TLC has entered the “babies having babies” reality genre with “High School Moms.”
Like MTV’s “Teen Mom” and its spinoff, “16 and Pregnant,” “High School Moms” tracks a group of teens — some as young as 14 — who are dealing with teen pregnancy and its ramifications.
The “twist” here is that the “High School Moms” are all students at Florence Crittenton High School in Denver, which caters solely to pregnant teens and those who are already mothers.
(At the time of filming, 40 of Crittenton’s 120 students were pregnant.)
In tomorrow’s premiere, you’ll meet several of the teen moms, all of whom are dealing with their babies (and pregnancies) in different ways.
There are two young women featured most prominently in tonight’s premiere.
Rebellious Londisha, 16, the mother of an infant, is at odds with her mother and lives with her grandmother (the baby’s father, Darius, is in prison). She’s in danger of being expelled from Crittenton because of multiple infractions (mostly talking back to teachers) and resists the attempts of kindly, compassionate school principal Ricardo LeBlanc-Esparza to get her life on track.
Catrina, 18, and her fiancee, Jon, the parents of 3-year-old Landon, are expecting another child while living with Jon’s family. They’re making a solid effort to make the best of a tough situation, and are realistic about their prospects.
What’s missing from “High School Moms” is an explanation, however brief, of Crittenton’s history — why it was established, how it’s run, how it’s funded, etc.
And while the school’s academic program gets a few passing references, it would be interesting to delve further into its curriculum (and the students’ workload).
Perhaps all of this is covered in future episodes — “High School Moms” is slated for a six-episode run — and they’re minor quibbles.
This is reality TV — unscripted, brutally honest and informative.