Degrassi

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Degrassi is a Canadian drama that follows the lives of a group of teenagers who lived on or near De Grassi Street in Toronto, Ontario. The three main series were Degrassi Junior High,Degrassi High and "Degrassi: The Next Generation". The early Degrassi series were produced by the small production company Playing With Time Inc. The current version of Degrassi: The Next Generation, airs on CTV (original version) and on VRAK.TV (dubbed in French) in Canada, and is rebroadcast on TeenNick (and in syndication) in the United States.

[edit] Junior High and High

After the cast of Degrassi Junior High grew a few years older, their stories continued in 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 much more melodramatic series, which began airing in the United States at the same time, except 90210 used actors who were in their twenties to play teenagers, whereas Degrassi uses people who are the age they are playing. This series is also compared to Saved by the Bell. Like Saved by the Bell, this series follows teenagers going through everyday normal teen social issues. But unlike Saved by the Bell, problems are not solved within the episode; some plotlines often continue through multiple episodes.

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^{[citation needed]} for the unusual characterization of familiar characters and infamous scenes of sexuality and coarse language. U.S. viewers saw a toned-down version in 1993, which did not feature the profanity Canadian viewers heard. (WGBH released the uncensored version of the film onto video). A six-part documentary series entitled Degrassi Talks aired soon after.

Hood and Schuyler subsequently worked on a similar series, Liberty Street, which applied the Degrassi format to a series about people in their twenties 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.

[edit] The Next Generation

Almost a decade later, the Degrassi series was revived by Schuyler and Stephen Stohn as Degrassi: The Next Generation. During the series Degrassi Junior High Christine Nelson gave birth to a baby girl named Emma, who became the lead character of the fourth show. This Degrassi series deals with issues that many teenagers must face in High School, warning teens what not to do. It has had a successful run 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 Teen Nick and MTV, to the Netherlands on Z@PP, to Brazil on the cable channel Multishow, to Australia on ABC Television and Nickelodeon, to Mexico, Peru and Chile on the cable channel MTV Latin America, and to Poland on the Canal+'s channel ZigZap.

This newer version of Degrassi has thus far dealt with more topics including online predators, censorship, gangs, self harm, school shootings, imprisonment and murder, displaying the many challenges teenagers face in high school and the early years of college.

On September 25, 2006 Program Partners, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Television, announced that they have acquired the syndication rights to the show, which will start showing daily on local stations in the US during the early evening fringe hours (between 5 and 7 pm) beginning in September 2007.^[1] One of the reasons of the program's sale in syndication is that its programming content complies with federal E/I programming requirements. In 2006 and 2007, Degrassi: The Next Generation aired on several local channels throughout the United States at varying times.

Season 8 of Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered on October 10, 2008, and featured some new cast of freshmen students, as well as some returning characters, and some in college. Season 9 of Degrassi began production on May 19, 2009.

The broadcast company has put together a movie to be premiered on The N entitled "Degrassi Goes Hollywood". It is a movie about the older seasons' characters. All of the main characters from Seasons 1 (with the exception of Jimmy, Toby, Hazel, Ashley, Liberty, and J.T.) to present day are planned to star in the film. It was released on The N(now Teen Nick) on Friday, August 14, 2009.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Degrassi.tv
• CTV- Degrassi: The Next Generation
• Australian Broadcasting Corporation- Degrassi: The Next Generation