97 Fun Facts About Degrassi

Which Canadian singer plays the school principal in the feature film shot at Degrassi in season four?

Alanis Morissette turns up as herself, cast as the principal in the movie whose crew takes over the school for the last three episodes of the season.

Degrassi began with which after-school special, adapted from a Kay Chorao picture book?

Ida Makes a Movie was shot largely at the home of a librarian friend on De Grassi Street, and that street gave everything that followed its name.

Degrassi takes its name from a real street in which Canadian city?

Toronto: De Grassi Street is a real street in the city's east end, and the first productions were filmed there because a friend of the creators lived on it.

Unlike every later Degrassi series, the franchise's first series followed which group?

The Kids of Degrassi Street followed children rather than teenagers, centring on grade-schoolers; Stacie Mistysyn and Neil Hope returned in Junior High as new, older characters.

On which Canadian network did Degrassi Junior High premiere in 1987?

CBC carried it at home, while Britain's BBC pulled some episodes over their teen-pregnancy and same-sex storylines and reshowed them in a later slot.

What lasting injury does the school shooting in 'Time Stands Still' leave Jimmy Brooks with?

Paralysis from the waist down: Rick shoots Jimmy in the back after being tricked into blaming him for a prank, and Jimmy uses a wheelchair for the rest of the series.

In Degrassi Junior High, what did Joey, Snake and their bass-playing friend call their garage band?

The Zit Remedy only ever had one song, and none of its three actors could really play an instrument; in Degrassi High the band cut its name down to The Zits.

Which Degrassi Junior High episode about a teen pregnancy won an International Emmy?

'It's Late' won the Emmy even though Britain's BBC pulled the episode from its usual slot over its content and showed it in a later slot on BBC2 instead.

Who played Emma Nelson in Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Miriam McDonald played Emma Nelson from the 2001 premiere; Emma, the baby born during Degrassi Junior High, anchored The Next Generation's early seasons.

Which character did Stacie Mistysyn play across three Degrassi series?

Caitlin Ryan was actually Stacie Mistysyn's second Degrassi role: as a child she had played a different girl, Lisa, in The Kids of Degrassi Street.

What did PBS cut from the Degrassi High premiere 'A New Start' for American viewers?

PBS removed the scenes of anti-abortion protesters outside the clinic Erica visits, while viewers in Canada saw the episode unedited.

How does the final episode of Degrassi Junior High leave the school building?

Destroyed by a fire: a faulty boiler sets the school alight during the graduation dance, a twist that let the producers move their ageing cast on to a high school.

In the Degrassi movie School's Out, whose drunk-driving crash kills a young child and injures Lucy?

Wheels had lost his own parents to a drunk driver back in Degrassi Junior High, which is why a disgusted Snake refuses even to take his calls from jail.

Degrassi's TV movie School's Out is credited with which first for Canadian prime-time television?

Use of the F-word: Snake hurls it at Joey over his cheating, and Caitlin, who overhears, throws it straight back at Joey moments later.

Who played Manny Santos in Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Cassie Steele played Manny Santos, whose decision to have an abortion made a two-part story that US channel The N held back from American viewers for two years.

Which Canadian TV show hosted the 1999 Degrassi cast reunion that helped revive the franchise?

Jonovision, Jonathan Torrens's teen talk show, reunited the old cast in 1999, which set the writers wondering where the characters were now and led to a new series.

On which Canadian network did Degrassi: The Next Generation premiere in 2001?

CTV carried the revival for its first nine seasons, in which several of the original students came back as the new kids' parents and teachers.

Most episodes of Degrassi: The Next Generation take their titles from what?

Hit songs: the custom was so long-running that dropping it was one of the changes the follow-up series Next Class made.

Degrassi: The Next Generation centred on Emma Nelson, the daughter of which original character?

Spike, real name Christine Nelson, became pregnant in Degrassi Junior High, chose to keep the baby and stayed on the show as a teenage mother.

What is the title of the theme song of Degrassi: The Next Generation?

'Whatever It Takes' outlived the show as its motto: a 2025 documentary on the whole franchise, launched at a major film festival, took the phrase as its title.

Which future rap superstar played Jimmy Brooks?

Drake, born Aubrey Graham in 1986, played Jimmy Brooks from the 2001 premiere until 2009, when his rap career took off with the mixtape So Far Gone.

In 'Time Stands Still', what humiliation drives Rick to bring a gun to Degrassi?

Paint and feathers poured over him on stage, moments after he wins a quiz final: Spinner, Jay and Alex stage the prank, and Jimmy wrongly gets the blame.

In Degrassi's 'Time Stands Still', who wrestles Rick for the gun in the struggle that kills him?

Sean Cameron grabbed Rick as he turned the gun on Emma; in the struggle the gun went off and Rick died, moments after he had shot Jimmy.

Which slogan did Degrassi: The Next Generation use to advertise its taste for controversy?

It Goes There: the show used the line to own its controversies, which ran from a school shooting to a two-part story its US network at first refused to air.

Which American filmmaker, a devoted Degrassi fan, played himself across the last three episodes of season four?

Kevin Smith arrives to shoot a movie at the school, and the script hands the devoted fan a romance with Caitlin.

Which Next Generation episode did The N refuse to air for two years because it dealt with abortion?

'Accidents Will Happen' went out as normal in Canada early in 2004, but American fans had to wait until August 2006 to see Manny's decision on The N.

Which Degrassi episode about a transgender student won a Peabody Award?

'My Body Is a Cage' centres on Adam Torres, outed at the school he joined to escape bullying at his last one; the Peabody judges praised its lack of sensationalism.

What changed about Degrassi's production when its tenth season began in July 2010?

A telenovela/soap-opera format: new episodes ran four nights a week that summer, a model its US network was testing as faster and cheaper to make.

By Degrassi's tenth season, which original character remained, now promoted to principal?

Snake Simpson began as a junior-high guitarist in 1987, came back as a teacher and ended up running the school, the franchise's longest-running regular character.

Who played Spinner Mason in Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Shane Kippel's Spinner bows out in the season-nine finale movie by waking up married to Emma after a drunken night at a Niagara Falls casino.

Who played the teenage mother and model Mia Jones on Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Nina Dobrev played Mia for three years, then left Degrassi in 2009 to take the lead role of Elena Gilbert in The Vampire Diaries.

On which streaming service did Degrassi: Next Class air internationally from 2016?

Netflix released each season of Next Class all at once, so the writers reshaped its story arcs for binge-watching rather than weekly viewing.

Degrassi: Next Class began development as which kind of project?

The 15th season of the previous show became a relaunch instead: its makers realised their audience had not been born when Degrassi began, and rebuilt it for Generation Z.

Which streaming service ordered a Degrassi revival in January 2022, only to scrap it that November?

HBO Max ordered a Degrassi revival in January 2022, then cancelled it that November before production began, amid Warner Bros. Discovery's post-merger cost-cutting.

Which 2018 music video staged a Degrassi class reunion with much of the Next Generation cast?

I'm Upset sends its star back to the old school hallways for a reunion with a crowd of former castmates, among them the actor who played the gunman Rick.

Which unusual vehicle does Eli Goldsworthy drive to Degrassi?

A vintage hearse he calls Morty: classmates take it as proof he is obsessed with death, and he later crashes it on purpose to win Clare back.

How did J.T. Yorke die in season six of Degrassi: The Next Generation?

Stabbed outside a party: J.T. had just admitted he still loved Liberty and was looking for her at her own birthday party when a Lakehurst student attacked him.

Every episode title of Degrassi: Next Class begins with which symbol?

A hashtag: the relaunch was written for a generation raised on social media, so every title was styled like a trending tag.

Who played Joey Jeremiah in Degrassi Junior High?

Pat Mastroianni played Joey Jeremiah, the fedora-wearing joker, across Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High and The Next Generation, where Joey ran a used-car dealership.

Which Degrassi student, a devout Christian who leads the Spirit Squad, was played by the future star of the 90210 reboot?

Darcy Edwards's actress left to lead the 90210 reboot, while Darcy's younger sister Clare stayed on and became one of Degrassi's central characters.

What is the title of Degrassi co-creator Linda Schuyler's 2022 memoir?

The Mother of All Degrassi traces how a schoolteacher's classroom film projects grew into five TV series over four decades.

Which Canadian channel picked up Degrassi in 2010, when the show left broadcast television for cable?

MuchMusic took over in 2010, and the move came with a rebrand: the show dropped 'The Next Generation' from its title and handed over to a new cast.

In which Degrassi TV movie do Paige and Manny chase the same starring role?

Degrassi Goes Hollywood hands the lead to Paige, who is working as a celebrity's assistant, but her diva behaviour gets her dropped and Manny ends up in the film.

Degrassi: The Next Generation was filmed at a studio that earlier housed which 1990s Canadian soap opera?

Riverdale: the producers bought the building to shoot it, and Degrassi Community School's hallways and classrooms were later built inside.

Which Degrassi: The Next Generation character was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in season four?

Craig Manning's diagnosis follows a manic spell in which he proposes to his girlfriend Ashley; he had already escaped an abusive father to live with his stepfather, Joey.

Which Degrassi High character learned he was HIV-positive?

Dwayne Myers, the school bully, confides in his old enemy Joey, who keeps the secret, and the show followed him living with HIV for a whole season rather than one episode.

In the 1992 series Degrassi Talks, what did cast members do?

Degrassi Talks had the cast interview teens across Canada about social issues their characters had faced, and it was the last Degrassi production until the 2001 revival.

Which future Schitt's Creek star, then an MTV Canada host, played film producer Robbie in a 2009 Degrassi TV movie?

Dan Levy was co-hosting MTV Canada's The After Show at the time. His co-host Jessi Cruickshank followed him into the next Degrassi movie a year later, playing a music-channel boss.

Which country singer guest-starred in Degrassi: The Next Generation as Duke, a limousine driver who gets arrested?

Billy Ray Cyrus appears in the season three finale, and his character's arrest leaves Jimmy and three friends stranded in the street on the night of the year-end dance.

Degrassi: The Next Generation borrowed its subtitle from the 1987 sequel series of which science-fiction franchise?

Star Trek lent the name at the suggestion of the co-creator's husband, a neat fit for a revival built around the daughter of an original character.

In Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Emma and Spinner wake up married after a drunken casino night in which tourist spot?

Niagara Falls is where friends take Spinner to cheer him up after a breakup. The pair spend their blackjack winnings on a legal wedding and an ugly ring they cannot return.

Degrassi's 'Take on Me', where five students from different cliques bond in detention, pays homage to which film?

The Breakfast Club tribute leaves Mr. Raditch supervising Saturday detention, and the five slip away to explore the school and end up on its roof.

What was Degrassi co-creator Linda Schuyler's job when she began making the short films that led to the franchise?

Schoolteacher Linda Schuyler taught grades seven and eight and showed her pupils how to shoot on Super-8, the lessons that pushed her into producing.

How does Adam Torres die during the summer that opens season thirteen of Degrassi?

A crash while texting kills Adam, who drives into a tree as he messages his girlfriend Becky and dies in surgery; the advocacy group GLAAD said it was disappointed that his story ended this way.

Unlike Dawson's Creek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Degrassi: The Next Generation filled its teenage roles with whom?

Actors the characters' age came out of auditions of more than six hundred school-aged children, a deliberate contrast with rivals that hired people in their twenties to play teenagers.

In the two-part Degrassi episode 'Pride', which student comes out as gay after falling for a friend's brother, Dylan?

Marco Del Rossi had been passing off a friend as his girlfriend until she refused to keep pretending. The script won the Writers Guild of Canada's award for best youth script.

Which Degrassi alumnus, the show's Sav Bhandari, went on to play restaurant owner Joe in Ginny & Georgia?

Raymond Ablack started even earlier, as a child playing Young Simba in a stage production of The Lion King, six years before he joined Degrassi in 2007.

Which Degrassi high achiever gives up for adoption the baby she has with class clown J.T. Yorke?

Liberty Van Zandt is four months along before she tells J.T., and she is later overcome with guilt on learning that the adoptive family is moving away.

Which Degrassi: The Next Generation student falls into a coma when her boyfriend Rick shoves her to the ground?

Terri McGreggor strikes her head as she falls. She recovers, then transfers to a private school and cuts off her old friends to make a fresh start.

Which Degrassi goth starts cutting herself in 'Whisper to a Scream' while her mother is drinking again?

Ellie Nash uses the point of a drawing compass, and she only gets help once Paige notices and tells the school counsellor.

Which illness is Spinner Mason diagnosed with in the two-part Degrassi episode 'Death or Glory'?

Testicular cancer sends Spinner into a reckless streak, picking fights with thugs from a rival school out of fear that he will no longer be seen as a man.

Students from which rival school crowd into Degrassi in season seven after a blaze guts their own building?

Lakehurst merges with Degrassi as a result, a twist the writers used to bring six new characters into the show at once.

Which infection breaks out at Degrassi in the two-part episode 'Secret', leaving Emma Nelson afraid she has caught it?

Gonorrhea spreads after Emma, still shaken by the school shooting, starts spending time with Jay. The storyline drew just under a million viewers in Canada.

Which hat is the trademark of class clown Joey Jeremiah, worn with Hawaiian shirts, in Degrassi Junior High?

A fedora and Hawaiian shirts were Joey's uniform as keyboard player of the school garage band, and his portrayer was the first person to audition for the series.

In Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Emma Nelson accidentally sets which hangout ablaze with a faulty sandwich grill?

The Dot goes up in flames after Spinner hires her and warns her off the short-circuiting grill. On the studio backlot it was the only building big enough to film inside.

Which Degrassi hockey star, the Ice Hounds' best player and Maya's boyfriend, takes his own life in season twelve?

Campbell Saunders had been cracking under the pressure of carrying the team to victory, and the two-part 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' shows the whole school struggling with the loss.

Which Degrassi queen bee and student council president is the younger sister of the never-seen Heather?

Holly J. Sinclair starts out as a mean girl feuding with her locker buddy Mia, then fights to keep her status when her parents run into money trouble.

Joey Jeremiah of Degrassi Junior High returns in The Next Generation as a single father with which job?

Car salesman Joey runs a used-car lot, and trouble follows when his stepson takes one of the cars, and his friends, on a joyride while Joey is out of town.

Declan and Fiona Coyne, who arrive at Degrassi from New York in season nine, are related in what way?

They are twins, and Fiona's jealousy over her brother's girlfriend fuels a feud that plays out in a Manhattan penthouse in the 2010 TV movie.

In the early seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation, wealthy student Jimmy Brooks is the star of which school team?

Basketball star Jimmy goes on to coach the team in season five, where a new player called Derek causes him trouble.

The N, the American teen block that first aired Degrassi: The Next Generation, belonged to which children's channel?

Noggin ran preschool shows in the morning and wanted educational teen drama for the afternoon; its staff had named the original Degrassi as exactly the kind of show they were after.

Which Degrassi cast member, on screen since Degrassi Junior High, directed both of The Next Generation's TV movies?

Stefan Brogren made his directing debut with a non-canonical Halloween horror special in 2007 and won a Gemini Award for his directing three years later.

Which Instant Star lead sang the Degrassi theme song for seasons eleven and twelve?

Alexz Johnson came from within the family, since Instant Star was made by the same producers. Hers was the sixth version of the theme, first sung by Lisa Dalbello with a children's choir.

Which fictional band from Degrassi performs the show's own theme song in seasons nine and ten?

The Stüdz, started by Peter Stone with Sav and Danny, gave the theme its fifth version; an earlier, heavier rework had come from the industrial-pop group Jakalope.

Which science teacher takes over as Degrassi's principal when Mr. Raditch departs after the season four shooting?

Ms. Hatzilakos is also the mother of Peter Stone, the new student who arrives in season five and promptly humiliates Manny by releasing a video of her.

In Degrassi's 'Fight for Your Right', Emma Nelson is suspended over a cafeteria protest against what?

Genetically modified food is her target. When Mr. Raditch brushes her off, the protest boils over into a food fight, and she refuses the chance to apologise.

In Degrassi, Manny Santos defies her father over a debut, a lavish eighteenth-birthday party in which culture?

Filipino families traditionally mark a daughter's eighteenth birthday with the debut, and Manny digs in because the expensive celebration is her father's idea, not hers.

On which fictional social network does Alli Bhandari start a hate group in Degrassi's 'Heat of the Moment'?

Facerange is the Degrassi universe's answer to Facebook, and its inventor even turns up as a character in the show's Las Vegas special.

At the premiere of the movie filmed at Degrassi, which former bully does Paige Michalchuk find she is falling for?

Alex Nuñez and Paige stay together until graduation nears, when Paige grows too controlling about her girlfriend's future and the relationship ends.

Which Degrassi student fronts Hell Hath No Fury and writes an angry song about her ex for a battle of the bands?

Ashley Kerwin's band takes on Downtown Sasquatch for a recording session, and the contest turns personal because the rival singer is the boyfriend who cheated on her.

Which Degrassi student tries out for the football team in 'Fight the Power' and becomes its only girl?

Jane Vaughn is ridiculed by teammates and the coach alike but refuses to quit, and she later becomes lead singer of Spinner's band when its frontman is kicked out.

Which Degrassi quarterback takes steroids to make himself attracted to girls before accepting that he is gay?

Riley Stavros finally accepts himself and kisses his boyfriend Zane in the school hallway; Zane, for his part, signs up as the team's kicker so the two can share the sport.

In the Kay Chorao picture book that inspired the first Degrassi film, the children were originally which animals?

Cats star in the book, a preschool story; a school librarian had ordered it as a filmmaking guide without realising whom it was written for.

How much did Linda Schuyler pay for the film rights to the picture book that launched Degrassi?

$200 secured the rights after a lawyer friend advised her to skip legal help and pitch the author herself, so she flew to New York and made the deal in person.

De Grassi Street, the real road that gave Degrassi its name, honours a 19th-century soldier born in which country?

Italy was the birthplace of Captain Filippo De Grassi, who emigrated to Canada with his family in 1831.

Which British broadcaster drew six million viewers with Degrassi Junior High, then declined to air its last two seasons?

The BBC shifted the first season's pregnancy episodes to a later teen slot on its second channel, despite a publicity tour by the actress at the centre of the storyline.

In Degrassi's 'Father Figure', Emma Nelson skips school to track down which man, her biological father?

Shane McKay had to be recast for the two-part season three premiere, because the actor who played him in Degrassi Junior High chose not to return to the role.

Which Canadian broadcaster premiered Degrassi: Next Class in January 2016, days before its global streaming debut?

Family Channel showed it on F2N, its brand-new programming block for teens; the previous series had ended its run on MTV Canada the summer before.

Which Degrassi alumnus originated the role of songwriter Gerry Goffin in Broadway's Carole King musical, Beautiful?

Jake Epstein reached Broadway in 2012 as the alternate Spider-Man in Turn Off the Dark, after playing Will in the first national tour of American Idiot.

Which Degrassi alumnus went on to play sprinter Jesse Owens in the 2016 film Race?

Stephan James won a Canadian Screen Award for the part, which he took over from John Boyega; two years earlier he had played civil rights leader John Lewis in Selma.

The first three Degrassi series were produced by which company, founded by its co-creators in 1976?

Playing With Time shares its name with the founders' first film together, a documentary about a marathon pianist; Epitome Pictures took over for The Next Generation.

Which real institution's Keele Campus stood in for Smithdale, where Emma and Manny study in Degrassi?

York University supplied the exteriors, while the campus club and the pool hall where the older characters hang out were sets built in a studio for season seven.

In the Degrassi movie School's Out, Joey Jeremiah secretly dates which classmate behind his girlfriend's back?

Tessa Campanelli enters the story on the night Joey's marriage proposal is turned down: he storms out of a graduation party, runs into her and offers her a ride home.

Which Degrassi co-creator, who took no part in The Next Generation, had a laneway named after him in 2023?

Kit Hood wrote or directed most episodes of the first three series. After his death in 2020 his daughter petitioned the city, and the lane behind the old production office took his name.

Which English pop singer guest-stars as herself in 'We Built This City', the season seven finale of Degrassi?

Natasha Bedingfield turns up as the class of 2007 reaches prom and graduation; the same season brought in veteran actress Shirley Douglas to play a professor.

Degrassi Takes Manhattan became the most-watched telecast to that point on which American teen channel?

TeenNick had inherited the show less than a year earlier, when two teen programming blocks were merged into a single channel.

In Degrassi: The Next Generation, what does the S stand for in PMS, the name of Paige Michalchuk's band?

Sexkittens completes the name, Paige Michalchuk and the Sexkittens. In season two a bandmate writes a contest song about rape that forces Paige to face her own assault.