FANS:

MEMORIES:

CATCH PHRASE:

Cast:

Release History:

A combination of After School Special and teen soap, Degrassi Junior High was a mid-80’s Canadian import that made its way to PBS in the United States – and made a deep impression on adolescents in both countries. Its realistic storylines about growing up and making the right choices was unlike anything else on television.

 

Produced by Linda Schulyer, a former high school teacher, and child actor and video editor Kit Hood, the show was developed from a program called The Kids of Degrassi Street. Schulyer and Hood’s production company, Playing With Time, pitched the idea to the Canadian Broadcasting Company. They received funding from production company Magic Lantern and from private investors, and produced 26 episodes around kids’ elementary school experiences between 1979 and 1985.

 

From elementary school, they graduated to Junior High, which started filming the next year and kept the same cast of actors (although they changed the characters names.) The junior high version debuted in 1987 on Sundays at 4:30pm, but ratings were high, and CBC moved it to prime time, and within two years it was being broadcast in forty countries. In the U.S., it was televised on PBS – good because it was broadcast without commercials, but bad because it underwent censoring.

 

In addition to the run of the mill adolescent problems like first loves and cliques, the show bravely and realistically dealt with heavy teen issues – depression, interracial romance, teen sex and pregnancy, eating disorders, divorce, and drunk driving. What was more groundbreaking was that this wasn’t even high school. It was junior high, and the kids were still facing these problems, such as when eighth-grader Spike got pregnant.

 

The issues were dealt with through the eyes of the kids, not the adults. While adults might offer advice, the ultimate decision rested with the children, and the audience was drawn into how and why they made the decisions they did. Despite the risqué subject matter, it was a huge hit with both parents and teachers (who often taped episodes to use as learning tools in the classroom.) But the show wasn’t all deep, dark problems. There was a pervading sense of humor throughout, and American audiences were entertained by the Canadian accents and idiomatic insults such as "narbo" and "broomhead.” The actors weren’t Hollywood-perfect, but looked like real kids, with zits, questionable fashion choices, and all.

 

Finally, in 1989, the kids moved on to a new school and a new show called Degrassi High. It featured one of television’s first foray’s into a character with AIDS – Dwayne, the school’s tough guy. Two years later the series ended, followed by a 90-minute made-for-TV movie School's Out, to concluded the show. After the film aired, a six-part documentary series called Degrassi Talks was produced, hosted by the Degrassi actors. They traveled across Canada interviewing different kids, and talked about a new issue affecting teens each week.

 

For Canadians, and the Americans who watched them on PBS, the Degrassi kids remain an integral part of growing up, allowing us to deal with difficult issues through the eyes of characters in one of the best teen drams on television.