Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian
teen drama television series, set in the
Degrassi fictional universe created by
Linda Schuyler and
Kit Hood in 1980.
Degrassi: The Next Generation is the fourth fictional series in the
Degrassi franchise, following
The Kids of Degrassi Street,
Degrassi Junior High, and
Degrassi High. Like its predecessors,
Degrassi: The Next Generation follows a group of students attending
Degrassi Community School who face challenges common to teen life, such as
self image,
peer pressure,
child abuse,
sexual identity,
gang violence,
self-injury,
school shootings,
teenage pregnancy and
drug abuse. The series was created by Linda Schuyler and
Yan Moore, is produced by
Epitome Pictures in association with
CTVglobemedia, and distributed by
Alliance Atlantis. The current executive producers are Schuyler and her husband
Stephen Stohn, and Sara Snow. Jody Colero is the music supervisor and selects all the music for the show, and Jim McGrath composes the
music score. It is filmed at Epitome's studios in
Toronto, Ontario, rather than on the real
De Grassi Street from which the franchise takes its name.
A critical and popular success,
Degrassi: The Next Generation is often the most watched domestic drama series in Canada, and the highest-rated show on The N, now called
Teen Nick. In 2004, one episode received just under one million Canadian viewers and over half a million U.S. viewers. The series has won numerous awards, including nine
Gemini Awards, two
Teen Choice Awards and five
Directors Guild of Canada Awards.
Degrassi: The Next Generations success has led to related miniseries and webisodes, and tie-in merchandise, including soundtrack CDs, an encyclopedic guidebook, graphic novels, and a podcast. The ninth season premiered on CTV, October 4, 2009 and on Teen Nick in The United States on October 9, 2009.
Production
Concept
The Degrassi universe was created in 1979 by Playing With Time, a production company owned by former school teacher Linda Schuyler and her partner Kit Hood. The franchise began with
The Kids of Degrassi Street, which was spawned out of three half-hour short films.
followed in 1987,
Degrassi High came in 1989, and the
television movie School's Out premiered in 1992.
