Degrassi: The Next Generation (also known as Degrassi for seasons ten through fourteen) is a Canadian teen drama television series set in the Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979. It is the fourth series in the Degrassi franchise, following The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and Degrassi High. Like its predecessors, the series follows an ensemble cast of students at the fictional Degrassi Community School who face various challenges often seen as taboo such as sex, teen pregnancy, bullying, date rape, drug abuse, body image, homosexuality, domestic violence, gang violence, self-injury, suicide, abortion, mental disorders, death, and many other issues.
The series was initially created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, and is produced by Epitome Pictures (a subsidiary of DHX Media) in association with Bell Media. The current executive producers are Schuyler, her husband Stephen Stohn and Brendon Yorke. The series is filmed at Epitome's studios in Toronto, Ontario, rather than on the real De Grassi Street from which the franchise takes its name. Degrassi: The Next Generation has been a critical success and has often received favourable reviews from Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times and AfterElton.com. In its initial years, it was frequently the most watched domestic drama series in Canada, and one of the highest-rated shows on TeenNick in the United States. In 2004, one episode received just under a million viewers in Canada, and over half a million viewers in the US. The series has won numerous awards, from the Geminis, Writers Guild of Canada and Directors Guild of Canada, and internationally from the Teen Choice Awards, Young Artist Awards, and Prix Jeunesse.
