The Secret Life of the American Teenager - TV Fanatic

ABC Family Renews Secret Life; Adds Sitcom, Reality Show

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:08:37 EST

The Secret Life of the American Teenager just made history without airing a single episode.

ABC Family announced today that it had picked up the drama for a fifth season, meaning Shailene Woodley and company are now part of the longest-running program ever on that network. It returns on March 26.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Promo: Spring Season

In other ABC Family programming news:

It will soon debut Beverly Hills Nannies, a reality series about... nannies in Beverly Hills.
It has purchased the pilot for Baby Daddy, a comedy about a man and his brother who raise a baby after the former's ex leaves her on their doorstep. It will Derek Theler, Chelsea Kane and Tahj Mowry.

The Secret Life of the American Teenager to Return On...

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:34:59 EST

Here comes the reluctant bride?

On March 26, The Secret Life of the American Teenager - led by Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley! - will return to ABC Family to complete its fourth season run, picking up right after the 2011 finale, on the heels of Amy accepting Ricky's proposal.

But is this really the face of an excited fiancee? Check out new promotional art just released by the network and then view the first trailer for The Secret Life's spring season. Will Amy follow through on her engagement? And what "bombshell" news does the series have in store for viewers?

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Promo: Spring Season

Who is Your Favorite Teen Couple?

matt@mediavine.com (Matt Richenthal) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:47:21 EST

It's time for another poll, TV Fanatics. And this one is gonna be a toughie.

Following challenging battles over television's Sexiest Male and Female Sidekicks, along with the scariest character around, we now want to know: Who is your favorite teen couple?

The field is wide open, from a teacher/student relationship on Pretty Little Liars to forbidden love between a human and an immortal on The Vampire Diaries. With so many potential nominees, we need your help:

Hit up the Comments section and recommend a couple for the final round of voting.
The only requirements? At least one half of the pairing must be a teenager, and the two characters must have kissed at least once.
Feel free to state your couple's case below, but please begin all Comments with the names of your nominees. This will make it a lot easier for us to keep track.

We'll post the official poll on Monday. What teen couples will be featured in it? That's up to you, readers. State your opinions now!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Review: Graduation Day!

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:30:35 EST

The Secret Life graduation episode has been much hyped, but, fortunately, it did not disappoint. In fact, "And Circumstance" was my favorite installment of this show to date.

A lot of viewers were excited for what might happen, mainly the engagement of Ricky and Amy. However, what really ruled the episode was the ending, chock full of surprises and drama.

I've said it before, but now I'm going to say it again and for a whole new reason: Madison is NOT to be trusted! Hasn't Amy learned that from Madison blabbing all of her secrets in the past? Obviously not, but here's hoping Lauren learns a thing or two.

After all, it's not everyday that your best friend sleeps with your boyfriend. Nor is it everyday that your best friend sleeps with your soon-to-be ex wife. I'm looking at you, Henry. Major Hell is going to break loose when the show returns.

I have a feeling Ben may be able to forgive Henry because Ben spent the night with another girl. In addition, he and Adrian have mutually agreed upon getting a divorce. Then again, even if they aren't in love, Adrian could have her pick of guys. She didn't have to go after Ben's best friend. That is never a good move.

Madison, on the other hand... I don't even know where to go with this girl she pisses me off so much. I literally cannot think of one redeeming quality she may possess. And now she's slept with her best friend's boyfriend and tried to excuse it by saying she couldn't help it!

I feel very bad for Lauren and I hope she doesn't turn around and do something destructive to get over the pain. You know, the same way Adrian turned her rejection from Omar into her hopping into bed with Henry. Oy vey, so much of a mess after just one night!

By the way, who does Omar think he is, saying he felt disrespected when he took his brother's leftovers and flirted with other girls at the party? As for Daniel, he clearly doesn't stand up for himself or his girlfriend. While I agree that it's sometimes best to remove yourself from a tense situation, you should also defend the ones you love.

The way Ricky got protective of Lauren was very sweet and very chivalrous. It is his fiance's best friend!! Yes, ladies and gentleman I said fiance! Ricky finally put a ring on it and Amy looks like one happy girl!

I will say, though, I felt it was a bit insensitive the way Ricky proposed in front of their exes. Nevertheless, this is a very happy time for Ricky and Amy and I loved Ricky's valedictorian speech. Let's focus on the positive as we wrap up the best and most dramatic season of The Secret Life!

The Secret Life Summer Finale Preview: Does Ricky Propose?

matt@tvfanatic.com (TV Fanatic Staff) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:19:34 EST

It's about to be graduation day on The Secret Life of the American Teenager...

... and, as hyped by ABC family, both Ricky and Jack have something to say.

What will go down on Monday's summer finale? Will there be a proposal? What incriminating photos will a divorce attorney obtain? Check out the official trailer now:

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Summer Finale Promo

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Review: All Pomp, No Progression

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 02:54:09 EST

This week's Secret Life was a complete filler episode, with the exception of one thing. In "Pomp," we found out that Ricky was the given the prestigious honor of valedictorian.

Congrats to Ricky. Who knew he was so smart? We've been given clues over the years, but this is a really big moment for him. Between writing his speech and preparing to propose to Amy, he's got a lot on his plate.

However, this week was all talk and no action. Everyone was discussing the big post-graduation party at Jesse's lake house like it was American Pie or something. Speaking of American Pie, Stifler's mom - better known to the Secret Life crowd as "Betty" - is about to make bank.

Someone's been staking Leo out and knew about the divorce in order to make this move. But who? It seems Betty was content with taking her pre-nup settlement and going back to school. Too bad some sketchy lawyer is looking to make a pretty penny off of the sausage king.

Poor Ben doesn't need anything else rocking his family or his life. After all, Henry and Alice just told Ben that they couldn't be friends with him anymore because it was too hard after their breakup. Friends are often the casualties of splits, but I don't think anyone would be that cut and dry about it.

I'm sure lines will get blurred at next week's party. It's shaping up to be the event of the year, as you could discern from everyone's desperation to attend. One line I don't want to see blurred is the one between Ricky and Adrian.

She really needs to kiss him one last time to make sure she can move on with Omar? What the Hell kind of logic is that?!? If everyone waited until they knew they were absolutely, positively over an ex to date someone new, nobody would ever date again. Love is complicated and, in most cases, it's best to stay away from the ex.

I don't even want to get into how confusing next week's previews are. How do you all feel? Leave it in the comments!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Review: "The Games We Play"

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:35:14 EST

Amy and Ricky have been doing really well this season in their relationship, but, alas, she still wants more. Something she readily confides to Madison in "The Games We Play." She wants a proposal.

Little does she know that Ricky is already planning on proposing to her the night he graduates from high school. Ricky is well aware of Amy's strong desire to get married and is amused at the lengths she's going to try and persuade him. Not nice Ricky!!

Ricky telling John the storybook version of his life and asking if he should propose to mommy had to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen. I'm really hoping that this proposal goes down and Adrian doesn't sabotage it. I know she's unhappy and vulnerable and pissed that Dante didn't call (I'm pissed at him, too!), so I'm not going to give her a hard time.

I was glad to see her at least channel some positive energy from her pain and try to graduation on time.

Speaking of graduation, since when do you need a date? Grace, watch who you call desperate girl. Instead of saying it to your best friend, perhaps you should be saying it to your ex-boyfriend. For Pete's sake, Jack asked you and your boyfriend on a three-way date just so he wouldn't be alone on graduation!

By the way, Daniel, way to show how much older and mature you are when you told your girlfriend she has to choose between her friends and you. Hi, she's a girl in high school. Get real.

From immature to mature, Madison, I am just loving this transformation! The character is suddenly far wiser and less whinier and I'm totally down with it. Lauren needs to ditch Jesse, who only wants to get her into bed - and she and Madison need to team up for some sort of girl power, Thelma and Louise-type of adventure. Just no cliffs!

See you all next week for graduation! And possibly a proposal...

Secret Life of the American Teenager Review: No Snooping!

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:11:40 EST

The "4-1-1" on Secret Life is that Amy Juergens was the only person who never looked through her significant other's phone...until now.

Guys, girls, and parents alike had been performing this unspeakable - yet common act - but only Amy ended up taking a big downfall for it.

The thing with Amy and everyone in this digital generation is that our whole lives are practically on our laptops, cell phones, iPads, etc. People snoop; it's part of human nature, even though it's not morally correct. I think Ricky should've just told her about the voicemails.

Of course, it's not as easy as what I think, especially since I'm not involved, but it would've saved a lot of fighting and distrust. I believe he was holding onto the voicemails for some other reason and I also think it was a little bit shady. Amy shouldn't have checked them, but with a crazy chick like Adrian lusting after your baby daddy, it can't be easy to just smile and look the other way.

I'm a little tired of talking about how erratic and crazy Adrian has been, so I'll just leave that for Bow-wow to handle! Who didn't love that cameo? Although, he must have a serious thing for the crazy since he stuck around after her whole rant about her divorce and what not. Hey, whatever floats your boat.

I have to give major props to Daniel for blocking Adrian on his phone after she tried to call him to piss Grace off. Grace should've slapped her. Why can't Ricky just block Adrian from his phone, too? I think it says a lot about the different kinds of guys Daniel and Ricky are.

Granted, people are the way they are for many reasons and for Ricky, he's perpetually nervous about trust issues. I was glad he and Amy were able to work things out in the end, no matter how many people it took intervening to get them there. We just needed both to apologize and to come clean about things. Wouldn't life just be much simpler if we didn't play games?

A talk-heavy episode, but one that dealt with a universally relatable issue, digital privacy. Whether it's sexting, text snooping, or voicemail eavesdropping, it's all around us. I can only thank my lucky stars that there wasn't much texting and Facebook wasn't even invented when I was in high school. Gosh, didn't this episode make you miss those primitive pre-Blackberry days?

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Review: Fatal Attraction

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:35:30 EST

Before we start, can I just say how happy I am to see Ben in therapy? Finally!!!

Elsewhere, this episode shouldn't have been titled "Flip Flop." See my headline above? More accurate, right?

If you'd like, you can also refer to it as any of the following: Single White Female, Obsessed, Basic Instinct, Fear, whatever. Any flick where someone has gone completely bonkers over an old lover would apply. Adrian, oh Adrian, what are we going to do with you?

The picture above straight up gives me the creeps. However, do I think that Adrian's gonna go all bunny boiler or ice pick murderer with Amy? No, not at all. I'm just continually surprised at the new levels of crazy she drops on us each week.

Adrian's meeting with her doctor was going so well, until Adrian announced that her new goal was to get Ricky back. I'm not so sure that's what the doctor meant when she said she needed to embrace her independence and focus on a "me plan." Obviously, Adrian is still unstable and immature. I give her a lot of credit for handling a horrible ideal at such a young age, but surviving a crisis doesn't necessarily grant you instant adult wisdom.

No logical female adult would call up her friend to tell her that they aren't friends anymore. She would probably just give her the fade out. And the way she's going about winning Ricky back? Hello, aggressive! Most girls her age would be Facebook stalking her ex, finding a chink in the armor and working on her takeover from the safety of her laptop and Blackberry. Not that these are healthy habits either, kids, but let's call a spade a spade.

If I were Amy and saw that face popping into the window after Grace's forewarning, I would've dropped the locks, thrown the alarm on and had an open and honest discussion with my boyfriend about my discomfort with the situation. Or gone out and threatened a restraining order. Either one would be effective.

Not much else happened this week. Nora and George renewed their friendship, which made me happy, as these two are a totally entertaining duo. Betty also dropped the bombshell on Leo that she knows he is unhappy in their marriage. Now she wants to take her prenup money, go to college and get all Destiny's Child "Independent Woman" on us.

Alright... that's a good plan, but their whole storyline has always been odd and highly unlikely. Pretty Woman does not happen in real life. Hooker with heart of gold meets rich businessman, falls in love and becomes a career-educated successful woman? Sorry, nope. And you can bet your bottom dollar that in real life, Betty would be contesting that prenup in court and trying to drain Leo for every last cent.

I apologize for being cynical, but as always, I strive for realism. While tonight's girls fighting over a boy, break up and make up drama was all fair and good, some of the other points were just really pushing it. I also really do hope that in Secret Life land, Betty can better herself and turn her life around. You all know that I heart Jennifer Coolidge!

The Secret Life of the American Teenager Goes "Dancing With the Stars"

leigh.raines@gmail.com (Leigh Raines) — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 23:12:16 EST

This week's Secret Life featured a lot of talking, mixed in with some heavy and moving moments. Unfortunately the good rating I would've given "Dancing With the Stars" went down the toilet the moment it tried to turn this into an episode of Glee. Lauren has a good voice, but enough with everyone trying to go down the musical route! It's overkill.

It was also kind of weird that Amy would send Lauren's boy toy over when Lauren was babysitting for her son. Who knows what these hormone-laden crazy kids could get themselves into?

I know what some of them are NOT getting into, however. Despite Adrian's best efforts (which I found completely transparent and cheesy) Ben is just not down with sleeping with her. Not to mention, it would be insane for Adrian to get pregnant. Amy was right, they are all still recovering from the loss of Mercy. Even though Adrian seemed to be on a better path this week, I still worry about her.

As far as Ben, I really hope he sticks to his wits. After Leo's bombshell here, he's got other things to focus on. I'm glad Leo shared that with Ben, as I believe he deserved to know. As soon as Leo started speaking with him, I realized where it was going. Alcoholism can be hereditary and it's a serious issue.

For once, I felt like the issue was handled openly and honestly. Something that I've never found to be super authentic is the way Grace's boyfriends ask her mother for permission to have sex with her. Maybe it does exist with other people, but I've never heard of this. In fact, I think it's borderline inappropriate. That's something for Kathleen to discuss with Grace, not Grace's boyfriends.

All in all, a decent episode. Poor Jack, though. This guy can't catch a break! I find it hard to believe that he wouldn't be able to find a single date. C'mon female readers, who would've gone to the dance with Jack?