There are many amazing teen shows like Awkward, Teen Wolf, Vampire Diaries, Pretty little liars, Dawson’s Creek, Riverdale, Elite, Victorious and Glee!
They all are great, but none of them are as great as Degrassi.
The Canadian teen serial, which has been around since the late 70s has had a long-lasting impact. The show has dealt with many issues, most of which teenagers struggle with on a daily basis, whether visible or not. Drug addiction, sexual abuse, bullying, insecurity, and teen pregnancy are just few.
Degrassi has been on the air for five decades and is an intergenerational show due to its five different incarnations.
The impact Degrassi has had on multiple generations of viewers is unquestionable, especially since it is a Canadian show.
Unlike other shows, which cast a lot of young adults to play teenage roles, Degrassi always had teens playing their actual age or close to it.
Miriam McDonald, who played Emma Neilson from Season One to Season Nine of The Next Generation, was actually playing her own age. In Glee, Cory Monteith, who played Finn, was 27 years old when the series began and he was playing a high school student in grade 10.
In Degrassi’s third season, episodes Accidents Will Happen, Pt.1 and Accidents Will Happen, Pt. 2, present a storyline where 14-year-old, Manny Santos, finds out she is pregnant and proceeds to get an abortion. The two-part storyline was banned in the United States, which led to 6,000 American fans signing a petition to have the decision reversed.
In the tenth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the show introduced its first male-to-female transgender character with Oshawa’s Jordan Todosey, who played Adam Torres.
According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD ), as of 2010 Todosey was the only transgender regular or recurring character on scripted television. It is incredible a teen show had a transgender character depicted in its storylines.
The impact Degrassi had is unquestionable.
Degrassi has dealt with topics and situations other teen shows would not: from an abortion storyline to the struggles that come with being transgender, especially a transgender youth. Those are the reasons why Degrassi is the best teen series of all time.