MTV's TEEN MOM 2 to Return for Third Season, 11/12

MTV today announced that the hit docu-series TEEN MOM 2 will return on a new day, Mondays, beginning November 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. The third season of this groundbreaking series goes beyond tabloid headlines and inside the emotional journeys of four young mothers as they face some of their biggest challenges yet, as their children enter into their “terrible twos.” From a difficult divorce and an unexpected pregnancy to a young mom working through rehab and increasingly rocky relationships, the dramatic season catches up with Chelsea, Jenelle, Kailyn and Leah and takes viewers inside the real stories and very unglamorous struggles these young women face as they navigate their way through life with toddlers in tow.

“Teen Mom 2” returns to air as teen pregnancy and teen birth rates in the U.S. are at historic lows, following impressive declines in recent years. In its third season, the show immediately brings viewers on an intense rollercoaster of the ups and downs that come with raising a child at a young age.

A country girl who wears her heart on her sleeve, Leah is a former cheerleader from a small town and the mother of twin girls Alianna and Aleeah. Leah sacrificed everything her senior year in order to graduate, take care of her babies and try to make things work with her daughters' father, Corey. However, the honeymoon is over and as their trust issues intensify, Leah and Corey make the difficult decision to get divorced, and head to mediation for custody of their girls. As Leah struggles to move on, she looks into a local university’s nursing program and meets someone new. Full speed ahead, Leah and her new boyfriend Jeremy quickly solidify their relationship and things get serious. As she moves forward though, she’s still confused over her feelings for Corey, and is now faced with telling him that she’s not only engaged to Jeremy, but is also pregnant again.

Jenelle continues her struggle to reconcile the responsibilities of motherhood with her love of partying. Despite their tumultuous relationship, Jenelle’s mother, Barbara, cares for her son Jace while Jenelle tries to prove herself as a mom and a responsible adult. However, the partying catches up with Jenelle as she tries to stay clean on probation, but ultimately fails her mandatory drug test. After going against her lawyer’s advice, Jenelle faces time in jail. As things calm down, she meets a new guy, Josh, who she quickly moves in with. But, as her former trouble-maker boyfriend Keiffer comes crashing back into her life, things change more quickly than ever. All the while, a tough question keeps bubbling up for Jenelle as she reveals that she isn’t sure if absent “birthfather” Andrew is Jace’s dad after all, and begins to consider having him take a paternity test.

Always a motivated and focused young woman, Kailyn is the mother of baby Isaac. Early on, Kailyn and Isaac’s father Jo's relationship crumbled under the stress of balancing their lives while raising their child. Kailyn moved out amidst their constant fighting, and moved on to a new relationship with co-worker Jordan, only for that to end after Kailyn cheated with Jo. Kailyn wants to be with Jo again, but when he rejects her, she turns her attentions back to her relationship with Jordan. However, his controlling ways make the relationship short lived. After all the back and forth in her love life, Kailyn shifts focus to her family and heads to Texas to try to reconnect with her long lost half-sister. While she's there, Kailyn’s estranged mother tries to see Isaac behind her back. Then, just when she’s not looking, Kailyn meets a new guy named Javi who asks her on a date.

Since giving birth to Aubree, Chelsea’s life has been consumed with taking care of her daughter and trying to make her tumultuous relationship with Aubree’s father, Adam, succeed. Old habits die hard though, and Chelsea gets back together with Adam. He surprises her with a promise ring, and the two move in together. When Chelsea’s father Randy finds out, he kicks him out of the house just before Aubree’s second birthday. Meanwhile, Chelsea does her best to get her life on track by finally finishing her GED, testing out therapy and working to make her beauty school dream a reality.

The teen birth rate in the U.S. declined 25 percent between 2007 and 2011. Despite the steep decline in teen birth rates, more than 700,000 teenage girls in the U.S. still become pregnant each year and one out of every ten children in the U.S. is born to a teenage mother. The vast majority of these pregnancies are unintended, and one quarter of all teen moms have a second child within two years. In a recent poll by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 77 percent of teens age 12-19 that have seen “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” say the shows “help teens better understand the challenges of pregnancy and parenting.”

More information about sexual health issues affecting young people, including unintended pregnancy, is available at http://www.itsyoursexlife.com a pub,lic information resource developed by MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is working with the show to provide additional information.

Viewers can also go to MTV.com or to the “Teen Mom 2” Facebook page for sneak peeks of the show including bonus/extended scenes and exclusive interviews with the moms.

Since its launch in 2009, “Teen Mom” has captivated millions of viewers with its honest depiction of the lives of teen moms. Season two of “Teen Mom 2,” ranked as Tuesday’s #1 original cable series. The “Teen Mom” franchise consistently ranks as one of the most-watched cable series among P12-34, with last season of “Teen Mom 2” ranking as the #3 cable series of the year. On average, the season garnered a 3.2 P12-34 rating and 3.5 million total viewers per episode. When looking at Live+3, the average rating increased to a 4.0 P12-34 rating, and drew in 4.4 million total viewers.

“Teen Mom 2” is Executive Produced by Morgan J Freeman and Dia Sokol Savage. Lauren Dolgen is Executive Producer. Kendra MacLeod is Co-Executive Producer. Andy Portnoy and Janay Dutton are MTV Executives in Charge of Production. Lauren Dolgen, Jessica Zalkind and Sara Cohen are Executives for MTV. Concept by Lauren Dolgen.

Executive Producer Morgan J. Freeman is the founding partner of 11th Street Productions. Aside from showrunning MTV's “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” franchise, Freeman made a name for himself as the Sundance award-winning writer/director of “Hurricane Streets,” a film centered on the trials and tribulations of teenage lifE. Freeman's other film work include Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck's “Desert Blue,” the thrillers “American Psycho 2” and “Homecoming,” and “Just Like The Son” which stars Mark Webber and Rosie Perez.

* Source: Nielsen. Live+SD, unless noted. Ranked on 000s. Dates: 9/26/11-9/30/11.

About The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy:
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families. Our specific strategy is to prevent teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy so that a higher proportion of babies are born into wanted and welcoming circumstances. The National Campaign supports a combination of responsible behavior by men and women and responsible policies in the public and private sectors. Find out more at http://www.thenationalcampaign.org or www.stayteen.org.

About MTV:
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody® award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

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