Tuned In

Palin Family Discovers Acceptable Television Program

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Fresh off her mother’s battles with David Letterman and Family Guy, Bristol Palin will make her TV-drama debut in season 3 of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager next summer. The show, now in its second season, follows a single teen mom who got pregnant in a regrettable fling at band camp. (I had no idea in high school so much was going on at band camp.) Palin will play herself, befriending the lead character, Amy, at a music program for teen moms.

Since her mom’s elevation to vice-presidential candidate led her to have the most public teen-pregnancy admission ever, Palin has staked out a niche as a celebrity spokesperson for abstinence. This despite her earlier comments that asking teens to be abstinent is not realistic, and also despite her being the most famous living proof of that statement. (Palin later claimed that “not realistic” comment was taken out of context; you be the judge.)

And then there’s the whole business about her influential mom being anti-choice on abortion, while publicly playing up the “choice” both Bristol and Sarah Palin made to keep their babies. (Sarah Palin, by the way, will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Tuesday.) In any case, Palin has also made a point of saying that teen motherhood isn’t glamorous, which squares with the attitude toward it that American Teenager takes.

Speaking of American Teenager, I didn’t much like the show when it debuted, because the early episodes had a melodramtic afterschool-special tone to them—they were like the Reefer Madness of teen sex—but people whose taste I generally trust have told me it’s improved since. Are any Tuned Inlanders watching it? And is Bristol Palin going to make you more or less likely to?

Excerpts from the ABC Family release:

Bristol Palin, eldest daughter of former Alaskan Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, will make her acting debut on ABC Family’s hit original drama series, “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.” The episode will shoot in Los Angeles and air this summer when the series returns for its third season on ABC Family.

Said Executive Producer Brenda Hampton: “Bristol Palin is the most famous teenage mother in America. We’re thrilled to have her join us, and I think she will bring additional attention to the issues facing teen parents that we’ve been exploring for a couple of seasons now.”

“I am thrilled to be on this show and to be a part of a program that educates teens and young adults about the consequences of teen pregnancy,” said Palin from her home in Anchorage, Alaska.

Palin will be playing herself, as one of Amy’s (Shailene Woodley) friends at a music program for teen mothers.