Degrassi Junior High
originally aired on PBS
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian television series. It was created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in response to a lack of proper educational programming targeted toward teenagers. It aired on the CBC from 18 January 1987 to 27 February 1989, and on PBS in the United States starting from September 1987. The show has been frequently referred to as a pioneer of the teen drama genre that prefigured later and better-known series such as Beverly Hills, 90210 and Dawson's Creek. The series was broadcast and later syndicated in nearly a hundred countries, with considerable overseas success in Australia.
The show centred around an ethnically and economically diverse group of students from East End Toronto attending the fictional Degrassi Junior High School. Co-creator Linda Schuyler outlined the show's mandate as informing its adolescent viewers as opposed to directly advising them not to make controversial choices. The first two seasons span an entire year, with some characters in Grade 7, and others in Grade 8. For the third season, Grade 9, which is typically the first year of high school in Canada, was added to the junior high school.