With the graduation of Holly J Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold) from Degrassi, which female character is next in line to step up and be Degrassi’s leading lady?
I hated Holly J during Season 7 and most of Season 8. Her character’s spite was annoying, and she was nothing close to being the “Queen Bee” she tried to paint herself as. It wasn’t until Danger Zone that we got to see beyond her I’m-a-bitch-for-no-real-reason exterior. Holly J truly hit her stride in Season 9, and has been the strongest female character on Degrassi since. A big part of that has been the strength of Charlotte Arnold as an actress, creating in me a belief that she could handle any major storyline thrown her way. Holly J also transformed into a less (overly) dramatic, more-mature character.
But now she’s gone, and one of the other characters will replace her…which one will it be? I’m not going to talk about every single female character on the show. I’m just gonna touch on four of them, but feel free to discuss the others in the comments section.
CLARE EDWARDS has potential down the road.
For the last several years it feels like each season Degrassi has been trying to designate a leading lady for us. In Season 7 it was Darcy Edwards, and she blew us away with one of Degrassi’s best storylines ever. Had Shenae not left in early Season 8, she probably would’ve been Degrassi’s featured female character that season as well. Instead, she was replaced by Mia Jones…a horrible mistake.
Holly J took over in Season 9, and still had star power in Seasons 10 and 11 (despite the fact the writers having little desire to deal with the seniors in Now Or Never). However, the spotlight shifted dramatically in favor of Clare Edwards in Season 10.
Perspective is everything. In Season 10 I thought Aislinn was a breakout actress, and I loved Clare. She was more mature (looks and personality wise); her character growing because of the complex relationship with Eli. But Season 11 has left Aislinn Paul in role where her character spends all of her time whining and pining incessantly over a pointless relationship (and it feels like the show has pushed aside the core of Clare’s issues established in Should’ve Said No so they could focus on the “pastry wars” instead, but that’s an entirely different topic).
Let’s face it: Cake is doomed. Clare will be crushed. Things may or may not get worse for her, but like all characters she will eventually stabilize and be back to “normal.” On this Clare Edwards rollercoaster ride it’d be nice if they could get back to the heart of the Clare’s angst, and have Clare deal with a serious mental breakdown beyond her boy issues. I’d love to see Aislinn tackle this, it’s just a matter of the show putting aside the Cake/Eclare angst long enough to do actually it.
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FIONA COYNE has potential RIGHT NOW.
I heart Fiona, she’s my favorite character on the show. She’s loved among fans. Excluding aspects of Farlie, Fiona has provided quality storylines for the past season and a half. Annie’s acting is sincere. With all of her “connections” gone (Holly J, Declan, etc) this is a real transition period for her character. In the second half of Season 11 she’ll be free to integrate with anyone really…we see hints of her hanging with Katie and Marisol, and we can assume that her friendship with Eli will remain intact. The rest of season 11 is also key in continuing to shape her emotional strength, as well as finally developing her personality within the halls of Degrassi themselves.
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KATIE MATLIN has very little potential right now…it’s being wasted, and I have no idea why.
Oh my, how awesome of a first impression Katie’s first appearance on the show made. That’s long forgotten; boys became more important, and even the personal issues she does have were rushed through at lightning speed. Katie’s personality (excluding boys) makes her a strong, firm leader by default. But even with that, her being shoved into the position of being student body president feels so random. Chloe Rose hasn’t been given a chance to do anything yet because everything her character is going through is happening without any real thought behind it right now.
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ALLI BHANDARI has no potential.
Listen…Melinda Shankar can act her butt off. The problem is I just don’t see Alli ever overcoming her two biggest obstacles:
1) She’s a see-saw character. When she receives a storyline she messes up then learns from her mistakes, only to completely forget what she’s learned and mess up again…it’s been one step forward, two steps back for Alli for three and a half seasons now. I’ll forever maintain that she’s best used as a sidekick character, where she can display her personality without making all of us rip our hair out.
2) Alli will always play second fiddle to Clare Edwards…especially now that Clare is connected to the show’s most-popular male character (Eli).
Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Solid analysis, I hope Katie’s character improves
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Intereesting, I thought you were actually going to include Marisol in this….that wouldve been a good laugh! I completely agree with your Ali statement, she is a GREAT supporting character but when it comes to dealing with her own issues, she’s like a 5 year old. It’s like seeing two completely different people. When she’s not the main character, she’s confident and witty and entertaining, but when she get’s a main plot, she’s insecure, unsure and totally annoying. I can’t see her as a leading lady since there’s no fluidity or consistency in her character.
Clare is a lost cause for me as well….but in terms of who will dominate majority of the storylines, I have a feeling she will definitely bee the leading lady. If we’re talking about overall power and who fits the mould, I think Fiona should be the chosen candidate. She definitely is the “it” girl and has a lot of potential to be the next Charlotte Arnold. And the fact that she’s pretty and rich helps too!
I do agree that Katie was initially the obvious choice of being the female star of Degrassi, but her insecurities with Bianca and Drew have been a great falter to her character. If they continue with that love triangle, she really has no chance. But on the upside, I really do like Krew…yes I am part of the few percentage that enjoys this couple, but I really like how Drew is more tame and kind from being with Katie
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I believe Bianca has potential. Her breakout performance in Spring Fever shows she could be a lead female in the future. Maybe season 11 or 12…
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I totally agree because she would definitely be a different kind of leading lady then they ever had also what about leading males?? do they just not have them
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I hope it’s Clare, since that means she’d be on her way out before the rest of her class graduates, like Darcy and Mia. I’d sacrifice her sucking up airtime and ruining all the men in her harem if that meant she’d leave for Kenya sometime in the near future.
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I complete agree 100% with this but I think Bianca should get an honorabl mention. Her acting skills improved last season and we got to see that’s not a complete bitch all the time. I think she could be up there if she care a lil more.
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Well a solid case can be made for Bianca, she can easily be the female charecter all the fans love for being snidey & sarcastic. This past season she’s shown what a great actress she is. My other pick would be Fiona, Season 10/11 have solidified her as a fantastic charecter. Fans love her like crazy, her friendship with Eli is SO fricking adorable (just saying! lol). Either of these 2 would be fine choices, Katie is Emma post-season 4. Clare needs to get herself together, before anyone is gonna care for her again. A shame about Alli, as I feel the same say about her Kary does. (hopefully she can redeem herself & become a top charecter though)
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I felt it was completely wrong to not count Alli period. I could totally see her actually gripping more great plots down the line if they gave her some.
Also she isn’t second fiddle to Clare anymore plus she’s not in a relationship, and her family drama is over so… she’s free to get thrown some quality bones. The question is will she get anything and if she does will it be something to finally mature her character.
Why didn’t you include Jenna? She has potential now. It’s been established that Fiona is a forefront player but I think they’ll take her a few steps back with her upcoming “queenbee” plot.
Also I think Kaite’s potential will be wasted the rest of her run on the show in favor of her relationship with Drew
Also I doubt at this rate Clare will ever get anything good because it seems they are gearing for a Eclare reunion through a failed Cake relationship.
However who really knows….
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That’s my point…I have no faith that the writers are ever going to give anything to Alli to make her a super standout character.
I didn’t make a “list”, remember I said that I was intentionally only talking about only four of the female characters and letting everyone else discuss the rest of the characters.
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I really think Bianca has great potential. We don’t know too much about her but she’s hard to not like. I’m a fan of hers and I thin she’s a good actress. She would make an excellent female lead character. Maybe soon.
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Hmm I would say Leading ladies are
s1. ashley for 8th graders/Emma for 7th graders
s2. Paige
s3. Manny
s4. Paige
s5. Liberty with breakout Alex
s6. Emma
and the rest are like Kary said
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oh and I completely forgot WHAT ABOUT JANE she was definitely also like a leading lady in season 7-9
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The only potential leading lady would be Fiona. Sorry Clare is too judgemental and whiny this season. Fiona has the finesse and knows the who’s who. Fiona is socially smart and quick witted.
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I agree with pretty much of everything thats already been said. I thought Fiona was annoying when she first joined the show. Now shes my favorite Degrassi character of all time. Her character has shown tremendous growth and is no longer 1 dimensional. I love Katie and Bianca this year.
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I think Clare’s senior year will be her year as Degrassi’s leading lady. I still think Alli could possibly give her a run for her money though. I love(d) Clare, but once Eli graduates, I have a feeling a lot of the hype surrounding her character will die. It’s not a coincidence that her popularity shot through the roof in S10. And as much as I love Aislinn, Melinda’s a far superior actress.
Sorry to say, but I think that Bianca’s too close to graduation to be the leading lady. She’s not nearly as well developed as she should be, so I wouldn’t be able to take Degrassi seriously if they handed her the female lead stories. I feel like the leading ladies have to be seasoned vets in some way.
I think we’re all agreed that all roads lead to Fiona taking the mantle from HJ. She is sublime.
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I think Katie and Marisol will probably be Co-Queen Bees for their senior year. But I think Fiona should be the leading lady of the characters. Just makes sense to me.
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After reading through the replies, I have to wonder why it’s necessary to have a “lead” character on a show like Degrassi, which has such an expansive cast. I realize that if we go back to DJH/DH, there were definite stand-out leads (Hello Joey and Caitlin), but I don’t think it’s necessary for the show in this incarnation to have a specific lead. I think they pander way too much to the fandom and their own personal preferences, but when you have a main cast of about 20, they should all be treated equally. If they didn’t want to write for them, then they never should have made them a main character in the first place.(Hello Miss Chantay Black.)
I realize this is probably an unpopular opinion since I’m not a fanboy of any one character or couple, so I don’t need for one specific character to be the focus of the show. I know there are some characters who don’t serve as a “lead”, but then they shouldn’t be part of the main cast. They should just be secondary and tertiary characters (Sadie, Jess, Liam, etc.) If it were up to me, I would have a much smaller core cast (Sorry Katie, Marisol, Owen & Connor), so the rest of the characters could receive equal time.
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See that’s the issue with Degrassi, the large cast. Everyone can’t get the breakout plot for the year, only a few can get the good well developed stuff while everyone else gets the non important stuff or rushed plots. Also they waste too many characters as plot devices or advanced side characters. You can tell who they want to push as the star each Season.
I would like if they could maybe give like at least 3 girl characters and 3 guy characters good strong plots each season but they only seem to focus on just 4 characters these days Jenna, Drew, Eli, Clare (and in In too Deep it was Clare, Eli, Fiona, Adam just to name a few). Their plots were literally the only strong plots of each season and everyone else was pretty mediocre and easily forgotten.
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I like Owen! I think he’s a great character who should get more screen time. Jess and Sadie I liked as background characters, I don’t know why they dropped them and didn’t keep them as background characters or move them up to main characters since we already knew them, same for Hannah. Liam I thought was a pretty cool character for the 2 episode he was in.
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Owen is OK as a secondary character, who doesn’t deserve top billing. I know everyone has favorites and it’s totally biased in thinking he doesn’t belong as a main character with the likes of Eli, Alli and KC. I guess from how they first introduced us to him, I never had any vested interest in getting to know him further.
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“I realize that if we go back to DJH/DH, there were definite stand-out leads (Hello Joey and Caitlin), but I don’t think it’s necessary for the show in this incarnation to have a specific lead”
Even though there were stand outs back then, they weren’t so front and center above everyone else like they are now. They always seemed to find ways to incorporate everyone so that you’d never feel like “Oh hey, where’s so and so been?”, even if they didn’t get a main plot. Heck, even Diana Economopoulos got her own storyline…but we all know that we would all be saying “WTF?!?!” if someone like a Sadie or Jess randomly got a main plot. I do not believe all characters should be treated equally…there isn’t enough time in the world for that with a cast this big, but I definitely don’t want them pandering to certain fanbases like they have this year. The major difference between the two generations of shows is that the focused has shifted. DJH/DH was an educational show that focused on the issues; Degrassi today is an ENTERTAINMENT show, focused on the characters.
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You nailed it.
“The major difference between the two generations of shows is that the focused has shifted. DJH/DH was an educational show that focused on the issues; Degrassi today is an ENTERTAINMENT show, focused on the characters.”
It’s all about the glitz and glamor (and ratings) instead of a realistic show, with real kids, in a raw and gritty setting. Now it’s all splashy with high-quality production values and an updated soundtrack each episode. I get that they are keeping up with the times, but the main focus of Degrassi has definitely evolved over the years. They were definitely not as couple (ship) heavy in the 80’s as they are now.
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I really hope that Clare’s discovery that her father had been involved in several affairs before her parents divorced was a hint at events to come. I’d LOVE for Clare to find out that she has a half-sibling from one of those affairs!
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@Nina, that would be interesting if she didn’t already have a step sibling now
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Clare: I agree. I think that the writers really tried to propel her forward into the position of a leading lady in season 10 with her relationship with Eli. All throughout the Boiling Point and the most of the rest of season 10 I thought that Clare would be the next female lead. However, she has definitely fallen and has become more of a drama queen character than a realistic leader. It pains me to watch such a demise because her character did have so much potential and she really could have shone. That being said, I think that there is some chance at redemption that could be had. I don’t think it will come from her parents divorces story line (that was a ploy for more Clare/Jake drama), but it could come with other troubles that apparently she will be having later this season. If she could stay away from boys from a while it would do her character well.
Fiona: I agree here as well. Being totally detached from anyone right now is a great setup for her to take a leading role. We have already seen the acting ability of Annie Clark and the heavy plots Fiona can handle. I think that she is probably the most likely to, in real life, be the new leader. Unfortunately, the writers will probably push Clare down our throats. My only issue with Fiona is that I feel like the writers have too much potential with her that they will screw it up. For example, they could do plot(s) about her diving into the LGBT community as a socialite. They could give her challenging friendship plots about learning to make friends. And they could also take her character and really just improve on what they already have. In any case, she is obviously the clear choice, but will inevitably take a backseat because she won’t be having much boy drama.
Katie: Katie is the reincarnation of Holly J on paper. She has the description for it, the written drive. etc. She is practically a clone of Holly J. But, all of that is wasted in the Drianca drama. My hope is that as soon as she gets pulled out of her relationship with Drew that she can really step up into a more forceful role. Having her sister come to the show could also develop her character in a way of being ashamed of her. Perhaps a story line that involves her and her sister could be done well. But overall, at the moment, she is a wasted character that could really be an amazing character.
Alli: I partially agree. While I definitely think that Melinda Shankar is great and can really take on just about anything, I disagree by saying they won’t give her anything. Seeing as she is one of the more veteran characters, I feel like as she approaches senior year/graduation, the writers will be willing to do more with her because people actually care about her character simply because of how long she’s been on the show. That being said, I don’t really think she’ll be much of a queen-bee candidate mainly because they’ve passed that phase for her (season 10’s obsession with popularity). There’s not much that she could do to take Holly J’s place because her character just hasn’t been built up to it. Maybe if the writers really focus in on her we can get a glimpse at a more sophisticated Alli, but never a queen-bee Alli.
Bianca: Not going to be the new lead. Yes, Alicia has demonstrated the ability to tackle difficult plots, but Bianca just isn’t queen-bee material. She’s the bad-ass (like Alex) who is just developing a softer, more vulnerable side to her and isn’t in the right place right now to even be in the running for this. If she continues with the story line she’s in and gets others like it, perhaps in season 12 or late season 11 at the earliest we can start considering her for this. Until then, Bianca needs more development as a dynamic character with emotions and personal investment in plots.
Jenna: Also not going to happen. Her baby story was well done, I’ll admit. But there is no way that Jenna could possibly overtake people like Fiona or even overtake Clare. Jenna is a character who needs other people to support on with her plots to even be average. The female lead needs to be able to hold her own and stand out and right now, I don’t see Jenna like that. Actually, unlike Bianca, I don’t see Jenna ever being strong enough to stand on her own. Maybe it’s because I’ve never particularly seen much involvement with Jenna other than her KC drama (which has been her entire existence on the show), but it could also be because Jessica Tyler just isn’t at the same level as Annie Clark is now, or Aislinn Paul was at, or Alicia Josipovic and Chloe Rose could get to.
Marisol and Imogen: They have a far way to go. We’ve just been introduced to them and need more time to learn about them and understand their characters before we can even analyze them.
Maya and Tori: We haven’t met them yet so we know nothing about them other than their character descriptions and so they are way out of it. However, based on their descriptions and relations to other characters, they have potential to be good characters and eventually be in the running to replace whoever replaces Holly J.
I know that was a lot, but I just had to get my thoughts out there.
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Honestly I hope it’s Fiona. Alli’s issues are all about boys, Katie is no where near developed enough to lead the bulk of episodes by herself. I hope it’s Bianca because she has as much potential as Fiona. But I don’t think Degrassi is good with the “bad” characters because they’re not “relatable.” Clare being the it girl would be just as bad as Mia. I’m going with Fiona. But hoping for Bianca. Maybe even Imogen, sense the first episode of the season is supposed to be about her.
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I agree with Fiona being the next lead. I would have chosen Clare if she hadn’t gone boy crazy.
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Imogen, because they need to do something with her.
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Unless Clare can get a storyline that is totally aside from boys/relationships/and her parent’s divorce, she will continue to be my least favorite character of the show, which is extremely disappointing when she has sooo much potential. She went from hero to zero in what seems like 30 seconds, her character no longer has substance, it’s just BOYS, BOYS, BOYS! I wish the writers would give her a NEW storyline maybe one dealing with her religion, seeing as how she is the only Christian (supposedly) on the show. After all she’s been through where does she stand with God? I’m not saying to turn her into a Bible-Hugging-Judgmental-Crazy, but have a storyline where we as viewers know where she stands because her actions at this point in time are quite contradictory to her “beliefs”. I think that a soul-searching storyline would be a good segue into a mental breakdown, or at least the growth of her character.
I L-O-V-E Fiona, my only issue is that she is already a senior and I don’t think she’ll even be on the show after season 11, I think I read somewhere that she’s only coming back to complete the first semester, so her reign as leading lady may be short lived, though I do think she has the stuff right now.
Katie bores me, when will the writers see that not every single character needs to be in a relationship in the second episode they are in! They force these couples together with what seems like no thought, her and Drew have no chemistry and the best part of their relationship is the tension between him and Marisol. If she can ditch the dude and put her head back on then she could easily become the leading lady. She’s already student council president, a varsity soccer player, a green belt in tae kwan do (or however you spell it) and very intelligent. SHE DON’T NEED A MAN!
I love Alli but I totally agree that she has no potential, UNLESS she finds her own way and grows up, for good. Melinda is one of the strongest actresses Degrassi has right now and I hope they realize it and let Alli mature. Now that her and Clare are no longer BFFS, I think this could be her Manny moment from U Got the Look, stepping out of Clare’s whiny shadow and really developing as the smart and beautiful young woman she is.
Those are my thoughts!
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I think they’re setting Imogen to be a more powerful character on her own, though. Maybe not leading lady powerful, but she’ll definitely shine the second half of season 11.
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If anything it feels like Clare has been the leading lady for the past 1.5 seasons. a better plot of The Boiling Point was centered around her and Eli and the feud with Fitz, most of S10 part 2 was Eclare’d out, and Season 11’s driving force besides the gang storyline was the whole love square.
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