What's Ahead on 'Finding Carter'

MTV is changing up their normal lineup of teen reality shows for a new hour-long drama that kind of resembles the plot of a Lifetime movie mixed with an ABC Family procedural. Finding Carter is the result of MTV’s Programming President, Suzanne Daniels, pushing for more scripted series over the next year. Daniels told the Los Angeles Times, “I hope it’s a new chapter for MTV.” MTV has plenty of reality shows already and it's about time the network added to its original programming slate. So what exactly is Finding Carter about? Here is everything you need to know before the show premieres on MTV tonight.

The show centers around 16-year-old Carter Stevens who grew up as an only child with her single mom, Lori. The opening scene highlights their Gilmore Girls-esque relationship with lots of gummy bears and fro-yo. Within the first five minutes of the show, Carter is arrested for breaking into a merry-go-round with her group of friends. Thanks to her fingerprints and mugshot, the police soon figure out that Carter was abducted when she was three years old and call her real parents, who have been searching for their daughter for 13 years.

Carter, whose real name is Linden, is reunited with the biological parents she doesn’t remember and learns she has a fraternal twin sister and a whole life that was taken from her. Torn between the mother she loves and her biological parents, Carter is faced with a rough journey ahead.

While the premise proves that there’s serious potential for Finding Carter, everything moves very fast. We barely see the relationship between Carter and her kidnapping mother have together before she is reunited with her real parents. It's also concerning that her parents at first seem to care more about catching the kidnapper than spending time with Carter. Based on the short preview MTV made available, here are some other storylines to expect on Finding Carter.

Carter's parents knew her abductor-mother

When the police show Carter’s parents a picture of the woman that abducted her, they immediately knew who she is. They briefly explain that she was an in-house hospice worker caring for someone on their street and had minimal contact with her besides a few basic conversations. However, don't be surprised if there's more to the relationship between Carter's parents and the woman who raised her than they are letting on — it's too good a plot twist for MTV to pass up.

Carter will start to remember her real life

When Carter hugs her grandpa, she mutters “papa” under her breath, showing that over the course of the show, there will probably be flashbacks as she begins to remember her early life with the family she's been reintroduced us to. That being said, there better be some flashbacks with her other mother as well, so we can get to know their relationship better.

Carter and her twin, Taylor, are opposites

It is very clear from the minute Carter meets Taylor that they are polar opposites, and it’s definitely going to create conflict in the house. Besides their very different personalities, Carter will probably get a ton of attention from the rest of their family since they haven't seen her in so long.

Carter's biological Family Has Some Financial Problems

The first hint we get of their financial situation is when Carter’s real mom offers a reward of $10,000 to whoever can lead them to Lori. Her father quickly comments on who would be paying that money. A few minutes later, his agent pulls him aside saying that he needs to write a book about finding Carter because he is $500,000 in debt. Yikes.

Will gummy bears be part of Lori and Carter’s reunion?

In the opening scenes, Lori tells Carter that if they are ever separated, they will meet each other at the nearest tub of gummy bears. Inside mother-daughter joke or serious plot foreshadowing? Maybe we're taking that line too seriously but I am definitely expecting a candy-filled reunion.

Images: MTV