Degrassi

The Degrassi series is a group of Canadian dramas and specials that followed the lives of a group of children and teenagers who lived on De Grassi Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The early Degrassi series were produced by the small production company Playing With Time.

At the beginning

Linda Schuyler, a former teacher, and Kit Hood, a video editor and former child actor, first established the Playing With Time company in 1976. The first few productions were fun, educational videos for children and adolescents in junior high school. After their adaption of the children's book Ida Makes A Movie by Kay Chorao, the idea for the mini-series The Kids of Degrassi Street was born.

In 1979, CBC Television and Magic Lantern agreed to give partial funding to make the mini-series of six episodes, initially intended to continue on from Ida Makes A Movie. Several years passed before Playing With Time were able to afford the six episodes per year deal, and by 1986, 26 episodes of The Kids Of Degrassi Street were produced. They auditioned a small group of young actors with little if any acting experience and started filming around the area where their company was located on a modest budget. This series focused on elementary and primary school children, and when all the characters reached grade six, the series finished. The production company began work on a sequel-like series, Degrassi Junior High, re-using seven of the actors who had acted on the original series, but with different character names. The series focused on more adult issues and used a larger cast.

Degrassi Junior High

Degrassi Junior High first aired in 1987 on CBC in Canada and PBS in the United States. It delivered an average of fifteen episodes per season for three seasons, developing a cult following for its realistic and gritty portrayal of teenage life. After the cast grew up, their stories continued into the spin-off series, Degrassi High, where the cast was once again expanded and a larger building was used to portray the high school. Degrassi High aired on CBC and PBS for two years until early 1991. These series are often compared to Beverly Hills, 90210, a more melodramatic series, which began airing in the United States at the same time.

A few months later, the 90-minute Degrassi made-for-TV film School's Out was produced, which concluded the series. It sparked controversy and anger amongst fans and critics for the unusual characterization of familiar characters and infamous scenes of sexuality and coarse language (U.S. viewers saw a toned down version when it aired in 1993, which did not feature the infamous "F-bombs" Canadian viewers got to see). A six-part documentary series entitled Degrassi Talks was aired soon after to moderate success.

Hood and Schuyler subsequently worked on a similar series, Liberty Street, which applied the Degrassi format to a series about twentysomethings living on their own for the first time. Pat Mastroianni, one of the most famous actors from the Degrassi series, appeared in Liberty Street as well, although playing a different character.

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Almost a decade later, the Degrassi series was reborn with Degrassi: The Next Generation. This Degrassi series deals with similar issues as its predecessor, yet in a more contemporary setting. It has been extremely successful thus far and has grown its own distinct cult following amongst teenagers and adults alike. This series is broadcast on CTV in Canada and rebroadcast to the United States on the cable channel The N, to Australia on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation network, and to Mexico on the cable channel MTV Latin America. It is believed to be the most successful rebroadcasting of a Canadian series to American TV (despite a near-common English language and geographical proximity, Canadian TV is very rarely rebroadcast to the US, even though the reverse is fairly common). It is among the most popular teen dramas in the U.S., with a fanbase nearly as large as other popular shows of that type (The O.C., One Tree Hill), this despite the fact that only about 10-20% of the potential TV viewing audience even has access to The N.

This newer, hipper, version of Degrassi has thus far dealt with very mature topics, such as homosexuality, rape, various sex-related subjects, and even a school shooting. But in the fifth season, two major topics that have been announced are (the show's fourth) pregnancy and an attempted suicide of one of the main characters.

The show has specifically dealt with five different pregnancies, and finds some of its most popular storylines with those particular plots. The first pregnancy happened to Spike, (played by Amanda Stepto) one of the original Degrassi High characters, at the end of season two, and the birth occurred in the third season premiere. Spike gave birth to a girl, Emma, who became a primary character in The Next Generation (in fact, Emma's story was the catalyst for the series' creation). The second occured during the School's Out movie, with Joey impregnating his on-the-side girlfriend, Tessa Campinelli. This ended in an abortion, without Joey ever knowing he was almost a father.

The next pregnancy was to Manny (played by Cassie Steele), by way of Craig, which also ended in an abortion. This particular episode, entitled "Accidents Will Happen", sparked a very public controversy in the States, where The N refused to air it. Of course, this only brought massive attention from the American mainstream media towards the show in response the The N's censorship, giving Canadian-made television a little slice of deserved glory. Also, "Accidents Will Happen" became a popular internet download, so The N's decision did little to keep the American Degrassi audience from seeing the episode.

The remaining two belong to Spike, who, as an adult, gives birth to Snake's son, and Sarah Barrable-Tishauer's character, Liberty van Zandt. Liberty and JT, the baby's father, put the child up for adoption after it was born.

After the success of Degrassi: The Next Generation, The N began broadcasting episodes of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High in the fall of 2005. These episodes were rebranded as Degrassi, Old School.

Degrassi: The Next Generation has become particularly noteworthy thanks to several guest appearances by popular director Kevin Smith and many of his usual co-stars. Smith, a fan of the series, appeared as himself, visiting the Degrassi Community School while shooting the fictious movie "Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!"

The director's obsession

The most notable booster of the Degrassi series is director Kevin Smith. His first exposure to the Degrassi series came when he and his friend, actor Jason Mewes, worked at a QuickStop in Leonardo, New Jersey around 1990. Every Sunday morning at work, Smith and Mewes watched re-broadcasts of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High on PBS. Drawn by the melodrama of the Degrassi series, he became an obsessed fan.[1] It was also through the love of the series that Smith pays homage to Degrassi by making reference to it in several of his films. The climax of his Degrassi obsession was realized when both he and Mewes landed guest appearances on Degrassi: The Next Generation as thier characters, Jay and Silent Bob. in a three-episode arc to conclude its fourth season and a two-episode arc in season five.

Currently

Recently, a film version of the new Degrassi series has been planned, with Smith tapped as director.

The individual TV series and their original air dates are as follows:

The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979-1985)
Degrassi Junior High (1986-1988)
Degrassi High (1989-1990)
Degrassi Talks (1992)
Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-present)

External links