Degrassi

Degrassi: The Next Generation (also known as Degrassi for seasons 10 to 14) is a Canadian teen drama television series and the fourth series in the Degrassi franchise, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. It is a direct followup to Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, featuring a new ensemble cast of students at the fictional Degrassi Community School who face various issues and challenges such as sex, teen pregnancy, bullying, date rape, drug abuse, body image, homosexuality, domestic violence, gang violence, self-injury, suicide, abortion, mental disorders, death, and many other issues. Various characters from the previous two series also return as adults in recurring or guest roles.

The series was initially created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, the latter of who was the head writer of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. It was produced by Epitome Pictures (a subsidiary of DHX Media) in association with Bell Media. The series premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, to mixed reviews, with some critics expressing doubts about whether the show would make the same impact as its predecessors, but would ultimately garner similar critical and commercial success. It received favourable reviews from critics of Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and AfterElton.com.

In its initial years, it was frequently the most watched domestic drama series in Canada. In the United States, it became the highest-rated show on Noggin's teen block, The N. By 2004, the series had averaged nearly a million viewers in Canada, and half a million in the United States. The series won numerous awards, including awards from the Geminis, Writers Guild of Canada, and Directors Guild of Canada. Internationally, it also won several Teen Choice Awards, Young Artist Awards, and Prix Jeunesse. The episode "My Body Is a Cage", in which a character is outed as transgender, won a Peabody Award in 2011.The format of the series underwent several changes during its later seasons. The series moved to MuchMusic for its ninth season in 2010; the tenth season marked a change in production style to a telenovela format during the summer months, before returning to its standard fall-spring schedule; the thirteenth season reverted to a weekly schedule and part way through moved to MTV Canada, where it aired until its final episode on August 2, 2015, after fourteen seasons. It was followed by Degrassi: Next Class, which followed characters from the show's later seasons as well as introducing newer ones, in 2016.