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Degrassi: The Next Generation (sometimes abbreviated DTNG or D:TNG) is a Canadian television series, which follows the lives of a group of high school students. In the United States, it is commonly known as simply "Degrassi." Degrassi: The Next Generation continues the popular Degrassi franchise, and is preceded by Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, as well as The Kids of Degrassi Street. Rather than do a show focusing just on the (now adult) characters, the creators decided to stay true to the original series and retain its focus on the issues and challenges of real teen life, bringing in a slew of new teen actors to star in the show. Several characters from the earlier series reprise their roles on DTNG as parents or teachers of the new students and have plot lines of their own which tend to intermix with the stories of the younger generation. Degrassi: The Next Generation details the lives of many different characters as they go through their high school years, and since the first season the characters have grown in many different ways. The show has dealt with many issues familiar to teenagers, such as body image, drug dealing, abuse, teen drinking, grades, college, stress, rape, child abuse, pedophilia, teen pregnancy, abortion, adoption and childbirth, sexuality, hate crimes, homophobia, puberty, cutting, death, rumours, domestic violence, arrest, confession, infidelity, cancer, theft, mental illness, race relations, pornography, plastic surgery, religion In the first three seasons, the show's theme song is sung by a children's chorus. In seasons 4-5, the theme song is performed by Canadian industrial/pop group Jakalope. For season six, the theme song is remixed, and stripped of the vocals.
Cast and characters Starring (in current credits order) Regulars, but not mentioned in the credits Recurring Formerly starring Soon to Join Rise in popularity
Critical response In July 2005, Degrassi: The Next Generation won the award for "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming" at the Television Critics Association (TCA) Awards in Los Angeles. This is just the second time that a non-American series has won an award in this category (the first time was Degrassi Junior High, which won in 1988). Three weeks later, Degrassi: The Next Generation won the Teen Choice surfboard as "Choice Summer Series" at the Teen Choice Awards. That was the first time a Canadian series had ever been nominated—and won—in that category•. Censorship in the United States The American broadcaster of Degrassi, The N, has repeatedly censored episodes, editing them in small ways. This has included: The N had previously refused to air the season 3 two-part episode 314-315 "Accidents Will Happen" in which Manny discovers she is pregnant and, in the end, has an abortion (they did, however, air the sub-plots as ""never before seen mini-episodes"). This angered many American viewers, as well as Linda Schuyler, creator of the show. Both episodes are available on P2P file sharing networks such as Kazaa and LimeWire or consumer media companies such as YouTube. The N has shown clips that originate from the episode on the "Behind the Scenes" special (it shows Manny doing some backflips, as seen in the episode). In August 2006 The-N showed the full episode during its "100 Episodes, Every Degrassi Episode Ever" marathon. DVD releases of the show in U.S. are not handled by The N and are edit free. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation also refused to air the two-part episode, "Accidents Will Happen." In contrast to the treatment of earlier episodes, The N did not exclude Season 4 episodes that featured intense themes like oral sex and school shootings. Editing has also been kept to a minimum (if at all). For example, a scene showing Craig and Ashley renting a hotel room to have sex in "Voices" was kept with a scene showing them putting their clothes back on afterwards. Another example was in the episode "Secret" which was presented in its entirety on The N (as seen on CTV) including the reference to "Accidents Will Happen" kept in, along with Jay's use of a certain term for oral sex. Another very minor example is a public service announcement by Aubrey Graham and Ephraim Ellis at the end of "Time Stands Still" against gun violence, which is cut out entirely in the United States. (This public service announcement was shown on in the U.S. on The N network. It featured Aubrey Graham only.) Recently The N has re-broadcast three episodes unedited as a special called Degrassi: The Director's Cut. The episodes that have been aired unedited during this special are now seen unedited in rebroadcasts. A list of the featured episodes and their additional footage: Broadcast history While the earlier Degrassi series all aired in Canada on the CBC, Degrassi: The Next Generation airs on CTV. In the States, Degrassi: The Next Generation airs on digital cable network The N/Noggin; in Latin America, DTNG is broadcast on MTV Latinoamérica and in Poland on VIVA music channel. The DVDs are distributed in the US by Funimation Entertainment in unedited and uncut format. Although US rights are exclusively owned by The N, there could be a market for this show on broadcast syndication as it would meet the criteria for E/I programming. On September 25, 2006 Programming Partners, a American company whose Canadian-produced programs are distributed through Sony Pictures Television, announced that they have acquired the syndication rights to the show, which will start stripping daily on local stations in the US during the early evening fringe hours (between 5 and 7 pm) beginning in September 2007 •. The requirement of using the E/I bug throughout the entire show,along with limits on the amount of commercial advertising may be factors against broadcast stations using Degrassi to fulfill E/I requirements. Degrassi: The Next Generation is currently broadcast in over 70 countries across the globe.•. Television Ratings Degrassi: The Next Generation is Canada's most-watched domestic drama series. It has been hosting a constantly growing audience; its fifth season saw a 24% increase in the number of viewers, sending its audience count past 1 million for the first time. After premiering in the United States on The N on April 1, 2002, it soon became the network's most-watched series. With characters from preceding Degrassi series being featured in The Next Generation (i.e. Spike and Snake), viewers of the older series now in their 20s and 30s make up a dedicated fan base. Approximately 40% of the show’s average number of viewers are outside of The Next Generations 12-17 year-old target audience. Season releases Movie releases Soundtrack Degrassi: The Next Generation released a soundtrack in 2005, featuring the following songs: Trivia See also Predecessors | |||||||||||||||||||
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