You know Degrassi. I know you know Degrassi.
Either you- or your babysitter- watched those independent Kids of Degrassi Street from ’79 to ’86. This was followed up by the groundbreaking series Degrassi Junior High which, from 1987 to 1989, followed a fictitious Canadian school and the all-too-real issues of its student body. Teenage pregnancy? Racism? Divorce? Nothing was off-limits- to the shock of the teenaged viewing audience and occasional dismay of their viewing parents. After junior high, logically, comes high school. Degrassi High followed these kids through 1991, with harder-hitting problems (like potential abortions, AIDS, suicide, and eating disorders). And even though censorship abounded, conversations were now being sparked between parents and teens like never before. Fast forward to 2001 and the juggernaut that is Degrassi: The Next Generation. This one ran until 2015- and was in fact inspired by fictional baby Emma, who was born to a teenaged mother at the end of Degrassi: Junior High, when the creators realized that Emma would be entering junior high by now. Why not tell those stories?
After The Next Generation’s cancellation, Netflix swooped in to air Degrassi: Next Class, which is a direct sequel to TNG (a sentence I never thought I’d type- Trekkies, unite).
Not only the plot lines remained consistent; creator Linda Schuyler remained onboard throughout, as did Stefan Brogren- who transitioned fluidly from an original cast member to a featured adult in later versions of the show and finally to the current production as a director.
I got to take part in a Stream Team roundtable discussion (during that incredible TCA conference, maybe you’ve heard me mention it?) with these wonderful folks and, lemme tell you, few things are cooler than chatting with both the lady in charge and the guy who originally played “Snake” about the creative process of this incredibly impactful show.
Linda, on the genesis of this series
[laughing] You realize we’re going back 35 years? …In my 20s I spent about 8 years as a junior high teacher, and I fell in love with teenagers. Many people felt that they were angry and had these attitudes, and I felt they were nervous and unsure of themselves…and I kept going to the Board of Education where I was teaching and saying “these kids need special stories for them, they’re not in preschool anymore; they’re partially kids, they’re partially adults, they’re going through all kinds of “first” experiences in their lives, from sexual awakenings to political awakenings…we need stories for them.” …And finally, in frustration I said, “You know what? I’m making a show.” And I quit my very secure job as a schoolteacher and started out what I had no idea would become a 35-year franchise. But a lot of the choices and decisions that were made in those very early days- such as having an ensemble cast, casting with diversity, having your cast be age-appropriate, being fearless in terms of the subject matter that you might take on, and keeping liberal doses of humor around- they all became sort of building blocks…And we’ve seen it change; junior high, high school, next generation for 14 years, and now here we are on Netflix- Next Class– how exciting is this?
Stefan, on swapping the front of the camera for behind the scenes
I’d been part of the show since I was 12 years old! [And] I started out with behind the scenes with [our] webisodes. We didn’t know what these were yet, we didn’t know what the audience was or how that was going to work, we just had these episodes that were 2 minutes, and had to be viewed on a Nokia- and that changed very rapidly- it started to become this medium where we could tell a real story.
Linda: …My husband Stephen and I were so aware at how astute Stefan was at picking up all the influences that were around and so it felt like an ideal fit for him to also go behind the camera and work on some of this web material. Which has now led to him being our star director of the show and he’s cleaned up awards all over- so I just needed to say that.
Stefan: I’ve been very lucky, it’s been an amazing career with this company.
Linda, on Degrassi’s impact
We won the Peabody award two years ago for introducing a transgender character to Degrassi. I’m very fond of quoting the citation they gave us: We neither sensationalized the storyline nor trivialized it. And that is really an approach that we try very hard to keep. We’re fearless in terms of our subject matter, and we’re loving being with Netflix now, because we know they’re equally fearless along with us, but we do have a mandate, though- to not sensationalize and not trivialize. Another thing that happened to us when we were going into development for Degrassi: Next Class was we were talking to a whole new audience. When we started Degrassi: The Next Generation, a lot of the kids we’re talking to now- Generation Zed- hadn’t even been born yet. Then we had another interesting observation: the kids who’re watching our show now, their parents were the Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High age, so you’ve now got this really interesting dialogue going on between parents and kids.
I keep a book behind my desk, and it’s called Why I Do What I Do, and there are some days as an independent producer where you’re trying to get the bank financing and all that, and make payroll, and you wonder, why do I do this job? [And I received] this really moving email …it was after the episode where Marco came out, and this woman said “You know, my son a few years back told me he was gay and I suggested that he might not want to come home again. And I saw your episode and I picked up the phone and called my son for the first time in years.” So we know that the show has an ability to reach and cut across generations.
Linda and Stefan, on the authenticity of plot lines
Linda: The times change, and we’ve always been very supportive of the LGBT community. Now, we have characters join the show who are gay, or bi, and there’s a fluid sexuality and reflection of the times- if it’s out there and that’s what it is, that’s what our story lines are about. And if you’ll notice, the third person running in the election [alongside two openly gay characters] was a hijab-wearing young woman who had very strong opinions-
Stefan: And it wasn’t about her wearing a hijab! The character is sort of a pain in the ass about feminists, but [the students aren’t] talking about her headgear. We’re not sitting there trying to have a “teachable moment.” We’re letting these characters just exist, love them or hate them.
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Episodes of Degrassi: Next Class are streaming right now and you should totally go watch them. Start your own dialogue with the tweens/teens in your life…or just relive the angst of that particularly fraught age group. No judgements, here.
And, as always, even though I was invited to participate in the TCA conference on behalf of the #StreamTeam, all thoughts, opinions, and intense feelings of relief to be done with puberty are entirely my own.
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