--- title: 16 and Pregnant: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons description: Find out why 16 and Pregnant has one of the most influential reality TV seasons of all time. canonical: https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-08-04T12:32:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-03T00:05:29.371Z og:title: 16 and Pregnant: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons og:description: Find out why 16 and Pregnant has one of the most influential reality TV seasons of all time. og:url: https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a3134a1ded3d65/698a3415b3fce3fa8a0c97ce/16-and-pregnant-reality-tv-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 16 and Pregnant: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 16 and Pregnant: The 50 Most Influential Reality TV Seasons twitter:description: Find out why 16 and Pregnant has one of the most influential reality TV seasons of all time. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a3134a1ded3d65/698a3415b3fce3fa8a0c97ce/16-and-pregnant-reality-tv-1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 04, 2022 # 16 and Pregnant Season 1 (2009) by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  Season 1 of '16 and Pregnant' Season 1 of '16 and Pregnant'Courtesy of MTV The series [_16 and Pregnant_](https://time.com/825/does-16-and-pregnant-prevent-or-promote-teen-pregnancy/ "undefined") premiered at a moment of cultural fascination with the experience of teenage pregnancy and parenthood, two years after _Juno_ and one year before _The Secret Life of the American Teenager._ Each episode of the show featured a different teen, following the young woman from midway through her pregnancy into the early weeks of becoming a parent. Creator Lauren Dolgen was clear about her intention to put forward a show that, [she told _Slate_ in 2011](https://slate.com/technology/2011/07/lauren-dolgen-creator-of-16-and-pregnant-and-teen-mom-talks-about-her-inspiration-for-the-series.html "undefined"), “would give recognition to the audience that there are serious consequences to not being responsible for your sexual health.” Whether _16 and Pregnant_—which inspired spin-offs like _Teen Mom, Teen Mom: 2_, and _Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant_—was effective in that mission is debatable. While teen birth rates [did drop in the two years](https://www.brookings.edu/research/media-influences-on-social-outcomes-the-impact-of-mtvs-16-and-pregnant-on-teen-childbearing/#:~:text=We%20find%20that%2016%20and,United%20States%20during%20that%20period. "undefined") after _16 and Pregnant_ premiered (a fact that some believe can be attributed partly to the series, while others disagree), the show was criticized for spotlighting teen pregnancy without delving into its complexities or the challenges of raising children. What the show can claim responsibility for is being one of the first reality television series to explicitly attempt to make social change, whether it was successful or not. _—Annabel Gutterman_ **Correction, August 8** _The original version of this story misstated the creator of_ 16 and Pregnant_. It is Lauren Dolgen, not Jessica Grose._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/"},"headline":"16 and Pregnant","datePublished":"2022-08-04T12:32:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:05:29.371Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/","keywords":["franchise"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a3134a1ded3d65/698a3415b3fce3fa8a0c97ce/16-and-pregnant-reality-tv-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98a3134a1ded3d65/698a3415b3fce3fa8a0c97ce/16-and-pregnant-reality-tv-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/reality-tv-most-influential-seasons/6198497/16-and-pregnant/","name":"16 and Pregnant"}}]}] ```