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''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (renamed to ''Degrassi'' for seasons 10 to 14) is a Canadian
teen drama In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
television series created by
Yan Moore Yan Moore (born February 6, 1953) is a Canadian television writer and producer. He is best known as a writer for '' Degrassi Junior High'', ''Degrassi High'' and '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. He was also the creator and producer of the Canad ...
and
Linda Schuyler Linda Schuyler, (; née Bawcutt; born February 12, 1948) is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She i ...
. The fourth series in the ''
Degrassi ''Degrassi'' is a Canadian television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1979. It is centred on a multigenerational teen drama about an ensemble cast of teenagers attending the namesake Toronto school as they navigate their ad ...
'' franchise and a revival of ''
Degrassi Junior High ''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian television series and the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. A successor but not a direct spin-off of ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', it debuted on CBC ...
'' and ''
Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...
,'' it premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001 and concluded on August 2, 2015 on
MTV Canada MTV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name and branding used under a licensing agreement with Paramount Global. The channel is devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming, and also airs some ...
. The series centers around a new
ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...
of students at the fictional Degrassi Community School who face challenges such as
sex Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones ( ova, of ...
,
teen pregnancy Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is pregnancy in a female adolescent or young adult under the age of 20. This includes those who are Legal adult, legally considered adults in their country. The WHO defines adolescence as the ...
,
bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...
,
date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
,
drug abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
,
body image Body image is a person's thoughts, feelings and perception of the aesthetics or sexual attractiveness of their own body. The concept of body image is used in a number of disciplines, including neuroscience, psychology, medicine, psychiatry, ps ...
,
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
,
domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
,
gang violence A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
,
self-injury Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...
,
suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
,
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
,
mental disorders A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
and many other issues. Various characters from the previous two series also returned as adults in recurring or guest roles. The series was created by Schuyler and Yan Moore, the head writer of ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High''. It is the first series to feature no involvement from
Kit Hood Christopher Hood (24 March 1943 – 20 January 2020) was a Canadian television editor, director, writer and producer. He is best known as the director and co-creator of the ''Degrassi'' franchise alongside Linda Schuyler, including the series ' ...
, who was a co-creator and director of all previous ''Degrassi'' series. It was produced by
Epitome Pictures Epitome Pictures Inc. (later known as DHX Studios Toronto and WildBrain Studios) was a Canadian film and television production company based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded by Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn in 1992, the company is best known for ...
(a subsidiary of
DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
) in association with
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
. It premiered to mixed reviews, with some critics expressing doubts about whether the show would make the same impact as its predecessors, but would ultimately garner similar critical and commercial success. It received favourable reviews from critics of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', and
AfterElton TheBacklot.com (TheBacklot), founded in January 2005 as AfterElton.com (AfterElton), was a culture website that focused on the portrayal of gay and bisexual men in the media and was the companion site of AfterEllen.com (AfterEllen). TheBacklot was ...
. In its initial years, it was frequently the most watched domestic drama series in Canada. In the United States, it became the highest-rated show on
Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...
's teen block
The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytime l ...
. By 2004, the series had averaged nearly a million viewers in Canada, and half a million in the United States. In Canada, the series received awards from the
Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...
s,
Writers Guild of Canada The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of th ...
, and
Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assistant ...
. Internationally, it also won several
Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...
,
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
s, and Prix Jeunesse. The episode " My Body Is a Cage", in which a character is outed as transgender, won a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
in 2011. During its later seasons, the show's format underwent several changes after the involvement of
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
. The tenth season's airing schedule switched to a
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
format during the summer months, before returning to its standard schedule for the fall and spring. The series was also moved to
MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
in Canada. The thirteenth season reverted to a weekly schedule and part way through, it had moved to
MTV Canada MTV is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media with the name and branding used under a licensing agreement with Paramount Global. The channel is devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming, and also airs some ...
, where it aired until its final episode on August 2, 2015, after fourteen seasons. It was followed by '' Degrassi: Next Class'', which followed the remaining underclassmen characters from the show's later seasons as well as introduced newer ones, in 2016.


Production


Concept

The ''Degrassi'' universe was created in 1979 by Playing With Time, a production company owned by former schoolteacher Linda Schuyler and her partner Kit Hood. The franchise began with ''
The Kids of Degrassi Street ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'' is a Canadian children's television series and the first in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. It follows the lives of a group of children living on De Grassi Street in Toronto. It ...
'', which was spawned out of three half-hour short films, and came to prominence with the critical and commercial successes of ''
Degrassi Junior High ''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian television series and the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. A successor but not a direct spin-off of ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', it debuted on CBC ...
'', which debuted in 1987, and ''
Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...
,'' which premiered in 1989. The two series followed an ensemble cast of students attending the titular schools as they confronted various issues. It became an international sensation, with the shows experiencing upwards of a million viewers on average in Canada, and received numerous accolades. The telemovie '' School's Out,'' which concluded the franchise, aired in 1992. Schuyler and original ''Degrassi'' series head writer Yan Moore began developing a new television drama in 1999, following a reunion of the original ''Degrassi'' cast on the CBC series ''
Jonovision ''Jonovision'' was a Canadian television talk show aimed toward teenagers. The show aired for five seasons, from 1996 to 2001, on CBC Television. ''Jonovision'' was nominated for 4 Gemini Awards. It reached the top of its popularity at the begi ...
''. As the months progressed, they began to think about what had happened to the original characters to develop a school-reunion theme. However, they decided that a series would not work effectively if based around adults instead of children. Moore realized that the character
Emma Nelson '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, born to character
Christine "Spike" Nelson Christine "Spike" Nelson is a fictional character from the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Amanda Stepto, Spike appeared throughout ''Degrassi Junior High'' (1987-89)'', Degrassi High'' (1989-91), and the first nine seasons of '' ...
at the end of ''Degrassi Junior High''s second season, would soon be entering
junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...
, and development for the series took a new direction by focusing on Emma and her school experiences. Schuyler's husband
Stephen Stohn John Stephen Stohn (born May 8, 1948) is an American-born Canadian entertainment lawyer and television producer. He is best known for his involvement with the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, particularly as an executive producer on '' Degrassi: ...
suggested ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' as the name for the new sequel series, which borrowed from '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. The project was pitched to CTV in May 2000, with the originally planned reunion episode serving as the pilot to the new series.


Executive producers, script-writers and directors

Produced by Epitome Pictures Inc, in association with
CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' received funding from the
Canadian Television Fund The Canadian Television Fund (CTF, french: Fonds canadien de télévision - FCT) supported the production and broadcast of Canadian television programs. A non-profit corporation operating as a public-private partnership, the CTF was financed by c ...
,
BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...
, the Shaw Rocket Fund, Mountain Cable Program and the
Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...
, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and the Cogeco Program Development Fund. Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn served as executive producers throughout its run. Other Epitome Pictures employees and series crew members were also been credited as executive producers, including Sara Snow, Brendon Yorke, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, and Sarah Glinski. Story editors included Sarah Glinski and Matt Huether, Shelley Scarrow, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, and Sean Reycraft. Frequent directors included Phil Earnshaw, Stefan Scaini and Bruce McDonald. When production of season three began, a user on the official ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' website with the alias "ExecProducer" began a
forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...
thread titled "Shooting Season 3", revealing production details, guest actors, scheduling information and DVD release details. He referred to himself as "Stephen Stohn" in one post, although it was not until the release of ''Degrassi: Generations – The Official 411'' in 2005, that Stohn confirmed he was the poster and it was not an imposter.


Episode format

The episodes are written following the same formula with two or three storylines (Plot A, Plot B and Plot C). The main storyline, A, opened and closed the episode, and was usually driven by a single character. Plot B was usually more comedic in tone and sometimes slightly intertwined with the other stories, often moving
story arc A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
s forward. Plot C was usually used sporadically in a season-long arc, but would eventually settle as comedic relief. The problems presented in the episode were not always resolved by the end of the episode, and were carried over to the next, or created a mini-arc over several episodes. The majority of the episodes were named after songs from the
1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...
, and since the tenth season, the episodes were named after songs from the 1990s to the present, which represented the entering of a new decade and a completely different cast from the earlier seasons. For the first nine seasons, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' had been produced as a weekly half-hour
teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...
comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
series, with each season consisting of between fifteen and twenty-four episodes. Due to falling viewing figures between seasons six and nine, the series developed a daily soap opera format for the summer run of the tenth season, and increased the number of episodes to forty-four. The tenth season also dropped the tagline "The Next Generation", with only one original cast member remaining, and due to the young audience unfamiliar with the past generation, referring to the series as "''Degrassi''". Season 13 reverted to airing episodes weekly, but still produced more episodes than prior to the soap opera format, airing a block in the summer of 2013 to the summer of 2014.


Opening sequence

The ''Degrassi'' opening sequence followed a two- to three-minute
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
. During the first five seasons these credits showed the characters on the school premises and followed a mini storyline. Seasons six and seven featured titles with the actors breaking the
fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...
and facing the camera, over a montage of character videos from past seasons, saturated with blue colour and gold outlines. The montages behind the characters depicting a major event in that character's storyline. For the eighth season, the show abandoned the style of titles used for the previous two seasons and returned to the original form of showing the characters at school while participating in school-related activities. Season thirteen dropped the opening credits, replacing it with an eleven-second montage. This continued into season fourteen. Instead of listing every ensemble actor, after the montage, season thirteen and fourteen episodes credit only the regular actors appearing in that episode. The
theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...
, "Whatever It Takes", was composed by Jim McGrath, with lyrics written by Jody Colero and Stephen Stohn. The song include lines such as, "Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through/Be the best, the best I can be", to convey what Colero calls, "a sense of joy and optimism."
Lisa Dalbello Lisa Dal Bello (born 22 May 1959), also known as Dalbello, is a Canadian musician. She released three albums in the pop and pop/rock genre in her late teens, from 1977 through 1981 under her full name. In 1984, she re-emerged as Dalbello, wit ...
performed the lyrics with a children's choir over a 1980s pop music style tune during the first three seasons.
Dave Ogilvie Dave "Rave" Ogilvie is a Canadian record producer, mixer, songwriter and musician. The former member of bands Skinny Puppy and Jakalope started his recording career in Vancouver working as an engineer at Mushroom Studios. He has been described by ...
and Anthony Valcic of Canadian
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
-pop group
Jakalope Jakalope is a Canadian Indie pop/ rock group, formed in 2003 and named for the mythical creature of the jackalope, and started by noted Canadian industrial musician and producer Dave "Rave" Ogilvie, most famous for his studio work with such act ...
reworked and performed the song with a heavier sound to reflect the growing maturity of the characters in season four. For seasons six and seven, the theme—still performed by Jakalope—was remixed and stripped of vocals. A fourth version of the theme song, with lyrics sung by
Damhnait Doyle Damhnait Doyle (; born December 9, 1975) is a Canadian musician, singer and composer. A phonetic spelling of her first name (which is Irish) also serves as the title of her 2003 album. She was a member of Atlantic Canadian band Shaye from 2003 ...
, was introduced for the eighth season, and a fifth version of the theme, performed by the in-show band " Stüdz" was used for the ninth and tenth seasons. For seasons eleven and twelve, a sixth version of the theme song was used, performed by
Alexz Johnson Alexzandra Spencer Johnson (born November 4, 1986) is a Canadian musician, actress, and philanthropist. Her debut album ''Voodoo'' was independently released with her brother Brendan Johnson in 2010, followed by the demo release of ''The Basem ...
. Seasons thirteen and fourteen featured a truncated version of the Alexz Johnson theme.


Music

Jim McGrath created the musical score for each episode using an instrumental version of the theme music. He also worked with actors such as
Jake Epstein Jacob Lee Epstein (born January 16, 1987) is a Canadian actor and singer. He played Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder, on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. He also played Will in the First National Tour of '' American Idiot'', an ...
,
Melissa McIntyre Melissa Erin McIntyre (born May 31, 1986) is a Canadian former actress. She is best known for her role as Ashley Kerwin on the long-running CTV/The N teen drama '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''.Menon, Vinay (March 20, 2006). "Teen drama Degras ...
and
Jamie Johnston James Michael Johnston (born July 7, 1989) is a Canadian actor and singer-songwriter. He is best known for his role as Peter Stone on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. Personal life and career Johnston was born July 7, 1989 in Toronto, Ontar ...
, when writing music for their characters
Craig Manning Craig E. Manning is a professor of geology and geochemistry in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as department chair between 2009 and 2012. Manning's research inter ...
, Ashley Kerwin, and
Peter Stone Peter Stone may refer to: *Pete Stone, Australian footballer in the 1956 Summer Olympics * Peter G. Stone (born 1957), British archaeologist *Peter Stone (cricketer) (born 1938), New Zealand cricketer *Peter Stone (professor) (born 1971), professo ...
to perform in the bands Downtown Sasquatch, Paige Michalchuk and the Sexkittens (PMS),
Hell Hath No Fury Hell Hath No Fury may refer to: Literature * "Hell hath no fury", an interpreted line based on a quotation from the 1697 play ''The Mourning Bride'' by William Congreve * ''Hell Hath No Fury'', a 1951 novel by Sydney James Bounds, writing as Re ...
, and Stüdz. In addition to being scored, ''Degrassi'' featured a mix of original
emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...
,
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
and pop music. Popular songs were used sparingly in the series, mainly because of budget constraints. Usually, music supervisor Jody Colero selected songs from little-known, unsigned Canadian artists. When these songs were included, they originated from a
diegetic Diegesis (; from the Greek from , "to narrate") is a style of fiction storytelling that presents an interior view of a world in which: # Details about the world itself and the experiences of its characters are revealed explicitly through narra ...
source. Examples of this could be seen in the first-season episode "Jagged Little Pill", when well-known songs were played during Ashley's house party, at the wedding reception in the fifth-season episode "Weddings, Parties, Anything", and during the party scene in the seventh-season episode "Everything She Wants".


Filming locations

The ''Degrassi'' universe was set on
De Grassi Street De Grassi Street is a side street located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named after Captain Filippo "Philip" De Grassi, an Italian-born soldier who immigrated to Canada with his family in 1831 and settled in York, Upper Canada. He later ...
in Toronto, Ontario. The three previous series were filmed on and near the street. However, ''The Next Generation'' was filmed at Epitome Pictures' four soundstages and backlot located at the company's production studios in Toronto. The facade of Degrassi Community School was the exterior of Studio C, and used the same colours and glass pattern as Centennial College, which was used to depict the school in ''Degrassi High''. The area in front of this facade featured a "hoarding area" where students gathered, and a street and a bus stop across the road. The studio's backlot was used for exterior shots of the characters' houses, where each unit was dressed differently for each house, and The Dot Grill. The building for The Dot was the only one on the backlot that was large enough to allow filming inside, while scenes that took place inside the school and house interiors were filmed on one of four sound stages. Studio A contained sets for the school's hallways, washrooms, cafeteria and classrooms. The hallways were stenciled with phrases such as "the perfect human being is all human", which were found at the Etobicoke School for the Arts, one of the many schools that set designers used during their original research. The washroom set had graffiti on the walls to look authentic, and the urinals are installed and removed as needed. The set used for the cafeteria was designed to be "purposefully bland to take the edge off the rest of the school looking so beautiful." It was also used as the studio's cafeteria where the cast and crew eat. In addition to being used as the exterior of the school, Studio C held sets for the school's entrance foyer, the gymnasium, the media lab and a hallway with lockers. As the series progressed and the budget increased, a stairway and balcony were installed in the foyer in an attempt to get characters off the floor and not all appear in the same geometric plane. For the first few seasons, the gym floor was made of real wooden floorboards; due to warping, it was replaced by concrete painted to look like wood. Studio B contained the sets for the characters' houses and ''The Core'' newspaper office which was introduced in season six. The fourth studio, Studio D, housed all of the production offices, dressing rooms, and make-up and hair departments. The pool hall and university campus club sets were built in Studio D for the seventh season.
York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
's Keele Campus in Toronto served as the location for various sites at Smithdale University.


Episodes


Cast


Main roles


Main

For the new generation of students, producers auditioned over six hundred school-aged children in an attempt to provide characters to which the teenaged target-audience could relate. The decision to cast age-similar actors was purposeful to contrast the series from other shows of the same period such as ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' and ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'', which had cast actors in their twenties as teenagers. Eleven children were given star billing in the first season. Sarah Barrable-Tishauer portrayed the lonely high-achiever Liberty Van Zandt. Daniel Clark played bad-boy Sean Cameron.
Lauren Collins Lauren Felice Collins (born August 29, 1986) is a Canadian actress, best known for portraying Paige Michalchuk on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. She has also had supporting roles in the films '' Take the Lead'' (2006) and ''Charlie Bartlett ...
was cast as
Paige Michalchuk '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, the school's head cheerleader and
queen bee A queen bee is typically an adult, mated female (gyne) that lives in a colony or hive of honey bees. With fully developed reproductive organs, the queen is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the beehive. Queens are developed ...
.
Ryan Cooley Ryan Hadison Cooley (born May 18, 1988) is a Canadian consultant and former actor. He is best known for his role as James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' which he starred in from 2001 until 2007. He also studied thea ...
portrayed class clown James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke, with
Jake Goldsbie Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Goldsbie (born August 8, 1988) is a Canadian actor, who is best known for playing as Toby Isaacs in the CTV television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' from 2001 until 2009. Biography Goldsbie graduated from Conc ...
cast as J.T.'s best friend,
Toby Isaacs '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, a computer geek.
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
portrayed basketball star Jimmy Brooks, who came from a wealthy family.
Shane Kippel Shane Warren Kippel (born June 4, 1986) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Gavin "Spinner" Mason on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. In 2010, after nine years on ''Degrassi'', Kippel was written out of the program and did ...
played school bully Gavin "Spinner" Mason.
Miriam McDonald Miriam Katherine McDonald (born July 26, 1987) is a Canadian actress best known for playing the lead role Emma Nelson on the television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. Career McDonald focused on acting, playing a role in the series ...
was cast as
Emma Nelson '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, an environmental rights activist, with
Cassie Steele Cassandra Rae Steele (born December 2, 1989) is a Canadian actress and singer known for portraying Manny Santos on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Abby Vargas on '' The L.A. Complex''. In 2014, she played Sarah in the MTV horror televis ...
cast in the role of Emma's best friend, promiscuous high school cheerleader Manuela "Manny" Santos. Melissa McIntyre portrayed Ashley Kerwin, the perfect girl who attracted the popular boys, and who the other girls are jealous of. Christina Schmidt portrayed the overweight and insecure
Terri McGreggor ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television programme, television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV Television Network, CTV on October ...
. Providing ties to the previous series in the ''Degrassi'' universe,
Stefan Brogren Stefan Brogren (born 21 April 1972) is a Canadian actor, director, and producer. He is best known as Archie "Snake" Simpson in the ''Degrassi'' franchise of television shows. Early life Stefan Brogren was born on 21 April 1972, in Toronto, O ...
was approached to play his old character
Archie "Snake" Simpson '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, now working at the school as the media immersion teacher. Dan Woods reprised his role as English teacher Mr. Raditch, who was promoted to school principal, and
Pat Mastroianni Pasquale "Pat" Mastroianni (born December 22, 1971) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Joey Jeremiah in the ''Degrassi'' franchise, for which he received a Gemini Award in 1988. Biography Mastroianni grew up in Toronto, th ...
returned to his role as
Joey Jeremiah Joseph "Joey" Jeremiah is a fictional character from the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise. He is portrayed by Pat Mastroianni. He debuted in the first episode of ''Degrassi Junior High'' and appeared throughout ''Degrassi Junior High'', ''Degra ...
.
Amanda Stepto Amanda Felicitas Stepto (born 31 July 1970) is a Canadian former actress who gained nationwide fame for her role as teen mother Christine "Spike" Nelson in the ''Degrassi'' franchise. Having no previous acting experience, Stepto rose to natio ...
also returned to the franchise to play her character
Christine "Spike" Nelson Christine "Spike" Nelson is a fictional character from the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise. Portrayed by Amanda Stepto, Spike appeared throughout ''Degrassi Junior High'' (1987-89)'', Degrassi High'' (1989-91), and the first nine seasons of '' ...
as a
recurring role A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...
. In the pilot episode, former ''
Degrassi Junior High ''Degrassi Junior High'' is a Canadian television series and the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler. A successor but not a direct spin-off of ''The Kids of Degrassi Street'', it debuted on CBC ...
'' and ''
Degrassi High ''Degrassi High'' is a Canadian teen drama television series and the third series in the ''Degrassi'' franchise created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood. A direct continuation of '' Degrassi Junior High'', it debuted on CBC in Canada on November ...
'' actors Danah Jean Brown (Trish Skye), Darrin Brown (Dwayne Myers), Michael Carry (Simon Dexter), Irene Courakos (Alexa Pappadopoulos), Chrissa Erodotou (Diana Economopoulos),
Anais Granofsky Anais Granofsky (born May 14, 1973) is a Canadian actress, screenwriter, producer and director. She is best known for portraying Lucy Fernandez in the ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' series. Early life Granofsky was born in Spring ...
(
Lucy Fernandez The following is a list of the characters from the ''Degrassi Classic'' era of the Canadian teen drama ''Degrassi'' franchise, created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. ''Degrassi Junior High'' was the second series in the ''Degrassi'' franc ...
), Rebecca Haines ( Kathleen Mead), Sarah Holmes (Alison Hunter),
Neil Hope Philip Neil Hope (September 24, 1972 – November 18, 2007Cited ''Toronto Star'' report states he was likely dead for more than a week prior to discovery.), better known and credited as Neil Hope, was a Canadian actor who was best known for por ...
( Derek "Wheels" Wheeler), Kyra Levy (Maya Goldberg), Cathy Keenan (Liz O'Rourke),
Stacie Mistysyn Stacie Mo'ana Mistysyn (; born July 23, 1971) is an American-Canadian former actress best known for her work as Caitlin Ryan on '' Degrassi Junior High/Degrassi High'', which ran from 1987 to 1991, and for reprising her role as Caitlin on '' D ...
( Caitlin Ryan), and
Siluck Saysanasy Siluck Saysanasy (born January 30, 1974) is a Laotian-Canadian television actor. Saysanasy is best known for playing "Yick Yu", a character from the ''Degrassi'' series. He went to high school at Vaughan Road Academy in Toronto, Ontario, in ...
(Yick Yu) reprised their roles for the class reunion storyline. In
season two Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * ''2econd Season ''2econd Season'' is the second and most recent album by Atlanta-based rapper Unk. Release It was released on November 4, 2008. Guest Performers The album features gu ...
, Mastroianni returned to the ''Degrassi'' franchise in a starring role as Joey Jeremiah, a car salesman and single father of two children. Joey's stepson, musician
Craig Manning Craig E. Manning is a professor of geology and geochemistry in the Department of Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as department chair between 2009 and 2012. Manning's research inter ...
, played by
Jake Epstein Jacob Lee Epstein (born January 16, 1987) is a Canadian actor and singer. He played Craig Manning, a musician with bipolar disorder, on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. He also played Will in the First National Tour of '' American Idiot'', an ...
, was a new student at Degrassi Community School. Three other new characters were introduced in season two in recurring roles. Stacey Farber played
Ellie Nash '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, a goth whose home life was in turmoil, and
Adamo Ruggiero Adamo Angelo Ruggiero (born June 9, 1986) is a Canadian actor best known for his role as Marco Del Rossi in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. Career Ruggiero has been acting since the age of seven or eight. He has starred in many plays includ ...
portrayed
Marco Del Rossi '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
, who was struggling to accept the reality that he is gay. Melissa Di Marco was cast as science and gym teacher Daphne Hatzilakos. Mistysyn also returned to her former ''Degrassi'' role as Joey's ex-high school sweetheart, Caitlyn Ryan, who in the years following graduation had become a world-renowned journalist. In
season three A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Farber, Ruggiero and Mistysyn were given regular roles, as were
Andrea Lewis Andrea Desiree Lewis (born August 15, 1985) is a Canadian actress and singer known for her role as Hazel Aden in the long-running TV series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''. Television and film Lewis appeared with Diahann Carroll in the biop ...
(
Hazel Aden '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore. The series is now considered the first incarnation and premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and then ended on MTV Canada and ...
) and Stepto, who had held recurring roles since the first season. Mike Lobel ( Jay Hogart), Deanna Casaluce (Alex Nuñez),
Ephraim Ellis Ephraim Todd Ellis (born February 23, 1985) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for playing Rick Murray on '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and Danny Ellis on ''Falcon Beach.'' Early life Ephraim Ellis was born in Toronto, Ontario on Febr ...
( Rick Murray) and John Bregar ( Dylan Michalchuk) were introduced in recurring roles as new students. Towards the end of the season, Schmidt's character, Terri McGreggor, was written out of the show when her possessive boyfriend Rick pushed her to the ground and knocked her head against a rock, causing her to fall into a coma. Over the course of the ten seasons of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', there have been several departures from the series. Season six depicted the first death of one of the show's main characters when J.T. Yorke was stabbed and killed. Clark's character Sean Cameron has been written out of the show twice. He left the series during the fourth season in the wake of the death of Rick Murray, and returned for the sixth season, but departed the series again at the end of the season. At the end of season five several main characters graduated from Degrassi Community School, and either left the series or went on to university. Six new characters were introduced in season seven in a storyline where nearby rival high school Lakehurst merged with Degrassi following a fire. Season eight saw many changes when many of the existing cast members, including Collins, Farber, Graham, Stepto, Ruggiero, and DiMarco either moved to recurring status or left the series entirely. The exodus of several major cast members was reportedly an executive decision that left the actors and producers on bad terms, with Graham stating in an interview with ''
Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down productio ...
'' that "
he producers He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
did us foul." Thirteen actors were added to the main cast to replace them. By
season nine A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
, Brogren, McDonald, Steele and Kippel were the only actors from season one who remained in the series as storylines began to focus on a new generation of children attending the school. This was done to avoid moving the show to a primarily college setting, as the first generation cast aged or "graduated" out of Degrassi Community School into college. As of season 10, none of the characters from the earlier seasons remained, with the exception of Brogren, whose character was promoted to the principal of Degrassi Community School.


Guest roles

Besides Brogren, Mistysyn, Stepto, and Mastroianni having starring roles, other actors from ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' had returned to guest star in their old roles throughout ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'''s run. As well as the pilot episode featuring the return of many ''Degrassi'' alumni, Granofsky made a second guest appearance during the second season in the episode "White Wedding" when her character attended the wedding of Spike and Snake.
Neil Hope Philip Neil Hope (September 24, 1972 – November 18, 2007Cited ''Toronto Star'' report states he was likely dead for more than a week prior to discovery.), better known and credited as Neil Hope, was a Canadian actor who was best known for por ...
, who portrayed
Wheels A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...
in the original series, returned for a brief cameo in a third-season episode centered around Snake's battle with leukemia. In a fifth-season episode, Keenan guest starred when her character returned to console Spike after her marriage with Snake broke down. Movie director
Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...
and actor
Jason Mewes Jason Edward Mewes (born June 12, 1974) is an American actor, comedian, film producer, and podcaster. He is best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films. Early life Mewes was ...
guest starred as themselves in the final three episodes of the fourth season. The plot for these episodes involved the pair working on ''Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!'', a fictional feature film in the
View Askewniverse The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent ...
, using Degrassi Community School as a filming location. Singer
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s with tw ...
, who had worked with Smith, also guest stars in "Going Down the Road Part One" as herself, acted as the school principal in Smith's film. Smith and Mewes also return to ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' as themselves for two episodes in season five. The storyline in the episodes was of the premiere of ''Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!'' Smith and Mewes guest starred a third time for four episodes in season eight when many of the characters travelled to Hollywood, Los Angeles. In the episodes, Mewes was the writer-director and protagonist of ''Mewesical High'', which starred a number of Degrassi Community School students. Smith appeared in the episodes to support Mewes as he makes his directorial debut. Other guest actors who appeared in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' included
Jayne Eastwood Jayne Eastwood (born December 17, 1946), also credited as Jane Easton or Jane Eastwood, is a Canadian actress and comedian. She is best known for her film roles as Anna-Marie Biddlecoff in the comedy film ''Finders Keepers'' (1984), Judy the Wai ...
as Sean Cameron's mother,
Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...
as Duke, a limousine driver who got arrested, which resulted Jimmy, Hazel, Paige, and Spinner being left stranded in the street. Season seven featured appearances from
Shirley Douglas Shirley Jean Douglas (April 2, 1934 – April 5, 2020) was a Canadian actress and activist. Her acting career combined with her family name made her recognizable in Canadian film, television and national politics. Early life Douglas was born A ...
as a university professor,
Free The Children WE Charity (french: Organisme UNIS), formerly known as Free the Children (French: ''Enfants Entraide''), is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger ...
founder
Craig Kielburger Craig Kielburger (born December 17, 1982) is a Canadian human rights activist and social entrepreneur. He is the co-founder, with his brother Marc Kielburger, of the WE Charity, as well as We Day and the independent, social enterprise Me ...
, and English pop singer
Natasha Bedingfield Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...
as themselves.
Jonathan Torrens Jonathan Ormond Torrens (born October 2, 1972) is a Canadian actor and television personality best known for his co-hosting of '' Street Cents'', his talk show '' Jonovision'', and his role as "J-Roc" in the popular Canadian mockumentary ''Traile ...
guest starred as Emma's father, Shane, in the two-part season three premiere. The character had been played by Bill Parrott in the original series, but he decided not to return the former role. In season 10, ballroom dancer
Jean-Marc Généreux Jean-Marc Généreux ( /ʒɑ̃-maʁk ʒeneʁø/; born December 25, 1962) is a French Canadian ballroom dance champion, choreographer and television personality from Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. He is most prominently known for his roles as judge a ...
appeared as a teacher during the episode " My Body Is a Cage". After the series had moved to MuchMusic cameos became more frequent;
Keke Palmer Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer (born August 26, 1993) ( ) is an American actress, singer and television personality. Known for playing leading and character roles in comedy and drama productions, she has received a Primetime Emmy Award, five NAACP ...
,
Ben Mulroney Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he ...
,
Chaz Bono Chaz Salvatore Bono (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, ''The Sonny ...
, Hedley, and
Fefe Dobson Felicia Lily Dobson (born February 28, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Born in Toronto, Ontario, she began performing as a teenager, during which time she received and refused an offer from Jive Records for a recording contract. Dobso ...
also made appearances in the show.


Broadcast and distribution


First-run broadcast

While ''Degrassi'' originally aired in Canada on CBC, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was broadcast on
Bell Media Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
-owned stations. Until mid-season 9, it aired on CTV. It moved to sister network
MuchMusic Much (an abbreviation for its full name MuchMusic) is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. MuchMusic launched on August 31 ...
in 2010. In 2013, following a revamp of MuchMusic's schedule, the show moved to
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
in Canada. It currently airs on ABC Spark, Disney Channel, CMT and YTV as of 2020. In the United States, it aired on
Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...
's programming block for teenagers,
The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytime l ...
. By 2004, it had become the highest-rated show on the block; an episode that aired July 2, 2004 was watched by a record 300,000 people, and
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
called it "the No. 1 program for Noggin viewers 12 to 17." Seasons 6 and 7 premiered on The N before they aired on CTV. During mid-season 9, the show was carried over to
TeenNick TeenNick is an American Pay television, pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from si ...
, a channel that merged the programming of two
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
-owned teen blocks (Noggin's The N and
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
's TEENick). Before season 10, CTV executives told the production crew that they were cancelling the show due to a decline in viewing figures since season 7. The co-creator Linda Schuyler and executive producer Stephen Stohn were unsure of the fate of the show after this meeting. At the same time, Stohn had recently been in talks with his American partners at
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
about creating a brand-new
telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar drama genres around the world include '' teleserye'' ...
-style show for the TeenNick channel. Instead of making a new show, he pitched a revamp of ''Degrassi'' with a telenovela format. Combined with marketing efforts and support from Viacom, the show avoided cancellation. During this time, the show was re-titled as ''Degrassi''. The show's cancellation was announced in June 2015. That same month, on June 9, Epitome Pictures announced that a sequel series, '' Degrassi: Next Class'', would premiere on Family Channel, owned by
DHX Media WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children ...
, and streamed outside of Canada on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
. Episodes became available on Netflix in Canada following the conclusion of the first season.


Post-broadcast distribution

In Canada, stripped reruns of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' have aired on
CTV Two CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional ...
and
MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...
, which are owned by Bell Media. In the United States, independent distributor Program Partners and
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...
, announced on September 24, 2006, that they acquired the syndication rights to the first 119 episodes of the show in the United States, and any subsequent new episodes. In December 2006, Sony Pictures Television and Program Partners had reached agreements with the
Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
for every station it owned,
The CW Plus The CW Plus is a secondary national programming service feed of The CW that is fully controlled and 75% owned by Nexstar Media Group, with Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery each owning a 12.5% stake in the network. It is intended primar ...
affiliated stations, and many other stations owned by major media conglomerates. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was cleared in 60% of the country including all five of the top five media markets. By March 2007, Program Partners had cleared it in over 70% of the country after stations owned by
Hearst-Argyle Television Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbo ...
,
Capitol Broadcasting Company The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington areas of North Carolina and the Du ...
, and
ACME Communications ACME Communications was a U.S.-based broadcasting company that was involved in operations of television stations and programming from the late 1990s to the year of 2013. Company profile ACME Communications was co-founded by Chairman and origina ...
purchased the syndication. The series met the US
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
's educational and informational guidelines towards children's programming. In October 2019, as part of a content deal struck between Viacom and
WildBrain WildBrain Ltd. (formerly known as DHX Media, Ltd.) is a Canadian media, animation studio, production, and brand licensing company, mostly associated as an entertainment company. The company is known for owning the largest library of children' ...
, a channel dedicated to ''Degrassi'' was added to
Pluto TV Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United Sta ...
on channel 172 (now channel 144) of the free, advertiser-supported streaming service's entertainment tier, offering episodes of ''Degrassi'', with a limited number of episodes—including those that consisted of portions of two-part episodes, such as "Bitter Sweet Symphony (Part 1)"—omitted from the episode rotation. As of July 2021, reruns of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' continue to air on certain Canadian television networks owned by
Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
, including
ABC Spark ABC Spark is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was launched on March 26, 2012, replacing the declining channel Dusk. ABC Spark is based on the U.S. subscription channel Freeform (previously ...
, CMT, and YTV.


DVD releases

The first twelve seasons of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' have been released on DVD. The box sets are released in Canada by Alliance Home Entertainment. In the United States,
FUNimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...
released the first six seasons and Echo Bridge Entertainment released seasons seven through twelve. Each season boxset includes extra features such as pictures,
karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
sessions, audition tapes,
blooper A blooper is a short clip from a film or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast or news report, usually in terms o ...
s, deleted scenes and more. In Australia, seasons 1 to 4 were released by Umbrella Entertainment in 2010 and 2011. These DVDs are compatible with the region 4 code, which is in use in, Oceania and Latin America. The three-episode story arc from the fourth season in which Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes guest star has also been released as a single disc Region 1 DVD. FUNimation Entertainment released the disc on November 8, 2005, in two versions: the first subtitled as "Uncut, Uncensored and Unrated", and the second, "Rated." Each release has the same DVD extras, including an interview with Kevin Smith, bloopers and a ''Jay and Silent Bob'' Photo Album. The Unrated release also features episode commentaries by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Stacie Mistysyn, the associate producer Jim Jackman and writer Aaron Martin.


Streaming

''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' has been made available over various streaming platforms over the years. During the show's original run, episodes were uploaded to CTV and The N's websites in Canada and the United States respectively. It was also made available on
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
in North America. In 2007, Puretracks in Canada offered episodes for download as a media file that could be only burned or copied three times. In the US,
Zune Zune is a discontinued line of digital media products and services marketed by Microsoft from November 2006 until its discontinuation in June 2012. Zune consisted of a line of portable media players, digital media player software for Windows Per ...
sold the full series. All 14 seasons were made available to stream on
HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...
on March 25, 2022.


Impact and reception


Critical reception

''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' has received generally positive reviews. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' has called it "a cult hit", and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' named it "Tha Best Teen TV N da WRLD (The best teen TV in the world)". Of the first season, ''
The Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newsp ...
'' Tony Atherton had mixed feelings of the new incarnation, saying it "has a cleaner, more polished look, has lost its edge nd offersnothing new to viewers familiar with the groundbreaking preceding series, nor to anyone else who has watched the deluge of teen dramas since ... there is a sense of déjà vu with regards to the plots and characters". He did, however, praise the show for having "the same simple narrative told from a kid's viewpoint, and the same regard for unvarnished reality s ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High''. Before its debut in the United States, ''
The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
'' Melanie McFarland wondered whether the series would do well, writing: "soft-pedaling through the issues might work for today's family of viewers, but what's gentle enough for Mom and Dad's peace of mind might not be enough to hook Junior or the original ''Degrassi'''s older fans". The issues that the characters experience have often been commented on in the media. It has been noted that the series never attempts to hide from depicting honest accounts of the trials and tribulations that real teenagers may often experience. Sarah Liss from
CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.ca. ...
said that despite often being corny and soap opera-y, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' tackles issues that other genre series prefer to gloss over, and was part of her essential viewing. She named the series one of "the enmost important television shows of the 2000s", and was the only children's series, and the only Canadian television series, to appear on the list, which included ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its fict ...
'', ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
'', the CSI franchise, and ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
''. In 2008, Jeffrey Bento-Carrier described one storyline that showed a teacher being accused of sexually assaulting one of his students as "shock ng, adding that "''Degrassi'' is not for everyone, mainly because it's an honest account what it's like to be a teen in a society which values cliques and confrontation over truth and real growth." Brian Orloff of the ''
St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'' echoed the sentiments, and praised the series for "stay ngin touch with teens' lives". In spite of these comments, The N held back one of the more controversial episodes of the first season, which showed a character losing control after taking an ecstasy pill, and refused to broadcast it until it was presented with an edited copy from the producers. The N also refused to broadcast two episodes from the second season that featured a storyline about date-rape until suitable edits could be made, and withheld other episodes from season three that showed a fourteen-year-old character having an
abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
after having consensual
sexual intercourse Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetrat ...
with her boyfriend, and feeling no regrets. The decision caused an uproar amongst fans who organized a petition that caught the attention of the ''New York Times'', as well as CBC, the ''
National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...
'' and the ''
London Free Press ''The London Free Press'' is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Southwestern Ontario. History ''The London Free Press'' began as the ''Canadian Free Press'', ...
'' in Canada. The episodes eventually aired three years later as part of an "every episode ever"
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...
, with very little advertisement from the network. Another storyline was featured in the media after ten children from a Québécois school were found to have a number of cuts on their bodies. They said they had copied the show when one character began
self harming Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...
herself in an episode. Comparisons between ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' and other genre specific series have also been made throughout the run. Jake Surette, a writer with AfterElton.com, a website which focuses on the portrayal of homosexual and
bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
men in the media, reported on the portrayal of two ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' gay characters. "''Degrassi'' features ongoing stories of real-life teen dilemmas—including intense gay and lesbian storylines—and does it without the righteous, 'On a Very Special ''
Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...
'' endings that many teen dramas and sitcoms thrive on." Kevin Thompson of ''
The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' we ...
'' said the series "is told from a teenager's point of view since the writers have no interest in appealing to a broad-based demographic like the writers on, say, Fox's ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'' ... it connects with teens on their level".
PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...
's Jodie Janella Horn also compared it with ''The O.C.'', saying that while scenes from ''Degrassi'' could be "actual scenes from my actual teenage life ... ''The O.C.'' will never remind me of anything in my life", adding that it is the most unnervingly accurate series ever of the high school genre. The ''
San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...
'' has said "If they 'Everwood'',_''The_O.C._ ''The_O.C._''_is_an_American_teen_drama_television_series_created_by_Josh_Schwartz_that_originally_aired_on_the_Fox_Broadcasting_Company,_Fox_network_in_the_United_States_from_August_5,_2003,_to_February_22,_2007,_running_a_total_of_four_seaso_...
'',_and_''One_Tree_Hill_(TV_series).html" "title="Everwood.html" ;"title="'Everwood">'Everwood'', ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seaso ...
'', and ''One Tree Hill (TV series)">One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...
''] want to be taken seriously, the shows could take a cue from Canadian drama ''Degrassi: The Next Generation,'' which ... addresses the same gritty teen issues without being far-fetched". The ''New York Times'' has also made favourable reviews of the series in comparison to ''Everwood'', ''The O.C.'', and ''One Tree Hill'', as well as ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to by its short title, ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran fo ...
'', ''
Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino and starring Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) and Alexis Bledel (Rory Gilmore). The show debuted on October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagshi ...
'', ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
'', and adult series such as ''
Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
'', '' Maude'', and '' Six Feet Under''.
AOL TV AOL TV was the name of both a thin client which uses a television for display (rather than a monitor), and the online service that supports it, both of which were launched in June 2000 to compete with WebTV. The product and service were develop ...
ranked it as the sixth TV's Biggest Guilty Pleasure.


Television ratings

With characters from ''Degrassi Junior High'' and ''Degrassi High'' appearing in ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'', viewers of the earlier series who were in their 20s and 30s made up a dedicated fan base of the current incarnation. Approximately 40% of the series' viewers are outside of ''Degrassi: The Next Generation''s 12- to 17-year-old target audience. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' averaged 365,000 viewers aged 12–20 years old in season one, and became the most watched domestic drama in Canada. By the end of season two, it had become the most popular Canadian show for the three youngest age groups (children aged 2–11, teenagers aged 12–17 and young adults aged 18–34). In the third season, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was again the most-watched all-Canadian drama series, and the most watched Canadian drama among adults 18–49. A season four episode that featured a school shooting received 930,000 viewers; at that time it was the programme's highest-ever rating. A second episode in the same season that featured a storyline about
oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...
also earned just under 1,000,000 viewers. Overall, the season averaged 600,000 viewers, and was again the top Canadian drama for teens aged 12–17, and adults in three age brackets 18–34, 18–49 and 25–54. It averaged 250,000 viewers in the US in 2004 and was the highest rated digital cable series in the US in 2006. While that figure was still far lower than successful shows on the "big four" networks (
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
,
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
), the premiere episodes of earlier seasons had achieved higher audience numbers with females aged 12–34. 2004 also saw the school-shooting episode receive more than half a million US viewers. The fifth season drew in an average of 767,000 viewers, with episode two of the season was seen by 1,000,000 viewers. Ratings began to decline halfway through the series' run. In Canada, season six was watched by fewer viewers than had watched season five; episode fourteen was the highest-viewed episode of the season, with a total of 645,000 viewers. The season finale was watched by 520,000 viewers, and the season overall averaged 522,000 viewers. The average viewing figures fell again during the seventh season. The season premiere achieved the highest figures with 585,000 viewers. This progressively dropped over the coming weeks, from 446,000 total viewers for the third episode, to 407,000 total viewers for the fifth episode, and continued to fall to a low of 314,000 viewers by the tenth episode. Overall, the first twelve episodes of the season averaged 455,000 viewers, 45,000 less than the same number of episodes from the season six. Viewing figures continued to fall throughout season eight; Bill Brioux, the television columnist for
The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...
, was surprised that ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' had even reached its eighth season with such poor ratings, asking "What other show in the history of Canadian or American television has so consistently drawn so few viewers yet gets renewed year after year?" The season premiere was watched by 398,000 viewers, almost 200,000 viewers fewer than what the premiere of season seven achieved. Viewing figures continued to drop when episodes two and six were both watched by an average of 220,000 viewers. At the time they were the lowest figures ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' has ever received; however, they continued to fall and by episode eleven, overnight ratings indicated it had received 139,000 viewers. The overall number of viewers rose slightly for the thirteenth episode, the first of a two-parter, when it was watched by 157,000 people, but the viewing figures for the key 18–34 demographics was at a low of 81,000. The following week, the episode that concluded the two-parter picked up viewers, reaching an estimated total of 206,000. Brioux commented again about ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' still being on the schedules, wondering when CTV was going to announce its cancellation and noting that ''
The Amazing Race ''The Amazing Race'' is an adventure reality game show franchise in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. The ''Race'' is split into legs, with teams tasked to deduce clues, navigate themselves in forei ...
'', which follows it in the scheduling, was watched by ten times the number of ''Degrassi''s viewers. That pattern was repeated the following week, when ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was watched by 222,000 viewers, compared to 1,834,000 viewers for ''The Amazing Race'', 1,579,000 viewers for ''
Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...
'' and 1,106,000 viewers for ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
'', which were broadcast by CTV later in the evening. CTV aired two episodes back-to-back in the first half of season nine, and the scheduling had improved ratings. The first two episodes earned a combined figure of 471,000 viewers, and the third and fourth episodes retained them; they were watched by a combined 475,000 viewers. The following week, the total viewing figures for episodes five and six had increased to 608,000, and remained high as the season went into
hiatus Hiatus may refer to: *Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure *Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species ''Hiatus fulvipes'' *Globa ...
in November with 572,000 total viewers.


Awards

''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' has received numerous awards and nominations. The
Writers Guild of Canada The Writers Guild of Canada is an organization representing more than 2,500 professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the Guild write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of th ...
awarded its
Canadian Screenwriting Awards The WGC Screenwriting Awards (previously Canadian Screenwriting Awards) are administered by the Writers Guild of Canada, and are awarded to the best script for a feature film, television or radio project produced within the Guild's jurisdiction, ...
to the writers of two episodes. In 2004, Aaron Martin, James Hurst and Shelley Scarrow won the "Best Youth Script Award" for "
Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
". The following year, the Scarrow-penned episode "
Secret Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controvers ...
" vied with "
Mercy Street "Mercy Street" is a song written by English musician Peter Gabriel from his 1986 album '' So''. Background and recording The song was inspired by the personal and confessional works of the American poet Anne Sexton, who wrote a play titled '' ...
", written by James Hurst and Miklos Perlus for the "Best Youth Script Award". "Mercy Street" won. The series has been nominated for fourteen Directors Guild of Canada Awards. In the "Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series – Children's" group category, the Bruce McDonald helmed "
Mother and Child Reunion "Mother and Child Reunion" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. It was the lead single from his second studio album, ''Paul Simon'' (1972), released on Columbia Records. Background It was at the time one of the few songs by a ...
" (nominated 2002) and "
When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...
" (nominated 2003) were winners. "
White Wedding A white wedding is a traditional formal or semi-formal wedding originating in Great Britain. The term originates from the white colour of the wedding dress, which first became popular with Victorian era elites after Queen Victoria wore a whit ...
", also directed by McDonald, won the award in 2003 for "Outstanding Achievement in Direction – Television Series". McDonald's "
Holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...
" (nominated 2004), and Stefan Scaini's " Time Stands Still, part 2" (nominated 2005) won the group categories for "Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series – Family". "
Can't Hardly Wait ''Can't Hardly Wait'' is a 1998 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars an ensemble cast including Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jenn ...
" and "
Pass the Dutchie "Pass the Dutchie" is a 1982 song performed by British-Jamaican band Musical Youth, taken from their debut studio album, '' The Youth of Today''. It was produced by Toney Owens from Kingston, Jamaica. The song was a major hit, hitting number on ...
" were also nominated in that category in 2007 and 2008, respectively, but failed to win the awards. Stephen Withrow picked up two awards in the "Outstanding Achievement in Picture Editing" category, for "Mother and Child Reunion" in 2002 and "When Doves Cry" in 2003. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' had won seventeen
Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...
s since 2002, and had been nominated in twenty-six other categories. In 2010, producer
Linda Schuyler Linda Schuyler, (; née Bawcutt; born February 12, 1948) is a Canadian television producer. She is best known for being the co-creator and producer of the ''Degrassi'' teen drama franchise, which has spanned five series over four decades. She i ...
received the
Academy Achievement Award The Academy Achievement Award is an award presented by the Canadian Gemini Awards to an individual for their "exceptional, outstanding or ongoing contribution or service to the Canadian television industry." It is presented at the discretion of ...
. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' had also seen awards success internationally. It was nominated for a "Best Children's Television Programme" Prix Jeunesse in Germany in 2004, and has been nominated at the
GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their live ...
four times. In 2004, the show received a nomination in the Outstanding Drama Series category, but lost to the sports drama ''
Playmakers ''Playmakers'' is an American drama series that aired on ESPN from August 26 to November 11, 2003. It depicted the lives of the Cougars, a fictional professional football team in an unidentified city. The show starred Omar Gooding, Marcello Thed ...
''. It was nominated in the same category again in 2008, but lost to '' Brothers & Sisters''. In 2005, ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' won the
Television Critics Association Award The TCA Awards are awards presented by the Television Critics Association in recognition of excellence in television. There are eleven categories, which are presented every summer towards the end of the organization's summer press tour. Due to ...
for "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming." It was only the second time that a non-United States series has won an award in this category (the first time was ''Degrassi Junior High'' in 1988). The
Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
had been recognising actors in the ''Degrassi'' franchise since 1987. ''Degrassi: The Next Generation'' was nominated for four awards in its first year. Ryan Cooley and Jake Goldsbie were nominated in the "Best Leading Young Actor Performance in a TV Comedy Series" category, but lost to
Frankie Muniz Francisco Muniz IV (; born December 5, 1985) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2006), which earned him an Emmy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Award n ...
from ''
Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American family television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for Fox. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes. The series follows a dysfunctional ...
''. The series won the award for "Best Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama TV Series" category. A year later, Jake Epstein won the Young Artist Award in the category for "Best Leading Young Actor Performance in a TV Comedy Series". In 2005, Christina Schmidt tied with
Alia Shawkat Alia Martine Shawkat ( ; ar, عليا مارتين شوكت; born April 18, 1989) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in '' The Old Man'', '' State of Grace'', Maeby Fünke in the Fox/Netflix television sitcom ''Arrested Develop ...
of ''
Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...
'' to win the award for "Best Supporting Young Actress Performance in a TV Comedy Series", and Jamie Johnston won the 2008 category for "Best Leading Young Actor Performance in a TV Series". Young Artist Awards were awarded again in 2012, with both Cristine Prosperi and A.J. Saudin winning awards in the Lead Young Actress and Recurring Young Actor categories respectively. However, they both tied with another in their category. At the
Teen Choice Award The Teen Choice Awards is an annual awards show that airs on the Fox television network. The awards honor the year's biggest achievements in music, film, sports, television, fashion, social media, and more, voted by viewers living in the United S ...
s, children aged between twelve and nineteen vote for each category's winner. The series was nominated three times in the "Choice Summer TV Show" category, and won twice, in 2005 and 2007. The episode " My Body Is a Cage", where Adam was outed as transgender, earned a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
,70th Annual Peabody Awards
May 2011.
and a
Creative Arts Emmy Award The Creative Arts Emmys are a class of Emmy Awards presented in recognition of technical and other similar achievements in American television programming. They are commonly awarded to behind-the-scenes personnel such as production designers, set ...
nomination in 2011.


Notes


References

*


External links


Official MTV Canada website
(Canada)
Archive of The N website
(United States) * {{Playing With Time, Inc. and Epitome Pictures 2000s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series 2010s Canadian LGBT-related drama television series 2000s Canadian high school television series 2010s Canadian high school television series 2000s Canadian teen drama television series 2010s Canadian teen drama television series 2001 Canadian television series debuts 2015 Canadian television series endings English-language television shows Television series about bullying Canadian television soap operas Teenage pregnancy in television Gay-related television shows Lesbian-related television shows Sequel television series Serial drama television series Transgender-related television shows Television shows set in Toronto Television shows filmed in Toronto The N original programming Funimation Television shows about drugs Television series by DHX Media Television series by Bell Media Television series by Entertainment One Fiction about interracial romance CTV Television Network original programming Canadian Screen Award-winning television shows Peabody Award-winning television programs Television series by Alliance Atlantis MTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming Television series about teenagers Works about puberty Works about adolescence Coming-of-age television shows