Critical response On the
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 38% based on 21 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "While
The Secret Life of the American Teenager manages to show teens behaving like real teenagers, forced dialogue and an overall lack of originality leaves the show stranded at the border of soap opera parody." On
Metacritic, the first season of the show holds a score 48 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The
New York Post praised the series for having a set of characters that are "... real and come from families of all stripes – from intact to single-parent households to one boy in foster care..." However, most mainstream critics did not embrace the show, likening it to an after-school special "filled with didactic messages and a lotta wooden acting," in the words of Ken Tucker of
Entertainment Weekly.
The New York Times claimed that "
Secret Life must surely be the collective effort of an anti-pregnancy cabal. [...] ABC Family means well but could not have done worse.
Secret Life doesn't take the fun out of teenage pregnancy, it takes the fun out of television" and called the show a "Prime-Time Cautionary Tale".
Variety magazine reported that "ABC Family's latest original drama wants to be a slow-motion version of
Juno but settles for being an obvious, stereotype-laden teen soap [...] based on first impressions,
The Secret Life of the American Teenager should probably stay a secret." ReporterMag's Andrew Rees said, "The show...might be the worst scripted drama on television. Suffering from gag-worthy dialog, horrific plot twists, terrible acting, and characters who not even the best of 3-D glasses could give depth to, it's a wonder how this show stays on the air." Some critics praised the new developments of the show's second season. Jean Bently of EW Popwatch said that now that the "teen going through a pregnancy" plot has completed and the "frustrated young mother" plot is occurring, we have room to explore some other topics. She remained hopeful that the writers will not just turn these new problems into issues of the week, instead allowing time for the characters to grieve Marshall's death, deal with Anne's accidental pregnancy, and explore the more emotionally complex aspects of teenage sex.
Ratings Secret Life received the highest premiere viewership ratings ever for an ABC Family original program. The pilot episode brought in 2.82 million viewers and a 0.9/3 share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic.
Secret Life also established female viewers, registering a 6.5/24 among female teenagers and a 3.1/11 among 12- to 34-year-old females. The mid-season finale of season one surpassed the first hour of the series premiere of
90210 on
The CW in viewers 12–34 and females 12–34, beating
90210 in total viewers and all their key demographics. The season one finale brought in 4.50 million viewers and was the highest rated telecast on March 23, 2009, in viewers aged 12–34 and the number one scripted telecast that night. On Monday, June 22, 2009,
Secret Life began its second season, posting a series high with 4.68 million viewers. In June 2009,
Secret Life ranked as cable's number one scripted telecast in females 12–34.
Secret Life stood as ad-supported cable's number one telecast for June 2009 in female teens. The season debut became cable's number one scripted series premiere of the 2008/2009 season in women 18–34, women 18–49, and viewers 12–34, and the number one scripted original premiere of summer 2009 in adults 18–34. With more than 4.55 million people watching the season two mid-season premiere,
Secret Life became ABC Family's most-watched telecast in the 12–34 age range and teen demographics. The episode stands as the series' second-most-watched episode and is TV's number one telecast of the season for female teenagers. The season two mid-season premiere remains cable's number one scripted premiere of the 2009 and 2010 season. It increased nearly one million total viewers over its second season's mid-season finale, and was number one in all target demographics for the hour. Regarding
The Secret Lifes advertising, Laura Caraccioli-Davis, executive vice president of the media buyer Starcom, said, "
Nielsen numbers will do the talking in the advertising community, which has a deep respect for success." The following is a table with the average estimated number of viewers per episode, each season of
The Secret Life of the American Teenager on
ABC Family.
Accolades == Soundtrack ==