The Secret Life of the American Teenager | |
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Also known as | ''Secret-Teen Secret Life'' |
Genre | Teen drama |
Created by | Brenda Hampton |
Written by |
Brenda Hampton Jeffrey Rodgers Caroline Kepnes Jeff Olsen Chris Olsen Elaine Arata Paul Perlove Kelley Turk Courtney Turk Anne Ramsay |
Directed by |
Ron Underwood Anson Williams Jason Priestley John Schneider Gail Bradley Lindsley Parsons III Keith Truesdell Barry Watson |
Starring |
Shailene Woodley Kenny Baumann Francia Raisa Daren Kagasoff Greg Finley II Megan Park India Eisley Molly Ringwald Mark Derwin Anne Ramsay Steve Schirripa Michael Grant Cierra Ramirez Luke Zimmerman |
Theme music composer | Dan Foliart |
Opening theme | "Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love", performed by Molly Ringwald |
Composer(s) | Dan Foliart |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language(s) | English |
No. of seasons | 5 |
No. of episodes | 121 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Brenda Hampton |
Producer(s) | Lindsley Parsons III Hrag Gaboudian |
Location(s) | Los Angeles, California |
Cinematography | Ronald E. High William L. Asman |
Editor(s) | Stephen Myers Ellen Ring Jacobson Marilyn McMahon Adams Janet Weinberg Janet Gratz |
Camera setup | Film; Single-camera |
Running time | Approx. 45 minutes |
Production company(s) |
Brendavision! ProdCo Original American Teenager Inc. ABC Family Original Productions |
Distributor | Disney–ABC Domestic Television |
Release | |
Original network | ABC Family |
Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
Original release | July 1, 2008 – June 3, 2013 |
External links | |
Website |
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (often shortened to Secret Life) is an American teen drama television series created by Brenda Hampton. It first season aired on ABC Family on July 1, 2008 and ran until June 3, 2013. The show was renewed for four additional seasons. The series finale aired on June 3, 2013.
The series received generally mixed reviews from mainstream critics when it began broadcasting, but was well received among female and teenage viewers. The pilot episode broke the record for the highest rated debut on ABC Family with 2.82 million viewers, a record previously held by Kyle XY. The season one finale brought in 4.50 million viewers, beating that night's episode of Gossip Girl, which had less than half its usual number of viewers. Premiering to mostly positive reviews from critics and being well received among viewers, the second season of Secret Life opened with the largest audience for the series, posting a series high in total viewers with 4.68 million viewers; in adults 18–34 it was the number one scripted original premiere of Summer 2009. Furthermore, the mid-season premiere became ABC Family's most watched telecast of all time with viewers ages 12–34, with more than three million viewers watching.
The show earned the Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Show during its premiere season, and spawned a book entitled The Secret Diary of Ashley Juergens.
In season one, fifteen-year-old Amy Juergens finds out that she is pregnant after having sex at band camp with a handsome and popular boy, Ricky Underwood. Amy first confides in her two best friends Lauren and Madison about it. Amy also tells Ben (the guy she started dating after becoming pregnant) the truth, but he is surprisingly supportive and offers to marry her anyway, despite the protests of his friends Henry and Alice. When Ricky finds out he is the father, he is willing to be a part of his future child's life, causing Adrian Lee, Ricky's to become jealous, especially since Ricky already has his sights on the sweet and virginal Grace Bowman, who was going out with Jack Pappas until he cheated on her with Adrian. Much to Adrian's surprise, Grace is not angry at her, and the two girls become friends despite being romantic rivals. Ricky and Ben also compete with each other for Amy's attention and at the end of the season, Amy has her child, a boy whom her sister, Ashley, names John. Amy decides to keep John, after struggling with the decision over the course of the season. John's birth caused Ricky to be closer to Amy, causing frequent romantic sparks between the two.