The Leighton Show Instagram account.

In 2021, Cape Elizabeth resident Chip Leighton got on TikTok and  started posting hilarious, deadpan short clips of himself talking about marriage and what it’s like raising a teenage daughter and son. It didn’t take long for the account to go viral, and it has accrued 16.3 million likes.

Leighton has since added Instagram and Facebook accounts for his humorous posts.

With a self-deprecating delivery, Leighton takes blame for his family’s grievances, like a smoothie being too cold or the roof leaking. Leighton also shares the absurd questions and comments that his and other kids have texted to their parents, sometimes in the form of compilations set to music, like “Teenager Texts: Best of 2023.”

One teen texted a question asking where they might find the pasta water at the grocery store. Another sent this message: “Happy Mother’s Day, did you move my charger?”

Leighton worked in marketing and corporate strategy at Hannaford supermarkets for 15 years but stepped away from the corporate world last year to spend more time with his family, focus on his social media content and work on a book about teenagers, which he said will be out this fall.

The Leighton Show has gotten so big that there’s a line of merchandise available at theleightonshow.com, including a T-shirt with the words: “Make Me Pancakes. DO IT.” – an actual text from one of Leighton’s kids. Leighton has also received media coverage on NBC, ABC and CBS, as well as from The New York Times, New York Post and Daily Mail.