In the Fall of 1979, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) premiered a new kids series set on Toronto’s real-life Degrassi Street in Leslieville. The series was widely hailed as being realistic and respectful of youth, and was seen to reflect the multiculturalism of Toronto.
Degrassi co-creator, Linda Schuyler, was a teacher at Earl Grey High School who came into the field while on a mission to create a media studies program. She had asked the school’s librarian Bruce McKey to order a selection of books for the course. After mistakenly ordering Ida Makes a Movie – an illustrated book for young children about a kitten who wanted to make a movie, the two turned the story into a short film. It was used in class as both a filmmaking primer and an exercise in social studies. The stylistic conventions aimed at their students would go on to inspire the relatable and approachable style of Degrassi.
Schyler partnered with television director, writer, and producer Kit Hood to create The Kids of Degrassi Street. The series was regularly shown on the CBC and later around the world – most famously, it was distributed on 16mm film by the Learning Corporation of America. In 1986, Degrassi Junior High – a co-production with PBS – became a successful spin-off sold around the world.
From 1989 to 1991, the series was re-titled Degrassi High and continued to tackle pressing social issues. A TV movie entitled School’s Out aired in 1992. Degrassi was spun-off again in 2001 as The Next Generation, and in 2016 as The Next Class.
Developed in close proximity to education and brought to life in Toronto’s innovative children’s television industry, Degrassi became a show that viewers all over the world saw themselves reflected in.