Francia Raisa, John Schneider, and Josie Bissett

Molly Ringwald stars as a mom to a pregnant teenager in the ABC Family series by the creator of "7th Heaven" and "Blossom."

Episode Guide & More Info: More about this show at TV.com

Also On The Web: Official Show Site

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this show is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 100 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Megan S gave it a2:
I started watching this show with the Pilot and found it mildly enjoyable, but wow has it gone downhill. The main thing that bothers me is that every single scene is about sex- who’s having sex with whom, what kind of sex they’re having, who wants to break up with whom because suddenly one of them doesn’t want to have sex. I get that teenagers think about and have sex. But seriously? There are other things happening in high schoolers’ lives. Obviously it’s completely unrealistic; the way the kids talk to their parents about sex (do they have to be so open? Grace proclaiming that she’s “having sex with herself” in her room. Or stating over and over that “Dad died because I had amazing sex.” What the hell? Who would say that?), the way the parents talk about their own sex lives with their kids, and the way Adrian dresses at school (completely open-back top with bra exposed and boobs pushed way up, for example- tell me, what school would that fly at?) are just a few examples of how unrealistic this show has become. Not to mention the terrible acting and writing. The characters feel so wooden and stale you don’t feel like rooting for any of them. I’m embarrassed to say I continue to DVR this show; it’s just too bad a train wreck to stop watching. Plus, I love Molly Ringwald, though the material she’s given is far from desirable.

Julien F. gave it a5:
I deeply wanted to give it a 1 or a 2, but I'd be lying to myself and to you all if I didn't say that I enjoy this show way too much for a normal person. The storylines are flat, the acting is dreadful(even for the grown-up actors),the word sex is mentioned 5000 times per episode, noting is realistic, woodley apparently forgot that if there is an N at the end of a word you have to pronounce it, so why on earth am I so drawn to this show? well because it is so bad that it becomes addictive. people enjoying it because they think it's good should be treated really.

Dee Mother of 5 teens gave it a1:
Horrible Show. Here is what I got out of listening to one episode from the next room while my step daughters watched it: There's a girl that likes to have oral sex, Tom broke up with Tammy but it isn't because she won't have sex with him. She has phone sex with him all the time and Adrian thought everyone was aware of that. Tom does like a different girl and wants to have sex with her so poor Tammy needs to put out or get out. Maria has wanted to kiss one of the boys for a long time and is now offering to have his baby. She wants to get engaged and have beautiful sex, have babies and run a sausage factory. Another girl had sex with one of the boys, but never really dated him, and that makes him feel rejected. So he offers to dance with her, yet she has to clarify if he wanted to dance vertically or horizontally. Rickie is having sex with other girls and Adrian isn't happy about it. He is also cheating on her and doesn't want to be in a relationship with her because that jeapoardizes his relationship with his son and baby mama. The parents in the show only see a problem with Amy and Adrian not getting along but don't seem to have a problem with all of these teens having sex with each other. Adrian has had sex with Rickie, Ben, Jack and other guys... Amy has only had sex with Rickie and Ben. Maria just wants to have sex with them but hasn't had it yet. Needless to say... this show will no longer be watched in my home.

[anonymous] gave it a0:
Hey, here's a great idea! Let's make a 7th Heaven ripoff, only let's have them talk about sex every two words! Great idea, huh? Well, it is if you're my sister

Gene j gave it a2:
In the end, all you see is kids mention the word sex 300 times during one episode. It's a completely biased show with bad Christian undertones hidden by it's onimous, self-absorbed, completely mornic, sex depraved writers. It's really hard to not look away from this mess, and I mean that in the worst way possible. There are plenty of shows trying to captilize in on the Juno/teen-mom situation. Ironically, MTV's Teen Mom is just behind this, however, Teen Mom is atleast a docu-drama. While, the writers of this show try and make the kids sound mature, all they sound like is droids from planet mono-tone. However, it ends up being one of those "so bad, it's hard not to watch" shows. Which was probably the goal for this piece of crap all along.

Jennifer N gave it a1:
OMG.... i just got out of high school about a year ago... this TV show is the most unrealistic TV show out there...... me and my boyfriend lived together for three years now and we dont talk about sex THAT much... i swear.. in this TV show..... you hear sex in every single scene. =.= LAME!

alice n gave it a0:
Wow, what a terrible show for it's content and acting! I have two teenage daughters whom i have a very open relationship with and both just laugh at the absurdity of this series. It is totally unrealistic. Yes, some teens do have sex but it is NOT all they talk about. Also, a character like Ben would be considered by his peers as a freak with a sick obsession for a teen mom. If you really want to have your children see what teen moms and dads are like and what thier lives turn into after a teen pregnancy have them watch the reality show "16 and Pregnant" it's awful, trashy , sad and very depressing , now that's what typically happens in real life when you get pregnant at 15 ! This show just glamorizes the whole idea of teen sex and pregnancies...oh and by coincidence the "bad Bay" sperm donor just happens to be an incredibly good looking guy!! What the hell were the producers and writers thinking when they created this show?

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