Junior High and High
After the cast of Degrassi Junior High grew a few years older, their stories continued in the spin-off series, Degrassi High, where the cast was once again expanded and a larger building was used to portray the high school. Degrassi High aired on CBC and PBS for two years until early 1991. These series are often compared to Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210, the latter of which began airing in the United States at the same time, except 90210 used actors who were in their twenties to play teenagers, whereas Degrassi used people who were the same age they were playing. As with Saved by the Bell, Degrassi High follows teenagers going through everyday normal teen social issues, but problems are not solved within the episode; some plotlines often continue through multiple episodes.
A few months after the end of Degrassi High, a 90-minute made-for-TV film entitled School's Out was produced, which concluded the series. It sparked controversy and anger amongst fans and critics for the unusual characterization of familiar characters and infamous scenes of sexuality and coarse language. U.S. viewers saw a toned-down version in 1993, which did not feature the profanity Canadian viewers heard (WGBH released the uncensored version of the film onto video). A six-part documentary series entitled Degrassi Talks aired soon after.
Hood and Schuyler subsequently worked on a similar series, Liberty Street, which applied the Degrassi format to a series about people in their twenties living on their own for the first time. Pat Mastroianni, one of the most famous actors from the Degrassi series, appeared in Liberty Street as well, although playing a different character.
Read more about this topic: Degrassi (franchise)