What is degrassi and should i watch it (because the screen caps you posted were hilarious)
Hehehehe thank you for asking, though you may regret it. Degrassi is an iconic long-running Canadian High School Drama that essentially invented the genre. Its roots stretch back to 1979 with The Kids of Degrassi Street, which was a season of standalone episodical dilemmas. From there it evolved into Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, featuring a more set cast of characters through the 80s and 90s. Admittedly I have not watched these earlier iterations of Degrassi, it’s something I hope to remedy eventually but just haven’t been willing to put in the time yet.
A decade or so after Degrassi High (and it’s spinoff movie) finished, the creators had an idea to create another spinoff based around the now-middle school aged daughter of one of the previous teen characters (who was teen pregnant of course). In 2001, Degrassi: The Next Generation first aired (the working title was the jokey Star Trek reference but then it just stuck) and my life 20 years in the future was preemptively altered. There are 384 episodes across 14 seasons. I’ve watched them all through in chronological order twice. After season 14, the show switched to Netflix for 4 seasons Degrassi: Next Class, however the characters and plot lines were just a direct continuation of TNG Season 14, so I effectively consider them seasons 15-18. A lot of people hate Next Class but they’re wrong. I’ve watched Next Class four times because I actually watched it multiple times before even starting TNG.
What can I say about Degrassi. Degrassi is amazing. They have covered every topic you could imagine, some with grace and respect and power, and some with less of that. I think a lot of what makes Degrassi special is the fact that they only hire actors for the teens who are between the ages of 12-19. They’re very clear that they’re striving for a level of realism that adult actors wouldn’t be able to bring to a teen character. Because actors are younger you definitely get performances that are sometimes questionably acted and extremely funny as a result, but there are also a ton of really amazing actors on the show that really bring their all to playing these teens who are going thru shit, which hits harder in turn because you’re like ‘oh you’re litrally a baby :(‘. Right now, between Jenette McCurdy’s book and The Rehearsal there’s (rightfully) a lot of talk about the ethics of child acting and whether the ends justify the means and I’m not going to use Degrassi as an argument for either side, but if it’s something you can handle watching, the cast and characters are really something special.
Anyway Degrassi is the peak teen drama and it’s a blast to watch and an even bigger blast to discuss with people. On my second watch-through I watched it with my sister who had never seen it, and we spent each week after watching just discussing every character arc and who we do and don’t like and (her) predictions for what was to come. It’s just good TV like it’s dramatic and funny and heart-breaking and uplifting and powerful and stupid and FUN. It’s zany and ridiculous but it’s also grounded in real emotions and real circumstances. I recommend it to everyone I know and they say “fuck you ali I’m not watching 400 episodes of a teen drama” and they’re wrong for it.
If you are actually considering watching it obviously the correct way is to start at the beginning and watch in order but also technically you can sort of jump in at different points since the cast changes as the show progresses. There are plot lines and characters from earlier seasons which are mentioned again in later seasons but there are also plot lines and characters that are completely forgotten so. In my opinion the best chunks of the show are Seasons 2-5 (for the heart) and Seasons 9-12 (for the drama) but honestly every season has at least some really good storylines and character moments so I would recommend watching everything!!! If you’re in Canada (and maybe other countries?) all the eps are available FREE on YouTube in HD as official posts from the Degrassi team. If you’re in the States, HBO recently ruined your free YouTube access and you have to watch it there now
Alternatively there is a really good YouTube video about Degrassi that I love that you can watch to see if your interest is piqued although there are some spoilers obviously. But not even spoilers for everything like it doesn’t even touch upon my favourite Degrassi plot line where the kids of Degrassi illegally purchase a human kidney
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