The Timeline and History of Degrassi

Pretty much every time I talk about Degrassi to someone unfamiliar with it, I end up describing the timeline of how the show was made, so I decided to do the same on my shrine.

Degrassi: Origins

Degrassi first started as a show called The Kids of Degrassi Street. That show was an anthology series that is often compared to after school specials. The name "Degrassi" comes from a real street in Toronto, "De Grassi St.," where the show took place.

It took place in Toronto, Ontario and starred children from that local area. It was also created by Linda Schuyler, a local Junior High teacher.

I'll be honest, I still haven't really seen this, and I don't know if I ever will. This show isn't canonical or anything.

Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High

Degrassi Junior High was where the Degrassi we all know today was started.

Degrassi Junior High was a teen drama focused on Junior High students (aged between 12-14) in Toronto. It took place at Degrassi Junior High, which is presumably located on Degrassi Street in the show's canon. The real school they filmed on was actually Vincent Massey Public School, which was in a different neighborhood in Toronto.

A lot of the actors were originally on The Kids of Degrassi Street. None of the kids had professional acting experience, they were all just random kids from the local area.

DJH became notable for tackling many issues, a reputation that stays with the franchise for the rest of its run.

One notable thing from DJH that you should remember is that one of the characters, Christina "Spike" Nelson, becomes a teen mom and gives birth to Emma (fun fact: she was named after the international Emmy the show won for the episode where she was concieved, "It's Late").

When the kids moved onto high school, DJH ended and moved onto the spin off, Degrassi High. Then, the show was concluded with a movie, School's Out.

Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: TNG is the main show that everyone thinks about when people talk about Degrassi (this is the one Drake was on).

TNG lasted 14 seasons and then was followed by a direct spin-off, Degrassi: Next Class on Netflix. There's 4 different main groups of characters that are on those two shows.

Because of this, I split this show + Next Class into 4 eras: Emma Era, Transitional Era, Clare Era, and the Maya/Next Class era. Each one is named after the female character that has a connection to the previous era and has more focus placed on them than the other characters (for some reason, each one has a character like this).

I have a table below visualizing where I place each of the seasons. The bottom row is where I would place each season if I could only put them in one.

The more official way of categorizing the show would just be Degrassi: The Next Generation (seasons 1-9) and then just Degrassi (seasons 10-14) and Degrassi: Next Class, since the show dropped "The Next Generation" for 10-14 because none of the original cast (which was the next generation) was on the show. Personally I find this confusing since Degrassi also refers to the whole franchise.

Now I'll describe each of the eras.