2008 Summer TV Preview: The Secret Life Of The American Teenager

The Secret Life of the American Teenager - Season 1

Premieres: Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. EST

Network: ABC Family

Creator(s): Brenda Hampton

Starring: Sheilene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, Mark Derwin, India Eisley, Kenny Baumann, Daren Kagasoff, Greg Finley, Megan Park, Jorge-Luis Pallo, John Schneider, Josie Bissett

Website: ABCFamily.com


The Secret Life of the American Teenager is a new ABC Family series that centers on Amy, a shy girl who gets herself pregnant while away at band camp. Amy has to figure out how to tell her maybe-boyfriend (not her baby’s dad) Ben as well as her parents. Fortunately, she has the support of her friends Madison and Lauren to help her get through it. Amy’s mom (played by Ringwald) is going through her own drama when she learns that the man she’s married to is cheating on her.

Despite not having been a fan of Hampton’s previous creation, 7th Heaven, the trailer (below) definitely sold me on giving the pilot a shot. Yeah, it looks fairly touchy-feely and the title is entirely too long (seriously, can we just start calling this show Secret Life or “that show about the pregnant teenager”?) but I think the premise has potential. Rather than creating a normal family drama and then eventually having one of the kids get pregnant, why not get right to it and start the series out that way? Plus, I’m a fan of ABC Family’s Greek and hope Secret Life will turn out to be another semi-guilty-pleasure.

For the full 2008 Summer TV Premiere Schedule: CLICK HERE

Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.