Bristol Palin joining Teen Mom OG — why is it happening?
Let’s kick things off with this: What’s the appeal of Teen Mom at this point given that so many cast members are so far away from being teenagers? The show’s premise has modified itself somewhat in that it’s now about people who were once teen moms. It almost feels now more like a show about branding than it does about individual stories. For better or worse, some of the various cast members have developed their brands on the show, really to this is almost a Real Housewives sort of franchise where it can be used as a jumping-off point for other endeavors. We’ve already seen how that turned out for Farrah Abraham.
Now, the especially strange part: The title of Teen Mom OG is really supposed to be a referenced to the original stars of the franchise; yet, Bristol is clearly not that. Her first claim to fame came during her mother’s Presidential campaign, whereas he second was as a two-time contestant of Dancing with the Stars. Her casting here is probably going to be a polarizing move, given that it may make liberal viewers more hesitant to watch while also pulling in more conservative viewers. It’s a pendulum swing for a franchise that’s already had plenty of them.
It’s a gamble, in the end, for MTV to bring her on at this point in the series’ run. We’ll see if it’s a gamble worth taking. Palin previously had a reality / documentary show entitled Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp year’s ago, but it did not end up lasting altogether long. Granted, that show also didn’t have the support of a long-established franchise with many other popular cast members.
The news of Bristol’s casting was first reported over at TMZ.
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