When I was in elementary and middle school, I would run downstairs to my basement, tell my parents that I was watching Hannah Montana, and immediately turn on Degrassi. I kept my thumb on the remote control, ready to switch the station to Disney Channel, just in case anybody walked downstairs. Unlike so many other G-rated programs about teens navigating through high school, Degrassi: The Next Generation focused on edgier issues (like those found in a…gasp! A PG-13 movie!). And I knew that if my parents caught wind of what I was watching, they would have immediately deemed my favorite show off-limits.
With its first episode debuting in late 2001, Degrassi: The Next Generation is a spin-off of the popular Canadian teen drama of the 80s, Degrassi High. Though it originally aired on Canadian TV networks, American fans can watch it on Teen Nick, previously known as The N. The show is still going strong, currently in its 14th season, but I am definitely not invested in it anymore. The problem with Degrassi is that its characters age as the seasons go on. Therefore, the beloved characters that were only in eighth grade during earlier seasons have all graduated and left the show. Reading over episode summaries, I barely recognize any names of characters now. But what was it about the earlier seasons (say, seasons 1 through 7) that made Degrassi such an important part of my adolescence?
Degrassi felt incredibly genuine. Degrassi Community School could have been my school, and the characters could have been my friends. Part of the reason is that the producers casted actors who were the same age as their characters. I wasn’t watching a twenty-year-old starlet in perfect makeup pretend to be a thirteen-year-old. The actors came in all colors, shapes, and sizes, and they all had flaws. The show also distinguished itself from other teen dramas by focusing on real problems with the sensitivity and grace that they deserved. Rape, abortion, drugs, LGBT issues, cancer, and depression were neither over-dramatized nor glossed over. The writers and directors fleshed out these controversial issues and looked at them from both sides. To this day, I still cry during the school-shooting episode.
Because of how much these characters went through, they all feel three-dimensional. Take Paige Michalchuk, forever my favorite character of the series, for instance. At first glance, she may seem like the typical manipulative queen-bee of the school, but after extended interactions with her, the viewers see that she is witty, empowered, and kind. I cheered when she finally got the strength to speak out and press charges against Dean, the soccer player who raped her, in season 2. I got goose bumps when she forced her then rival, Ellie, to get help for her self-harm addiction in season 3. And my heart sank when, in season 6, under the immense pressure of college life and suffering frequent panic attacks, Paige dropped out of an elite university and returned home.
Degrassi was a huge part of my teen and pre-teen years. It may just be nostalgia talking, but I believe that the first seven seasons were some of the most admirable examples of adolescent television. Plus, it’s definitely fun looking back now to watch a young Drake roam around the halls and to make fun of the ridiculous early 2000s clothing.
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