I was born in 1981, so I was aware of and a fan of the original 2 series, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which was basically just a continuation. I didn't see The Kids From Degrassi Street. The show was so iconic and so much a part of Canadian kid culture in the 80s (which is why School's Out came off as so dated in 1992) that like with a lot of iconic TV shows and movies, unless you're doing a homage with the same actors, sometimes it's best to just leave these institutions be. Come up with something new for a new generation. Degrassi was its own thing in the 80s and it was very different from other shows about kids and teenagers at the time. Saved By The Bell came along just after and it was like the Muppet Babies by comparison. The original series was known for its realistic contemporary storytelling. I don't have a problem with this show existing, but giving it a connection to an iconic 80s institution and calling it Degrassi: The New Generation almost waters down what the original 2 series were. I'm sure a few 80s kids my age and older enjoyed going back and seeing a few familiar characters as adults, especially given how the TV movie ended, and the early seasons weren't terrible, even if they lacked a lot of what made Degrassi unique, realistic and different in the 80s, but as time went on it basically became Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill and every other teen soap opera of its time. That's not on the cast. There was nothing wrong with them. I blame the material and the concept. As an actor, I don't think you want to be known as the person who was in that remake or sequel of something that was actually iconic. It's like being in A Christmas Story 2. You just hope they go on to do better, more original things. You want to be known for creating something original that people of that generation identify with on their own. But then again, Gen Z's are a generation without an identity. Gen Xers have the 70s and 80s, Gen Ys like me have the 80s and 90s, all of which had their own distinct identity, but since 2001, and especially since 2010, this generation has zero identity except being the recipients of awful decision by people even older than me. The Boomers. It's hard to have an identity when you're busy trying to clean up all the crap previous narcissistic generations unloaded onto you, while they blame it all on you in the process. I don't blame Gen Z and millennials at all. We're all victims. And these lazy sequels were conceived and developed by those same Boomers and those born between 1945 and 1970 who have zero creativity or originality. It's one thing to have a show where you reference things like Degrassi High and another just to slap the Degrassi name on it, bring back a few character as adults and try to make bank off of old glory days. Sometimes showing how a person turned out as an adult and whether or not they had kids etc can work thematically. But most of the time, it's just best to let the originals speak for themselves, especially if you have nothing new of value or original to add and that's usually the case. Usually it's just a cash in off of a familiar name. Spinoffs don't usually work either for that reason. By the time a long running show has come to its conclusion, it's usually overdue at that point. Go out with a bang. I liked what Mr. D did with Jonathan Torrens, referencing his Trailer Park Boys character, because it wasn't overdone. It was random. But when you have an entire series whose entire premise leeches off of a previously successful entity that was so much associated with a certain generation and era, you run the risk of just looking lazy. Most of the kids who watched TNG were barely aware of and had probably never seen the original 2 series.
This was filmed in 2009 but looks like it was filmed in 1999.
Degrassi goes Hollywood seems like it came out so long ago! Time flies when you spend all your time watching Degrassi
I was born in 1981, so I was aware of and a fan of the original 2 series, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which was basically just a continuation. I didn't see The Kids From Degrassi Street. The show was so iconic and so much a part of Canadian kid culture in the 80s (which is why School's Out came off as so dated in 1992) that like with a lot of iconic TV shows and movies, unless you're doing a homage with the same actors, sometimes it's best to just leave these institutions be. Come up with something new for a new generation.
Degrassi was its own thing in the 80s and it was very different from other shows about kids and teenagers at the time. Saved By The Bell came along just after and it was like the Muppet Babies by comparison. The original series was known for its realistic contemporary storytelling. I don't have a problem with this show existing, but giving it a connection to an iconic 80s institution and calling it Degrassi: The New Generation almost waters down what the original 2 series were. I'm sure a few 80s kids my age and older enjoyed going back and seeing a few familiar characters as adults, especially given how the TV movie ended, and the early seasons weren't terrible, even if they lacked a lot of what made Degrassi unique, realistic and different in the 80s, but as time went on it basically became Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill and every other teen soap opera of its time.
That's not on the cast. There was nothing wrong with them. I blame the material and the concept. As an actor, I don't think you want to be known as the person who was in that remake or sequel of something that was actually iconic. It's like being in A Christmas Story 2. You just hope they go on to do better, more original things. You want to be known for creating something original that people of that generation identify with on their own.
But then again, Gen Z's are a generation without an identity. Gen Xers have the 70s and 80s, Gen Ys like me have the 80s and 90s, all of which had their own distinct identity, but since 2001, and especially since 2010, this generation has zero identity except being the recipients of awful decision by people even older than me. The Boomers. It's hard to have an identity when you're busy trying to clean up all the crap previous narcissistic generations unloaded onto you, while they blame it all on you in the process. I don't blame Gen Z and millennials at all. We're all victims. And these lazy sequels were conceived and developed by those same Boomers and those born between 1945 and 1970 who have zero creativity or originality. It's one thing to have a show where you reference things like Degrassi High and another just to slap the Degrassi name on it, bring back a few character as adults and try to make bank off of old glory days.
Sometimes showing how a person turned out as an adult and whether or not they had kids etc can work thematically. But most of the time, it's just best to let the originals speak for themselves, especially if you have nothing new of value or original to add and that's usually the case. Usually it's just a cash in off of a familiar name. Spinoffs don't usually work either for that reason. By the time a long running show has come to its conclusion, it's usually overdue at that point. Go out with a bang. I liked what Mr. D did with Jonathan Torrens, referencing his Trailer Park Boys character, because it wasn't overdone. It was random. But when you have an entire series whose entire premise leeches off of a previously successful entity that was so much associated with a certain generation and era, you run the risk of just looking lazy. Most of the kids who watched TNG were barely aware of and had probably never seen the original 2 series.
Lauren and Phoebe are better hosts