If you had any lingering questions as to whether or not the next season of Degrassi would be labeled as season 15 or season 1…it’s officially the latter.
Variety published an article that reveals Netflix plans to present the first 10 episodes of Degrassi: Next Class as season 1, which Epitome is nearly finished filming. So far, Netflix has ordered 20 total episodes of the series.
The article reiterates that pairing with Netflix now gives the show more freedom to do what it wants. The Stohn threw some slight, yet valid shade at network execs on the matter:
“With ad-supported TV, ratings are at the top of the list and in some cases dictate creative decisions,” Stohn said, adding that when viewership declines there’s a tendency among network executives to shy away from controversial subject matter. “We have more creative freedom with Netflix… With Netflix we’re just encouraged to tell the stories we want to tell.”
We’ve seen this in action; the most notable moment is Manny’s abortion in season 3, which The-N didn’t want to air because Manny showed no remorse in her decision.
Touching on some more stuff in Variety’s article…
Degrassi: The Next Generation” was nominated on Thursday for a Primetime Emmy in the children’s program category, marking its fourth Emmy nom. But on TeenNick, the show has suffered declining TV ratings over the past four years.
It’s funny because when it was first announced that TeenNick would no longer air Degrassi, one of the cheap shots fans would take at the network is saying how it’ll fail miserably without Degrassi there to support it. But for anyone who’s actually paid attention to ratings information, especially during the long-winded marathon that was season 13, Degrassi was getting trounced on the regular by Nick reruns. There’s disdain from some in regards to the decision to burn off the final episodes of season 14 with this 2-week event, but the telenovela format has a history of producing higher viewership per episode.
After Nick passed on “Next Class,” Stohn said Epitome approached subscription VOD players with the show. “We had a pitch ready that seemed immediately appealing to Netflix,” he said.
One of Degrassi’s greatest assets is its ability to adapt, and its willingness to embrace the digital space.
Linda Schuyler, executive producer of “Degrassi” at Toronto-based Epitome, said the company had planned the show’s reboot before approaching Nick and other distribution partners about the new concept.
Any Degrassi veteran knew going into season 14 that the following season would be a reboot. This specific class graduating is a huge ordeal, and it presents a clear-cut opportunity for the show to refresh itself.
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Kary's Degrassi Blog 
Yay!!! I’m so excited I can’t wait for season 1 of Degrassi next class and I’m so happy that degrassi can go there again 😀😀
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Those of you thinking of working in the entertainment industry, (the business end, especially) should be paying close attention to this next DeGrassi incarnation and specifically everything Stephen Stohn says and does. The man is a genius. I had a chance to talk with some folks in tune with Netflix and this move has the potential to impact the target audience in ways they’ve only dreamed about up till now. It’s going to be real fun to see what they put on the screen with those first 10. Even while dodging the American censors the last decade, DeGrassi has never been exactly shy about their topics. But now, with a little more money and a lot more freedom, I can’t wait to see what the show looks like next. Should be fun!
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I wonder if the original Characters are going to change
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Apparently not. It’ll be the same just the boundaries they get to push will be hard-hitting and more controversial. ^_^
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My question is will it be a continuatiocontinuation when this season ends?
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Yes. “Don’t Look Back (Summer Girls for syndication)” is airing on August 2nd (on MTV Canada) as a 4-episode/part movie that is going to dictate the summer in the Degrassi-world and will be the introduction of sorts of what’s to come. The description for the episode was pretty nice. ^.^
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So will the 2nd 10 episodes be Season 2? Or the second half of the first season?
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That’s what I wonder as well, 10 episodes seem rather short for a season (of Degrassi anyway) ; also wondering if it’ll keep the thirty-minute show format or if episodes will expand to be an hour long …
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Its apparently all apart of s15/s1 (I will still consider it s15 because its easier for me). Just might be 2 separate parts. :)
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I wonder if this series will continue with the “Whatever It Takes” theme song (the normal way). I would love to see characters like Miles, Zoë, and Grace in an opening because they never got to be in one :/
Also since the show is no longer on TeenNick, I wonder if the new season promos will continue… That was one of the things I always looked forward to for a new season: a catchy tune and a cryptic music video forshadowing storylines to come :)
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I’m hoping the move to Netflix means the kids can start swearing. I’ve always found it odd that none of them swear. I know it had to be that way for the TV channels it was on, but now they have more freedom. They could also have nudity, I don’t care so much about this being shown, but it’s nice to think it’s an option.
I haven’t been following this closely, but I think they said it would also be on a family channel in Canada still? Sooo although Netflix would give them far more freedom in terms of plots, swearing, nudity, violence, etc, I’m thinking a family channel won’t want to air it. I’d like this new Degrassi to be entirely a Netflix exclusive so they can really go gritty.
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You’ve got to remember that your still dealing with minors. Both Canada and the US have some pretty strict laws about what is permissible for underage actors to do. Being naked on screen is a no-no. One of the many things Stohn and crew have become experts at is dealing with new talent and handling minors in the workplace. Most production companies shy away from child actors because of the restrictions their age presents. That’s why you find a lot of 18-21 year old actors playing younger characters. It just makes everything easier.
But, child actors are DeGrassi’s bread and butter and nobody in the business does it better.
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If you think there is going to be nudity on Netflix degrassi, that’s so far from reality it’s beyond comprehension to even go into the details why. I also doubt there will be swearing, although that is a lot more possible than nudity, but it would be like a once per season thing when someone gets shot or whatever, they might say the ‘s’ word. It’s still a show aimed at middle school and high school people, where parents may control somewhat what their kids watch. Degrassi isn’t gonna do anything too much to alienate their core audience.
The real issues are Netflix has only ordered 20 episodes? For a show like degrassi that seems really small. That’s less than half of most seasons. If 10 come out for season one, it seems like that means all 10 would be released at once. I kinda don’t really like that cause then we’ll possibly be waiting months for the second 10. Once a week lets you concentrate more on each episode and build hype for next weeks. Unless they release 10 like every other month. That’d be ok I guess.
Hopefully Netflix announces a lot more episodes/seasons ordered like the first day it starts in Netflix, it seems like they do that a lot with shows that are popular. Maybe with degrassi also on regular Canadian TV that means they will only do one per week in Netflix, and then also adhere to the more traditional summer/fall/etc schedules that normal tv goes by. It would be more exciting if they were able to do a lot more episodes and have them more frequently than it had been. Too bad it’s at least nit starting this fall!
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Will all the previous Degrassi seasons be released to Netflix as well? It would be a great way to gain more fans for the Degrassi fandom! And I can watch it from the beginning!
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