Almost everybody in my generation has some sort of connection with the Canadian teen drama,
Degrassi. The constant "every episode ever" marathons that The N/TeenNick used to air pretty much ensured the show's cultural osmosis. We all have shared reference points in the show's biggest moments like
Paige's rape, the
school shooting that gave us Wheelchair Jimmy, or
JT dying in a pool of urine. But you're likely to get a laugh of recognition from people in their 20s if you make a passing mention to smaller things like Cokehead Craig or that time Manny wore a thong too.
Degrassi: The Next Generation was for teens what
General Hospital is for housewives and also my brother. It wasn't always
good, but its juicy soap operatics made it an easily digestible and oddly satisfying watching experience.
Most people I know drifted away from the show after JT's tragic death in season 6, which is actually when I really started getting into it. Of course, I had seen every episode in scattered order from those aforementioned "every
Degrassi episode ever" marathons, but post-JT-dying-in-a-urine-puddle was when I first remember watching the show in chronological order on a weekly basis. It's a shame that many of my peers never experienced the handful of seasons that followed, because they actually have their own unique charm, to the point where I almost have more affection for them than the "golden years." Primarily, the next era is notable for the introduction of Holly J Sinclair, the greatest character to ever attend Degrassi High School. A majority of Holly J's greatness can be attributed to an entertaining and highly sympathetic performance from Charlotte Arnold, one of the only members of the cast who seemed like she had the skills to progress beyond teen soap operas. In her hands, Holly J evolved from a blatant attempt to recreate Paige to the show's folk hero, the beating heart that gave life to every storyline she was involved in.
A show like
Degrassi lives and dies on the strength of its ensemble, so its revolving door nature always makes things dicey. Once Holly J left the show at the end of season 11, there were hardly any characters worth watching anymore. And when you don't like any of the characters on
Degrassi, you can get annoyed with the writing very quickly. It didn't help that season 12 was a low point in that regard, full of storylines that were both over-the-top and incredibly boring. So with the show at its worst and missing the character I cared about the most, I decided to quit somewhere near the end of that 12th season. Occasionally I'd feel remorseful about leaving behind a series that had been a part of my life for so long, but never enough to put myself through the pain of popping back in on it.
After the show was cancelled by TeenNick at the end of its 14th season last year, it was picked up by Netflix, and the producers chose to use the revival as an opportunity to do some rebranding. Thus,
Degrassi: Next Class was born. And though the series mostly features characters that debuted in the last two seasons of its previous incarnation, the writers spoke about their desire to go back to basics and capture the spirit of the early years. In that sense,
Next Class functions both as season 15 and season one. I saw a few
tweets from TV critics I follow
praising this new Netflix season, which was enough to finally convince me to watch. Because I never watched seasons 13 and 14, I didn't really know the backstories of some of the characters, but the dialogue does a good job of giving you the gist, which makes it easy to jump back into. And I recommend that you do so immediately, because the new season is absolutely incredible.
