TV shows come and go but no show has been loved more than Degrassi, both in Canada and in the states. I mean, after all, it gave us Drake and who doesn’t have his music on their phone or Spotify playlist?
The Canadian series has been on for 35 years, putting out more than 485 episodes across six different series, the most recent being Degrassi: Next Class on Netflix, which has run for four seasons. But the big mystery is surrounding the fifth season.
It has been over two years since the show filmed anything new and the last new episode aired back in July 2017. While nothing has ever officially been announced by Netflix, it looks like Next Class era of the show is over for good. I mean, it doesn’t take Netflix over two years to decide if they want to keep on streaming the show on their platform, does it?
The cast and crew alike are no longer working on anything related to the show and have moved on to other projects. In fact, several crew members, as well as cast member Sara Waisglass, are working on the show Holly Hobbie, which can be seen on Hulu in America.
Let’s take a look at the timeline of events since season four wrapped:
- January 2017: Producer Stefan Brogren posted an Instagram video of the audition room on the set of the show. This was the first sign that plans were in the works for a fifth season.
- Summer 2017: No filming took place for the planned fifth season and since the show usually films their seasons during the summertime, this was the first red flag.
- June 2018: Drake released his music video for “I’m Upset”, which was filmed on the set of Degrassi. This was another sign plans were still in the works for a fifth season as the set remained intact.
- July 2018: A Reddit post claimed Netflix wanted to make changes to the show and replace the Canadian actors with American ones. Two of the show’s stars, Jamie Bloch and Waisglass, responded to the news in a tweet, with Waisglass’ reading: “spill that painful tea.”
- August 2018: Brogren spoke at a convention of Degrassi alums and stated: “I don’t think that Degrassi is dead, but it is definitely not going to be happening anytime soon.”
So again, while nothing is official from Netflix, it appears Degrassi is over for the time being. It is possible that in a few years the show will return for a newer generation beyond Next Class.
Like the show’s theme song says, “Whatever it takes, I know I can make it through.”
Do you miss Degrassi? Do you think it will return in the future? Let us know in the comments below!