Bristol Palin: On 'Secret Life of the American Teen'

Bristol's closeup is at hand. ABC Family just announced she'll appear on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" this summer; storyline, of course, will deal with teen pregancy.

"Bristol Palin is the most famous teenage mother in America," show boss Brenda Hampton said. "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,” BP said. She'll play herself, says ABC, "as one of Amy's [Shailene Woodley] friends at a music program for teen mothers."

PHOTOS: Sarah Palin through the years.

 If you don't know ..."Secret Life" is one of ABCF's biggest hits, probably its biggest hit. I haven't kept up with it since the early part of the first season, but at the time it struck me as a reasonably responsible - if not exactly deep - dramatic take on teen pregnancy; especially notable for the casting of Molly Ringwald. Some critics gushed over it - I have no idea why - but maybe because they were so profoundly shocked to actually see something on TV that didn't exploit teens or their volcanic hormonal urges.

 So Palin going here is not such a big deal, and maybe even a nice and responsible gesture, and maybe just maybe even helpful to her mother's continued political career. Of course, the show will handle her story responsibly - though one learns to never write the words "of course" when writing about potential plotlines on commercial TV.

Plus: How do you only confine this to one episode? Bristol may be going places...

PHOTOS: Sarah Palin through the years.