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Degrassi: The Next Generation

Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series, set in the Degrassi fictional universe created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1980. Degrassi: The Next Generation is the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, following The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and Degrassi High. Like its predecessors, Degrassi: The Next Generation follows a group of students attending Degrassi Community School who face challenges common to teen life, such as self image, peer pressure, child abuse, sexual identity, self-injury, school shootings, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse. The series was created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, is produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTVglobemedia, and distributed by Alliance Atlantis. The current executive producers are Schuyler and her husband Stephen Stohn, and Brendon Yorke. The executive creative consultant is James Hurst. Jody Colero is the music supervisor and selects all the music for the show, and Jim McGrath composes the music score. It is filmed at Epitome's studios in Toronto, Ontario, rather than on the real De Grassi Street from which the franchise takes its name.

The pilot episode, "Mother and Child Reunion", premiered on 14 October 2001 on CTV, a Canadian terrestrial television network. The series has has a large fan-base in the United States, where it is broadcast on the cable television network The N. The current season, season eight, premiered on 5 October 2008. As of 10 October 2008, 145 episodes have aired. A critical and popular success, Degrassi: The Next Generation is often the most-watched domestic drama series in Canada, and the highest-rated show on The N. In 2004, one episode received just under one million Canadian viewers and over half a million U.S. viewers. The series has won numerous awards, including nine Gemini Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and five Directors Guild of Canada Awards. Degrassi: The Next Generation's success has led to related miniseries and webisodes, and tie-in merchandise, including soundtrack CDs, an encyclopedic guidebook, graphic novels, and a podcast.

Production

Concept

Linda Schuyler, a former school teacher, and her partner Kit Hood, through their production company Playing With Time created the Degrassi universe in 1980. The franchise began with The Kids of Degrassi Street, which was spawned out of three half-hour short films. Degrassi Junior High followed in 1987, Degrassi High came in 1989, and the television movie School's Out premiered in 1992.

Schuyler and original Degrassi series head writer Yan Moore were developing a new television drama in 1999. As the months passed, they slowly started planning what had happened to the characters of Degrassi High in order to develop a reunion-themed show. However, the two decided that a series would not work effectively if it was based around adults instead of children. Moore realized that the character Emma Nelson, born at the end of Degrassi Junior High's second season, would soon be entering junior high school, and development for the series took a new direction by being focused around Emma as a main character and what her school experiences would include.

Stephen Stohn, Schuyler's husband suggested Degrassi: The Next Generation as the name for the new sequel series, borrowing the concept from Star Trek: The Next Generation, of which he was a fan, and the project was pitched to CTV in May 2000, with the originally planned reunion episode serving as the pilot to the new series.

Executive producers, script-writers and directors

Produced by Epitome Pictures Inc, in association with CTVglobemedia, D:TNG receives funding from The Canadian Television Fund and BCE-CTV Benefits, the Shaw Rocket Fund, Mountain Cable Program and the Royal Bank of Canada, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, and the Cogeco Program Development Fund. The current executive producers are Linda Schuyler, Stephen Stohn, and Brendon Yorke. James Hurst, now the executive creative consultant, and Aaron Martin have previously served as executive producers. Shelley Scarrow, James Hurst, Aaron Martin and Sean Reycraft have served as story editors. Directors include Phil Earnshaw, Stefan Scaini and Bruce McDonald. When production of season three began, a user on the official D:TNG website with the alias "ExecProducer" began a thread called "Shooting Season 3", revealing production details, guest actors, scheduling information and DVD release details. He referred to himself as "Stephen Stohn" in one post, although it was not until the release of Degrassi: Generations - The Official 411 in 2005, that it was confirmed the poster was indeed Stohn.

Episode format

Each episode of D:TNG is written following a specific formula: Two or three storylines (Plot A, Plot B and Plot C) are presented in each show. The main storyline, A, opens and closes the episode and is usually driven by a single character. Plot B is usually more comedic in tone and sometimes slightly intertwined with the other stories, often moving story arcs forward. Plot C, when used, is usually a thread in a season-long arc. The problems and issues presented in the episode are not always resolved by the end of the episode, and are carried over to the next, or create a mini-arc over a number of episodes. Many episodes are named after a song from the 1980s.

Opening sequence

The Degrassi: The Next Generation opening sequence follows a two to three minute cold open. During the first five seasons these credits showed the characters on the school premises and followed a mini storyline. Seasons six and seven featured titles with the actors breaking the fourth wall and facing on the camera, over a montage of character videos from past seasons (with the exception of Adamo Ruggiero), saturated with blue colour and gold outlines (school colors). The montages behind the characters depicting a major event in that character's storyline. For the eighth season, the show abandoned the style of titles used for the previous two seasons and returned to the original form of showing the characters at school while participating in school-related activities.

The theme music, "Whatever it Takes", was written by Jim McGrath, Jody Colero and Stephen Stohn. McGrath composed the music, and Colero and Stohn wrote the lyrics which include the lines, "Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through/Be the best, the best I can be", to convey a "sense of joy and optimism". Lisa Dalbello performed the lyrics with a children's choir over an 80s pop music style tune during the first three seasons. Dave Ogilvie and Anthony Valcic of Canadian industrial/pop group Jakalope reworked and performed the song with a heavier sound, reflecting the growing maturity of the characters in season four. For seasons six and seven, the theme—still performed by Jakalope—was remixed and stripped of vocals. A fourth version of the theme song (with lyrics worked back in) was introduced for the eighth season.

Music

Jim McGrath creates the musical score using an instrumental version of the theme music. He has worked with actors Jake Epstein and Melissa McIntyre when writing music for their characters Craig Manning and Ashley Kerwin to perform in the show's bands Downtown Sasquatch, Paige Michalchuk and the Sexkittens and Hell Hath No Fury, and, with Jamie Johnson, is writing music for Johnson's character Peter Stone's band Stüdz.

D:TNG features a mix of original emo, alternative rock and pop music. Popular songs are used sparingly in the series, mainly because of budget constraints. Instead, music supervisor Jody Colero selects songs from little-known, unsigned Canadian artists. These songs are included pursuant to action in the show. For example, well-known songs are played during Ashley's party in the first season episode "Jagged Little Pill" and at the wedding reception in the fifth season episode "Weddings, Parties, Anything", and at the party scene in the seventh season episode "Everything She Wants".

Some well-known Canadian and American bands whose songs have featured on the show include: Stars (band), The Academy Is..., Paramore, Paper Moon, Taking Back Sunday, Alexisonfire, The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Tuuli, Hellogoodbye, Army of Me (band), Two Hours Traffic, La Casa Azul, Natasha Bedingfield, The Trews, Jakalope, Skye Sweetnam, All Time Low, among others.

Filming locations

The Degrassi universe is based on the real De Grassi Street in Toronto, Canada, and the first four shows were filmed on and near it. Degrassi: The Next Generation, however, is filmed at Epitome Pictures' studios in Toronto. A former printing factory was converted in 1997 for Epitome, consisting of four soundstages and a backlot.

Producers of Degrassi Junior High used Vincent Massey Public School, then known as Daisy Avenue Public School, as their main filming location, and Centennial College was used for Degrassi High. D:TNG, however, is filmed mostly in studios. The exterior of Degrassi Community School is located on the studio's backlot, and uses the same colours and glass pattern as Degrassi High's Centennial College. The school exterior also features a "hoarding area", where students gather, and a bus stop across the road. The backlot is also used for exterior shots of the characters' houses, which are actually the same unit dressed differently for each house, and The Dot Grill. The building for The Dot is the only one on the backlot big enough to allow filming inside; scenes taking places inside the school and house interiors are filmed on one of four soundstages.

Stage A holds the sets for the university house, an interior house set used in Instant Star, and the school's hallways, washrooms, cafeteria and classroom. The hallways are stenciled with phrases such as "the perfect human being is all human", found at the Etobicoke School for the Arts, one of the schools used for research. The washroom set has graffiti on the walls to look authentic, and is used for the girls' and boys' room; urinals are installed and removed as needed. The set used for the cafeteria is "purposefully bland to take the edge off the rest of the school looking so beautiful". It is also used as the studio's cafeteria where the cast and crew eat.

Stage B contains the sets for the characters' houses and The Core newspaper office, as well as sets for Instant Star, another series produced by Epitome Pictures.

Stage C holds the sets for the school's entrance foyer, the gymnasium, the media lab and the hallway with the lockers. As the series progressed and the budget increased, a stairway and balcony was installed in the foyer in an attempt to get characters off the floor, and not all in the same geometric plane. For the first few seasons, the gym floor was wooden floorboard; due to warping, it was replaced by concrete painted to look like wood.

Cast

Main roles

The opening season of Degrassi: The Next Generation featured thirteen actors in starring roles. Providing ties to the previous series in the Degrassi universe, Stefan Brogren was hired to play his old character Archie "Snake" Simpson, now working at the school as the media immersion teacher. Dan Woods reprised his role as Mr. Raditch, now promoted to school principal. Amanda Stepto also returned to the franchise to play her character Christine "Spike" Nelson in a supporting role. Miriam McDonald was hired to replace Ashlee Henricks (who had, in turn, replaced Samantha Morrison) as Spike's daughter, Emma Nelson; she would remain the only character from Degrassi Jr. High/Degrassi High to be re-cast with a different actor until the episode "Father Figure".

For the new generation of students, the producers chose eleven school-aged children from six hundred applicants in an attempt to provide characters to which the teenage target audience could relate. This was in contrast to other shows of the same period, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek, which cast actors in their twenties as teenagers. Sarah Barrable-Tishauer acted as high-achiever yet lonely Liberty Van Zandt. Daniel Clark played bad-boy Sean Cameron. Lauren Collins acted as cool cheerleader Paige Michalchuk. Ryan Cooley acted as class clown James Tiberius "J.T." Yorke. Jake Goldsbie portrayed Toby Isaacs, a computer geek. Aubrey Graham portrayed rich and athletic Jimmy Brooks. Shane Kippel played Gavin "Spinner" Mason, the school bully. Miriam McDonald portrayed environmentalist Emma Nelson. Melissa McIntyre played Ashley Kerwin, the perfect girl who attracts the popular boys, and the other girls are jealous of. Cassie Steele played Emma's sidekick, the sweet and innocent Manuela "Manny" Santos. Christina Schmidt portrayed chubby and insecure Terri McGreggor.

In season two, former Degrassi actor Pat Mastroianni returned to the franchise as Joey Jeremiah, followed by the return of Joey's former on-screen girlfriend, Caitlin Ryan (played by Stacie Mistysyn), in the third season.

There have been a number departures from the series, and season six depicted the first death of one of the show's main characters, when J.T. Yorke was stabbed and killed. Daniel Clark's character Sean Cameron has been written out of the show twice. He left the series during the fourth season in the wake of the shooting death of Rick Murray, and returned for the sixth season. He left the series once again, but made another reappearance for one episode in season seven. The family of Joey Jeremiah was written out of the series at the end of season five, when Joey and his daughter Angie, moved to Calgary, Alberta, and his stepson Craig Manning left Degrassi to pursue his musical dreams. Craig has made guest appearances three times since then, reappearing in a two-part episode in season six and an episode in season seven. He will also make an appearance in the upcoming eighth season. Caitlyn Ryan left to continue her career in Los Angeles, California, though she returned in one episode of season seven.

As several of the core characters had graduated at the end of season six, a number of cast additions were made in season seven, when Degrassi Community School merged with a nearby school; in all, six new actors were given starring roles. Season eight saw major cast changes as many of the originals had departed including Lauren Collins, Stacey Farber, Aubrey Graham, Amanda Stepto, Shanae Grimes, Mike Lobel, Melissa DiMarco and Adamo Ruggiero (though some still make guest appearances). Mazin Elsadig, who was introduced as Damian during season seven, was also dropped. A total of thirteen actors were either added or promoted to regulars including Evan Williams, Judy Jiao, Samantha Munro, Jajube Mandiel, AJ Saudin, Sam Earle, Aislinn Paul, Melinda Shankar, Raymond Ablack. Natty Zavitz, Scott Paterson, Jordan Hudyma and Argiris Karras.

Guest roles

As well as Dan Woods, Stefan Brogren, Stacie Mistysyn, Amanda Stepto, and Pat Mastroianni having starring roles, a number of other actors from Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High have returned to guest star in their old roles throughout D:TNG's run. The pilot episode featured the return of seven Degrassi alumni. In the second season, Anais Granofsky guests again in the "White Wedding" double episode when her character attends the wedding of Spike and Snake. In the fifth season, Keenan and Hope guest again when their characters return to console Spike and Snake after their separation.

Movie director Kevin Smith has been a fan of the Degrassi series from the early 1990s, when he worked at a convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. Actor Jason Mewes was his co-worker at the time and also became a fan. Every Sunday morning at work, Smith and Mewes watched episodes of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High on Public Broadcasting Service. Smith enjoyed the earlier series and has acknowledged an infatuation with Stacie Mistysyn. He paid homage to Degrassi by making reference to it in several of his films. For example, he named a Clerks character Caitlin Bree after Mistysin's Degrassi character, Caitlin Ryan, wrote Shannen Doherty's character Rene wearing a Degrassi jacket throughout his Mallrats film, and had Jason Lee's character in Chasing Amy specifically mention Degrassi Junior High as a TV show he wants to watch, rather than going out.

Smith and Mewes guest starred as themselves in the final three episodes of the fourth season. The plot for these episodes involves the pair working on Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!, a fictional feature film in the View Askewniverse, using Degrassi Community School as a filming location. Singer Alanis Morissette, who had worked with Smith in the past, also guest stars in "Going Down the Road Part One" as herself, acting as the school principal in Smith's film. In a scene alluding to Smith's former crush on Mistysyn, he flirts with, and attempts to seduce Caitlin Ryan in a bar; Caitlin enjoys the conversation but ultimately declines Smith's advances and leaves, whereupon Smith turns his attention to another (unnamed) woman in the bar, portrayed by Smith's real-life wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. Smith and Mewes return to D:TNG as themselves for two episodes in season five. The storyline in the episodes was of the premiere of Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh! Alanis Morissette made a cameo appearance as the school principal when scenes from the film were shown during its premiere screening. Smith and Mewes are to reappear in season eight, though very few details have emerged, with Stohn only saying, "Just a quick update... today we're shooting the airport sequences. Jason Mewes has already started his appearances earlier this week, Kevin Smith arrives this afternoon... on the official Degrassi forums.

Jonathan Torrens appeared as Emma's father, Shane, in the two-part season three premiere. The role had been played by Bill Parrott in the classic series, but decided not to return to the role. Torrens looks remarkably like Parrott, and has another link to the series; in 1999, his talk show, Jonovision, reunited some of the classic Degrassi cast members for a two-episode Christmas special. Jayne Eastwood played Sean Cameron's mother for one episode in 2004, the same year which saw Billy Ray Cyrus appear as Duke, a limousine driver who gets arrested, leaving Jimmy and Hazel, amongst others, stranded in the street. Season seven featured appearances from Shirley Douglas as a university professor, Free The Children founder Craig Kielburger, and English pop singer Natasha Bedingfield as themselves.

Broadcast and distribution

First run broadcast

While the earlier Degrassi series aired in Canada on CBC, Degrassi: The Next Generation airs on CTV, and the French language channel VRAK.TV as Degrassi, nouvelle génération. In the U.S., where the earlier Degrassi series aired on PBS, Degrassi: The Next Generation airs on digital cable network The N. In Australia, ABC1 screened the first three seasons in its "ABC Kids" lineup. The series is also shown in a number of European countries. It is broadcast on Filles TV in France, and called Degrassi: la nouvelle génération, on ZigZap in Poland titled Degrassi: Nowe Pokolenie., in Italy on Rete 4 as Degrassi: La Generazione Seguente, and in Greece on Macedonia TV.

Seasons one to five of D:TNG premiered in Canada on CTV before they were aired in the U.S. on The N. Season six, however, premiered on The N two months before its CTV debut; it wasn't until the ninth episode that CTV aired an episode before The N. Season seven also premiered on The N, three months before it did on CTV, which was able to premiere the thirteenth episode before The N. New episodes currently air at 7:30 p.m. ET in Canada, and 8:00 p.m. ET in the U.S.

Post-broadcast distribution

In Canada, strip repeats of D:TNG air at 12:30 p.m. on the television system A, a sister station to CTVglobemedia's CTV. In the U.S., independent distributor Program Partners, along with Sony Pictures Television, announced on 2 September 2006 that they acquired the syndication rights to the first 119 episodes of the show in the United States. In December 2006, Program Partners had reached agreements with the Tribune Company for every station it owned, as well as The CW Plus affiliated stations, and many other stations owned by major media conglomerates, clearing D:TNG in 60% of the country, including all five of the top five media markets, with eight of the top ten markets, 15 of the top 20 and 18 of the top 25 markets. By March 2007, they had cleared it in over 70% of the country after stations owned by Hearst-Argyle Television, Capitol Broadcasting Company, and ACME Communications signed on.

DVD releases

The first six seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation have been released on DVD. The boxsets are released in Canada by Alliance Atlantis and in the U.S. by FUNimation Entertainment. Each season boxset includes extra features such as pictures, karaoke sessions, audition tapes, bloopers, deleted scenes and commentaries.

The three episode story arc from the fourth season in which Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes guest star has also been released as a single disc Region 1 DVD. FUNimation Entertainment released the disc on 8 November 2005, in two versions: the first subtitled as "Uncut, Uncensored and Unrated", and the second, "Rated". Each release had the same DVD extras, including an interview with Kevin Smith, bloopers and a Jay and Silent Bob Photo Album. The Unrated release also featured episode commentaries by Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Stacie Mistysyn, the associate producer Jim Jackman and writer Aaron Martin.

New media availability

Degrassi: The Next Generation is available in a number of new media formats. Episodes are currently streamed on the websites of CTV and The N; however, they can only be viewed by users with Canadian or U.S. IP addresses. Registered users of the Canadian and American iTunes Stores are also able to purchase episodes for playback on home computers and certain iPods. In Canada, Puretracks offers episodes for download. They are issued as a Windows Media 10 file, and the purchaser owns them forever, although the episodes can only be burned onto a disc three times and copied to a device three times. In the U.S., the Xbox Live Marketplace sells every episode of the series.

Impact

Television ratings

Degrassi: The Next Generation averaged 365,000 viewers aged 18–49 years old in season one, and became the most watched domestic drama in Canada. By the end of season two, it had become the most popular Canadian show for the three youngest age groups (children aged 2–12, teenagers aged 13–17 and young adults aged 18–34). In the third season, D:TNG was again the most-watched all-Canadian drama series, and the most watched Canadian drama among adults 18–49. In season four, an episode featuring a storyline about a school shooting received 930,000 viewers, its highest ever rating. A second episode with a storyline about oral sex also earned just under 1,000,000 viewers. Overall, the season averaged 600,000, and was again the top Canadian drama for teens aged 13–17, and adults in three age brackets: ages 18–34, ages 18–49 and ages 25–54. It averaged 250,000 U.S. viewers in 2004 and was the highest rated digital cable series in the U.S. in 2006. While that figure is still far lower than successful shows on the "big four" networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC), recent season premieres have achieved higher audience figures with females aged 13–34. 2004 also saw the school-shooting episode receive more than half a million U.S. viewers. With characters from Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High appearing in Degrassi: The Next Generation, viewers of the older shows now in their 20s and 30s make up a dedicated fan base. Approximately 40% of the show's viewers are outside of D:TNG's 13–17 year-old target audience.

Awards

From the first season, D:TNG has won a variety of awards in Canada and the United States. In April 2002, a month after the first season ended, it was awarded "Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)" at The 23rd Annual Young Artist Awards held in Studio City, Los Angeles, California. The show was also nominated for "Best Family TV Comedy Series", but lost to Malcolm in the Middle, while Ryan Cooley and Jake Goldsbie received nominations in the category for "Leading Young Actor in a TV Comedy Series", but lost to Malcolm's Frankie Muniz. At the National Council on Family Relations' 34th Annual Media Awards, four D:TNG episodes received a 1st Place Award; a fifth episode was awarded 2nd Place. In 2002 D:TNG received an award from the Directors Guild of Canada for "Outstanding Achievement in a Children's Television Series" for the episode "Mother and Child Reunion", directed by Bruce McDonald, and won the "Most Innovative Website Competition" at the Gemini Awards.

In the following years the show has received further recognition from the Gemini Awards and the Directors Guild of Canada, as well as winning two Teen Choice Awards and two Canadian Screenwriting Awards. In 2004, the show received a nomination for a GLAAD Media Award, but lost to the sports drama Playmakers. In July 2005, Degrassi: The Next Generation won the Television Critics Association Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming". It was only the second time that a non-U.S. series has won an award in this category (the first time was Degrassi Junior High in 1988).

Critical reception

D:TNG has received mixed critical reviews. Entertainment Weekly has called it "a cult hit", and The New York Times named it "Tha Best Teen TV N da WRLD (The best teen TV in the world)". Of the first season, The Ottawa Citizen's Tony Atherton had mixed feelings of the new incarnation, saying it "has a cleaner, more polished look, has lost its edge [and offers] nothing new to viewers familiar with the groundbreaking preceding series, nor to anyone else who has watched the deluge of teen dramas since ... there is a sense of déjà vu with regards to the plots and characters". He did, however, praise the show for having "the same simple narrative told from a kid's viewpoint, and the same regard for unvarnished reality [as Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High]". Before its U.S. debut, The Seattle Times' Melanie McFarland wondered whether the series would do well, writing: "soft-pedaling through the issues might work for today's family of viewers, but what's gentle enough for Mom and Dad's peace of mind might not be enough to hook Junior or the original Degrassi's older fans". In spite of these comments, The N held back one of the more controversial episodes of the season, which showed a character losing control after taking an ecstacy pill, and refused to show it until they were presented with an edited copy.

The N objected to episodes in seasons two and three, one whose storyline revolved around the subject of date-rape, the other showed a fifteen-year-old character having an abortion after having sexual intercourse with her boyfriend. The third season episodes were not shown in the U.S., causing an uproar amongst fans who organized a petition that caught the attention of the New York Times, as well as CBC, the National Post and the London Free Press in Canada. The episodes were eventually aired three years later as part of an "every episode ever" marathon. Another storyline was featured in the media after ten children from a Québécois school were found to have a number of cuts on their bodies. They said they had copied the show when one character began cutting herself in an episode.

The series has also been reproached for its lack of ethnic diversity. After watching nearly seventy hours of twenty-one Canadian-produced programs, Simon Fraser University cited Degrassi: The Next Generation's first season in their report as one of the Canadian television programmes that is "too Caucasian". The producers did not make any changes to the ethnicity of the cast following the university's findings.

Complementary media

The popular success of D:TNG, especially in the United States, has spurred the producers to make a number of media products complementary to the show. These include a number of web series and a podcast, three miniseries, and three special episodes.

Online content

Prior to broadcast of the series, the producers created a website with a "virtual school" that fans could "enroll" in order to receive regular e-mails from their character "classmates" and discuss ongoing plots, in an effort to provide a complete viewing experience for the audience. In February 2001, it was revealed in the Waterloo Region Record that the producers of the show had threatened the owner of a Degrassi fansite with a lawsuit to hand over the ownership of three domains using the Degrassi name.

The first podcast was released on 16 January 2007 and featured actors Mike Lobel and Daniel Clark. Each podcast features interviews with castmembers, producers, and writers, the D:TNG podcasts are recorded behind-the-scenes at the studios. Ten podcasts have been released as of 20 June 2008.

In 2006 CTV and The N began streaming D:TNG episodes on their websites, and on 2 February 2006, they premiered the first internet-only web series, Degrassi Minis, produced by Stefan Brogren. Some of the two to three minute long webisodes take place between existing episodes of the television show, whereas others are completely fantastical takes on the Degrassi universe.

Degrassi on the Set premiered in 2006 and shows backstage action from seasons six and seven. Degrassi Mangasodes, a third web series, is a collection of animated shorts. Only two episodes have been made, using stories adapted from scenes from the Degrassi: Extra Credit books written by J. Torres. The episodes were produced by Yowza! Animation, scripted by J. Torres, and animated by James McCrimmon. The episodes feature Degrassi: The Next Generation actors providing voices for their animated characters.

Miniseries

A miniseries named Degrassi Crash Course: The 100 Most Intense Moments was aired in 2003. It consisted of four half-hour episodes counting down the 100 most intense moments of the first two seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation. Each episode was hosted by two different actors, and included a sneak peak of the upcoming third season.

Degrassi Unscripted, premiered on 27 August 2004. Eight half-hour episodes documented the lives of different Degrassi: The Next Generation actors. The first five episodes aired in the weeks before the fourth D:TNG season began; the final three episodes were aired in June 2005, before the second half of the season. The actors featured were Miriam McDonald, Adamo Ruggiero, Cassie Steele, Jake Epstein, Lauren Collins, Stacey Farber, Aubrey Graham and Melissa McIntyre.

Degrassi's 40 Most Go There-est Moments was the most recent miniseries to be produced, and aired during September 2006 as a teaser for season six of D:TNG. In a similar style to Degrassi Crash Course: The 100 Most Intense Moments the series counted down the most "Degrassi-est" moments from the previous five seasons over four weekly episodes. The specials highlighted ten moments each and featured commentaries by actors of the show. Fans of the show were encouraged to vote for their "Degrassi-est" moment on The N's website, each week one viewer's choice from a different category was shown.

Special episodes

On 30 September 2005, The N aired a special episode, "Degrassi Behind The Scenes", which celebrated 25 years of the Degrassi franchise. It featured interviews with the cast, bloopers and deleted scenes from the series.

"Degrassi in Kenya" ("Degrassi: Doing What Matters" in the U.S.) was the second special episode, and aired 18 October 2007 on MTV Canada, and 14 March 2008 on The N. It documented the D:TNG cast visiting the Masai Mara, Kenya to build an extension onto Motony Primary School.

"Degrassi of the Dead", which parodies the zombie movie Dawn of the Dead, was a Halloween special episode which aired on 26 October 2007 on The N, and four days later on CTV. The episode was not part of the regular episodes or Degrassi continuity, although it did feature a number of D:TNG actors in character, some of whom had turned into zombies after eating genetically modified food in the school cafeteria, while others were trying to escape. The second half of the show was a behind-the-scenes look at the episode with Cassie Steele, Aubrey Graham and Lauren Collins. The episode was directed by Stefan Brogren, and originally made as five Degrassi Minis, with an additional streaming video of Aubrey Graham dancing to a Halloween themed rap performed by Brogren.

Licensed merchandise

On 1 November 2005, a soundtrack album for the show was released by Orange Record Label in Canada entitled Songs from Degrassi: The Next Generation. The N released TNG) through Nick Records on 28 August 2006 in the United States. The album includes an extended version of the theme song, featuring a rap written and performed by Turkish rapper Evren Ozdemir. It also includes other songs from D:TNG, as well as other shows on The N, including Instant Star, South of Nowhere, Beyond the Break, and Whistler.

"Turning Japanese", the first graphic novel in the Degrassi: Extra Credit series, was released on 12 October 2006 in Canada by H.B. Fenn, and 21 November 2006 in the U.S. by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Three more graphic novels have been also released: "Suddenly, Last Summer", "Missing You" and "Safety Dance". The stories in Degrassi: Extra Credit cover and expand upon plots and elements not seen on the show. On 23 August 2005, H.B. Fenn published Degrassi: Generations - The Official 411, an encyclopædic guidebook that includes script guidelines for the show, biographies of actors from Degrassi High and D:TNG, and information about the show's bands.