Major TV network seeks pregnant mom and daughter for new reality show

New York’s 3PX Productions is holding a casting call for a pregnant mother and pregnant daughter, who are 18 or older, for a new documentary series to air on a major cable TV network. The documentary, currently a working title under the name: “Pregnant Mothers Pregnant Daughters,” will focus on the funny and complicated moments during both the mother and daughter’s life, from their pregnancy to childbirth. The show could air as early as fall.

The deadline for the casting call is Sunday, Jan. 15; see WANT TO AUDITION box for more information.

3PX Productions – founded by TV producer and casting director Sandra Philippeaux – specializes in the casting and development of original programming for TV, in which credits include MTV’s “16 & Pregnant” and NBC’s “The Marriage Ref”.

Philippeaux spoke with the Dover Post to discuss the qualities she and her team will be looking for in interested mother-daughter pairs, and more.   

Q Following a mother and daughter who are both pregnant is a unique concept for a documentary. How did this idea come about?
A The idea came about through 3PX Production company. Some of the producers involved [with 3PX] thought there’s something really interesting when you look at young people who are expecting; you see that there’s what you’d call… history sort of repeats itself. We found and discovered that there are a lot of young mothers who are becoming grandmothers. We said: “Wow, wouldn’t that be interesting to kind of see how that affects the relationship between the mother and daughter, and to see how that could be an amazing, dramatic, fun or stressful experience as a mother and daughter both go through the journey of pregnancy?” It kind of stemmed from [cast directing] shows like “16 & Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” that there are a lot of teen moms out there in pregnancy, but also a lot of women are having children a little older, so it’s not unheard of to find this situation happening.

Q On which cable TV network will “Pregnant Mothers Pregnant Daughters” air?
A We can’t reveal that just yet – it’s a little, too, early on in the process.

Q What are some of the qualities you and your team will be looking for in the pregnant mother-daughter pair?
A In “16 & Pregnant” we were looking for young people to tell their own stories in their own voice: no judgment, no assessment of what their lives are. [It was] just the fact that young people are facing this a lot more than we even know, and we wanted as many of them to tell their stories so other people could learn from them. I’m looking for both a young person and their mom who are honest and open, and who are enthusiastic and eager to share their lives with the world so people can actually learn from their experience. [I’m looking for] someone who’s very open and willing to kind of open their lives to us to give us that honor of sharing their journey.

Q What is the first step for applicants interested in being selected for the show?
A The first step for them is to email us at: pregnantwithmom@gmail.com; send us your contact details, your name, city and state, where you’re from, a phone number for us to reach you, but also explain what your story is, how far along are you are in your pregnancy – a little bit about the relationship between you and your daughter or you and your mother, and what life’s been like since finding out you’re both pregnant. From there, a casting associate will return the email or phone call. And from there, usually you’d have to do a webcam audition. And that usually means you’re talking over the phone with a casting director, which would be myself. I’d speak to as many people as possible who are involved in their life: the father of the child, a friend, the mother and the daughter of course. Then the network would ultimately decide who they’d like to feature. All this would happen within two weeks or so, and then we’d get back to the applicants to let them know if they made it on the show.  

Q How long will the filming process take?
A Depending on what stage we catch them in their pregnancy journey, the filming process will probably take place over the course of a few weeks total, even though they might be pregnant for six months when we decide to share their story. We’ll visit a few days a month until the birth of the child. In all, it will be a two to three-week process [spread out over the course of their pregnancy journey].

Q How soon could filming begin? 
A Late January.