Submission 3,085

Overview

Degrassi is a Canadian dramatic television franchise focusing on the interpersonal relationships of teenagers attending Degrassi Junior High School and Degrassi High. The franchise has spawned five main series, including The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, Degrassi: The Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class.

History

The Kids of Degrassi Street

On September 12th, 1979, the first episode of The Kids of Degrassi Street aired in Canada. Devised as a series of after-school specials, the four main made-for-TV movies Ida Makes a Movie, Cookie Goes to the Hospital, Irene Moves In and Noel Buys a Suit was later broken up into 26 episode that aired until 1986.^[1]

Degrassi Junior High

About one year after The Kids of Degrassi Street ended, a follow-up series, Degrassi Junior High premiered. The show, much like its predecessor, received critical acclaim for its realistic depiction of of teenage life and its handling of controversial issues. The show ran for three seasons.

Degrassi High

Degrassi High followed a group of teenagers as they dealt with issues such as sex, abortion, drugs, depression and sucide. Some of the cast from previous iterations of the series also appeared. The series ran for two seasons, from 1989 to 1991.

Degrassi: The Next Generation

About 10 years after Degrassi High, creators Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood revived the series with Degrassi: The Next Generation. The series, again, followed a similar structure and thematic interest as its predecessor, but ran for considerably longer, running for 14 seasons from 2001 until 2015.

Drake "I'm Upset" Music Video

On June 13th, 2018, recording artist and former actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation Drake premiered the video for the song "I'm Upset" on YouTube. The music features appearances by the Degrassi cast as well as references to the series. Within 24 hours, the video received more than 2 million views.

The Reaction to the video was mostly positive, as fans of the series tweeted their excitement about the reunion. That day, Twitter ^[4] user @JasmineLWatkins tweeted, "So much nostalgia at this Degrassi reunion #ImUpset." The post (shown below, left) received more than 3,100 retweets and 6,100 likes in 24 hours.

Throughout the day, people shared their enjoyment of the video (examples below, center and right)

So much nostalgia at this Degrassi reunion #lmUpset

DRAKE JUST GAVE ME THE DEGRASSI REUNION OF MY DREAMS. #lmUpset y l Stopped editating And arted Screaming 16.4-Womanspiration-Jul 22, 2

Degrassi: Next Class

On January 4th, 2016, Degrassi: Next Glass premiered. The show has run for four seasons and aired 40 episodes, as of June 2018.^[5]

Fandom

On April 20th, 2009, the @Degrassi Twitter^[6] account launched. As of June 2018, the account has more than 152,000 followers.

On April 3rd, 2012, the Degrassi Facebook ^[7] page was activated, garnering more than 2.9 million likes in six years.

Wheelchair Drake

Wheelchair Drake is an advice animal image macro series that combines wheelchair-related puns with lyrics of music created by Canadian recording artist Drake^[2]. The image template is based on a photograph of Drake's wheelchair-bound teen character Jimmy Brooks in the teen drama TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation^[3].