What’s one TV show every Canadian grew up watching? You guessed right, “Degrassi.”
Whether you grew up in the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s or 2000’s “Degrassi” stood the test of time and reached teens and adults across many different generations.
Now, cast members, producers, and even fans are looking back on the show’s success in a new documentary, Degrassi: Whatever It Takes premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
The documentary, directed by Lisa Rideout, brings on notable cast members, like Drake, to discuss the show’s ups, downs and flaws, and takes us behind the scenes of nearly 40 years of history.
So, how exactly did a small Canadian television show grow into one of the most successful television franchises in Canadian media history?
For “Degrassi” superfan, Jocelyn Claybourne, there is no one answer to the question, but they say the show’s vulnerability and relatability certainly played a part.
Claybourne, also known as Degrassi Kid to their 53,000 followers on TikTok, is a “Degrassi” content creator, who has built up a following discussing the show, interviewing the cast, and “spreading the good gospel of ‘Degrassi.”
Claybourne said they first discovered the show when they were a child watching it with their older cousin, but truly fell in love with it when a storyline involving teenage socialite Fiona Coyne from the ninth season of “Degrassi The Next Generation” resonated with them.
“Fiona would come out of the closet. She takes all of these really confusing feelings that I had when I was in high school… and just summed them up in one sentence that made sense to me,” they said.
@degrassi_kid Who is in the @Degrassi documentary? #degrassi #drake #documentary #reaction ♬ original sound – jocelyn (degrassi kid) 🇨🇦
Upon further research, Claybourne said they found out that the show’s creator and former school teacher, Linda Schulyer, intended for the characters and storylines to reflect the experiences that teenagers and children were having.
“I think the fact that ‘Degrassi’ tries to authentically show what it’s like to be a kid in high school is what makes it so timeless, and is why we are still watching ‘Degrassi Junior High’ and ‘Degrassi High’ these days,” they said.
For Claybourne, it wasn’t just a television show, it was a learning tool, and still is.
“It just wanted to help kids like me. And there are kids that are now in their 50s, 60s,that were helped,” she said.
Clayborune, who was interviewed for the documentary, says they hope it touches on these themes.
“I really hope it gets to the heart of why “Degrassi” makes an impact on people like it did with me,” she said.
In addition to its relatability, Professor of Women and Gender studies at St. Mary’s University in Halifax and “Degrassi” researcher, Michele Byers, tells Now Toronto that the show not only tells the history of Canadian television, but also the history of social issues in Canada, like abortion.
“There’s way more opportunities for thinking of using ‘Degrassi’ as a really rare example of a sort of like long-form storytelling that lets us see how certain issues are shifting socially and politically,” she said.
Despite ending in 2017 with “Degrassi: Next Class,” Byers says the show lends itself to constant reinvention, and is open to seeing the series come back.
“There’s a kind of social and political shift for young people… The kids who are in high school now went through COVID as younger kids. I’m really curious to know how ‘Degrassi’ would tell some of those stories,” she said.
Claybourne says they are always “team reboot” and would be interested to see how the show tells the teen experience now with the rise of social media and online learning.
“I don’t even know what the teen experience is like these days because ‘Degrassi’ is missing, and I think that can even cause a divide between parents and their kids,” she said.
Degrassi: Whatever It Takes premieres at TIFF on Sept. 13 at the Scotiabank Theatre.
