Degrassi

The Degrassi series is a group of Canadian teen 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.

Related Topics:
Canadian - Teen dramas - De Grassi Street - Toronto - Ontario - Playing With Time

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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.

Related Topics:
Linda Schuyler - Kit Hood - Playing With Time - Kay Chorao - The Kids of Degrassi Street

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In 1979, CBC 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.

Related Topics:
CBC - Magic Lantern - Degrassi Junior High

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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.

Related Topics:
1987 - Canada - PBS - United States - Degrassi High - Beverly Hills, 90210

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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" Candaian viewers got to see). A six-part documentary series entitled Degrassi Talks was aired soon after to moderate success.

Related Topics:
School's Out - Degrassi Talks

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Almost a decade later, the Degrassi series was reborn with '. 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. It is believed to be the most successful rebroadcasting of a Canadian series to American TV. 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).

Related Topics:
CTV - United States - The N - Teen dramas - The O.C. - One Tree Hill

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The most highest profile Degrassi booster 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.http://www.viewaskew.com/details/nov96/ 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 in a three-episode arc in 2005.

Related Topics:
Kevin Smith - Jason Mewes - Leonardo, New Jersey

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

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• The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979-1985)
• Degrassi Junior High (1986-1988)
• Degrassi High (1989-1990)
• Degrassi Talks (1992)
• Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-2006)
 
Degrassi: External links ►