Teen Mom Ratings Hit Record Low as Fans Bail on “Boring” Franchise

The Teen Mom franchise has been in trouble for several years now.

Even if you generally don’t pay attention to ratings, you’ve likely noticed the signs of decline.

Whereas Teen Mom was once a spinoff-spawning juggernaut, MTV has spent the past year downsizing the franchise and its cast, combining multiple shows into one series and getting rid of longtime stars.

Teen Mom OG and Teen Mom 2 have been mashed together to create Teen Mom: The Next Chapter, and Mackenzie McKee and Kailyn Lowry are no longer with the show.

MTV hasn’t officially declared a moratorium on spinoffs, as Teen Mom Family Reunion — a close cousin of Next Chapter — recently wrapped up its second season.

The show has a lot in common with Next Chapter, but MTV probably prefers it for a number of reasons.

All the ladies shoot at one location for the newer series, which means more drama and a smaller budget.

Unfortunately, fans have not been responding well to the Family Reunion experiment, and at this point, it seems unlikely that the show will return for a third season.

The February 14 episode brought in just 210,000 viewers, making it the lowest-rated episode in the history of the Teen Mom franchise.

The week before saw 290,000 fans tune in, meaning the drop-off from one week to the next was also a franchise record.

Granted, February 14 was Valentine’s Day, which might account for some of the rapid erosion in viewers.

But the fact is, Family Reunion was never a massive hit, and the show has been on a downward trajectory since day one.

In the previous season, the highest-rated episode had 470,000 viewers, while just 299,000 people tuned in for the finale.

The situation was bad then, and it’s much worse now.

MTV execs were probably uncertain about bringing Family Reunion back after such a middling first season.

And the show is putting up even lower numbers in its second outing.

The ratings reports aren’t in yet for Tuesday’s reunion episode, but there might have been a slight uptick in viewership due to the recent scandals involving Maci Bookout’s ex Ryan Edwards.

But the problems with Family Reunion are indicative of larger problems within the Teen Mom franchise.

Ratings are declining across the board, and even longtime fans have tweeted that they’re jumping ship.

“Boring” is a word that crops up frequently in social media discussions of the show, and it’s a criticism that’s been plaguing the series for years.

Stars who were once regarded as relatable have now been rich and famous for so long that viewers are struggling to identify with their plights.

Although if current trends continue, Leah Messer, Catelynn Lowell, and company might find themselves back among the common folk very soon!

Teen Mom Ratings Hit Record Low as Fans Bail on “Boring” Franchise was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.