Teen Mom OG wrapped a 10-episode run this week, which means the show's producers, who were featured in front of the cameras for the first time ever this season, can now reflect on their own debuts as reality stars. Cosmopolitan.com spoke to one of them, Larry Musnik, about what it was like to come out from behind the scenes, whether he's formed attachments to the cast since the premiere of 16 and Pregnant in 2009 (he's worked on the show ever since), and why he was so tough on Farrah when she first returned this season.

How did you like watching yourself on TV?

I have to tell you the truth, it was a little bit of an adjustment. It's one thing for me to see [myself] in cuts as we're preparing the episode. It's another thing to hear my voice resonate through my house. Everybody — my family, my friends — has been calling and texting. It's been fun.

I thought you were tough on Farrah in both of your big scenes with her. Watching yourself back, would you agree?

I was tough on her? I think yes, but it's kind of important. Farrah sometimes needs that. I think she needs someone to be that voice. Maybe she'd admit it too, who knows? It's Farrah. She tests everybody around her. Her family, everyone in her life, will get a little bit of that. I can be the one that's a little harder [on her]. I think she ultimately respects me for it.

I noticed producer Heather works a lot with Amber and you seem to work a lot with Farrah. Do the producers break off and each have their own Mom to man?

No. Heather did the day-to-day producing for Farrah as well as Amber in this season. As the co-producer for the series, I oversee the whole show and all the stories and everything going on and the field operations. So I travel with each of the stories. I'm typically sitting in my car listening to what's being filmed and everything that's going on, and occasionally I'm called in to deal with a situation. It's just that this season you see a little bit of that and there were more situations where they needed me and Farrah needed me.

You've been working with these girls for so long now, since when they were actual teen moms.

I was at the birth of their children.

How do you separate Producer Larry from Actual Human With a Heart Larry, someone who could form attachments to them?

It's hard. We've been a constant in their lives and have become, in many cases, part of the family. Some producers have sat down and had holiday meals, Thanksgiving with [them] — and they have to film during it. It's different from other shows. It's not like, "Report to…" or "We'll meet you at 10 a.m., that's call time" — and then good-bye at the end, that's it. We all talk to each other all the time. This is a true lifestyle show. It's [about] cultivating these relationships, really. I don't know where it separates. I don't have a workday like anybody else. They call me — and can call me, know they can — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If something happens in the middle of the night that needs to be discussed, that they need me for or their other producers for, they call.

What happens in the middle of the night?

It could be anything. It could be an argument with a boyfriend or something dealing with custody. Since 16 and Pregnant, we're just all trained that way. Births happen in the middle of the night. We're an around-the-clock kind of crew. And in many cases, we've become close. So I don't know where that line is.

How long was filming this season? It starts with Catelynn finding out she's pregnant, it ends with Nova being, like, 2 months old. Also, how do you decide what to shoot? Do you determine it based on when things are happening in their lives, when you get those calls at night — or do you have a fixed shoot schedule?

No, one of the things that I love about our show that's different from other shows that I've worked on is that we have a window, a loose window, of when filming's going to start and when filming's going to end. But other than that, there's nothing on the calendar. We don't have, like, shoot one here, shoot two here, shoot three here, hope that something happens or make something happen. The series takes a long time from the beginning of filming until our episodes air, but we're actually shooting almost right up until episodes are on TV in order to allow ourselves that large window for stuff to play out. Shooting can go six months, eight months. It can go six months for one story, eight months for another.

But you do have a premiere date to work toward.

Sure, we do have a premiere date that comes in, but a lot of times, it's been flexible. We want the best show possible. We find out something happens and we're on planes the same day. We don't book our travel [in advance]; we don't get the advantages of the two-week advance cheap airfares on this show. I don't think we've ever bought tickets two weeks in advance.

What do you think of Matt?

What do I think of him? I don't know him like I know the other people. I know that he's considerably older. He was a fan of the show. But right now, Amber seems happy that's she's got somebody in her life. She's still kind of able to be healthy and do the things that she wants to do. She's come a long way. Our concern with anybody that she gets involved with is like, Oh gosh, what's going to happen? But so far, so good. I don't have any judgment one way or the other about that.

When somebody new like that comes in, how much responsibility do you feel to research them and do background checks on them? How much do you actually do background checks?

We are very careful to do background checks and know what's going on in a person's history and not be surprised to the best of our ability. We are checking and asking and doing that due diligence all the time. We want to be sure that these people are with them because of the relationship, not because of the TV camera. In the case of Matt and Amber, that relationship was going on — Amber hid that relationship from us for a while because she herself wanted to put him through that test. I respect that. I don't know the longevity of any of these relationships for any of these kids. Some relationships last longer. Some of them end. They're still young. They're still figuring it all out.

Do you have any favorites?

I know some of them better than others because I end up spending more time with them. Amber was [the star of] the pilot of 16 and Pregnant. So we've known Amber for so long. Amber still remembers this story: We were all new to this world back with Amber, and I saw her, she had no healthy food. She was pregnant with Leah, and she was eating those canned mandarin oranges and blue Gatorade or something. And being a parent myself, I was like, "Oh my goodness." So I left with a rental car and went to the supermarket and just went grocery shopping for all kinds of healthy food. I don't care if I'm stepping on the story. I'm like, "I want her to get healthy, damn it." If that [happened] this season, you'd probably see that, but back then, you didn't see stuff like that. She remembers that story. She tells it all the time, because it's one of those things that is the approach of all of us to this show: We want them to do well. We want the best for them.

But at the same time, you need drama or it's not going to be good television. You need shit to happen.

You do, but it happens. You don't have to set it up with their world. Look, they have gotten into these situations of having kids at a young age because organization, precise planning, all kinds of things weren't there. We do not need to do anything to create drama in their lives. I've been on other shows. Some of that sometimes exist where the producers get involved, but in this particular case, the drama happens whether we're there or not. We don't live in their hometowns for six or eight months, so we miss stuff all the time.

Are all of their houses their real or are some of them sets? Like Amber's house — is that a set?

It's not a set. It's not a set because I have to deal with the Homeowner's Association. We don't have any sets. They're their houses and we sometimes take extra care to not identify houses with addresses and other markings. But no, as far as I know, we film in their real homes. Their real homes change a lot because they don't stay in one place too long.

Ryan seems like he cannot stand filming, so I don't know if he's obligated to be on the show — or does he just want the money?

I don't believe that he doesn't want to do it. I think he likes it. I think deep down —you know, he's a dude trying to play it cool. If he looked like he loved it, it wouldn't be cool. But he likes the attention. I don't buy that. I don't think he likes to talk about many situations, so I think he wishes he could probably just sit there and suck on his lollipop or whatever he's eating in a particular scene, just not talk and be done with what we have to do. But we do need him to express himself, so sometimes it's a little difficult. Sometimes it's harder with the guys to have them actually articulate what's in their brain.

Only the guys that Maci's with. Tyler and Gary can't get enough of talking on television.

They're in a separate class. If we had to break down the guys between comfort level, yes, Tyler and Gary are comfortable and love doing this. Tyler I think wants to go into film. Gary would love to have his own radio show, I think, and he's thinking about how he's going to market himself, whether it's putting "Gary Time" on a T-shirt or a condom. It's hysterical.

Do you ever feel disappointment or, on a more positive note, pride in the cast, as a parent might?

Sometimes, and they kid around with me about that too. Because I do want to see them do well. I want to see that they've gone through this and turned a corner and can help others now navigate it. That's the greatest thrill for me, when they're doing that. When they're getting into trouble or throwing their boyfriends or girlfriends out at night, I do get disappointed in them. Even if some of it makes [for] good TV, it's upsetting. I get upset when I hear a kid ask for their dad and his dad is off doing something else and not paying attention. That's heartbreaking. That's how every parent watching probably feels.

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Patti Greco Writer Patti Greco is a freelance writer and editor based in Brooklyn.

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