What parents need to know
Positive role models
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this Canadian series tackles big issues like sex, teen pregnancy, sexual identity, drug use, school violence, hate crimes, and mental disorders in a frank, thoughtful way. It presents these subjects as everyday factors in teens' lives and explores their repercussions through the students' eyes. This uncensored honesty gives the show credibility beyond that of many of the soapier series available to teens, but at the same time, it creates a classic know-your-kid situation for parents. Some episodes have a far heavier tone than others do, and the amount and type of controversial material varies widely from story to story, so previewing each episode is your best bet. Ultimately, though, this series manages a moral tone without coming off as preachy, which goes a long way in maintaining teens' interest and earns it a spot among the best, most responsible series out there for teens. The content is edgy but both relevant and appropriate for the target audience, which is why we're giving it an "on" rating.
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What's the story?
DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION is a teen drama set in a Canadian community school where a diverse group of high-schoolers cope with academic pressures, social stresses, relationship woes, and even weightier issues like drug use, cyberbullying, and STDs. Like its 1980s predecessors, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, the show's ensemble cast is a microcosm of the modern-day teen population as a whole, incorporating characters of different ethnicities, socio-economic groups, religious persuasions, and sexual identities, not to mention differences in personalities. Overachievers, underachievers, jocks, socialites, perfectionists, control freaks, social misfits -- all find a place in the halls of Degrassi. During the show's run, it has endured numerous cast changes, but nothing has changed about the way the show addresses serious issues like gang violence, rape, and teen pregnancy.
Is it any good?
QUALITY
Excellently written and boasting a cast that actually looks and acts like real kids, Degrassi: The Next Generation provides provocative, engaging, and socially conscious programming for teens and adults. The show's braintrust doesn't hold back when it comes to facing tough but relevant issues, which means that these teens have sex, drink, do drugs, bully, and turn violent against each other. There's Fiona (Annie Clark), a sexually insecure teen who finally comes out as a lesbian; Alli (Melinda Shankar), whose conservative Muslim upbringing doesn't change her appetite for popularity and the opposite sex; Adam (Jordan Todosey), a transgender teen who comes into his own with the help of some true friends; Jenna (Jessica Tyler), a teen mom who makes a tough choice for herself and her baby boy; and Clare (Aislinn Paul), who struggles to come to terms with her mom's new relationship and the emotionally complicated new family life that comes of it.
It's impossible not to get invested in the characters' lives and to sympathize with their feelings during emotionally rocky times. This isn't a comfortable, heartwarming series that solves all its self-created problems in its allotted 30-minute window and leaves you feeling joyful at its end. It's designed to put you on edge and make you confront tough situations, and it does so without relying on any of the sensationalism that allows viewers to dismiss the content as dramatic effect. This accomplishes two things: First, it forces parents to picture their own teens in the characters' shoes, and second, it offers them a unique opportunity to start a discussion with their kids about tough issues that arise in the content. Fortunately the caliber of the show itself makes it equally entertaining for you and your teen to watch. What's more, if you're an alum of the original Junior High series, you'll find particular enjoyment in seeing a few stars from that incarnation return to the screen as the grown-ups in this one.
Families can talk about...
Families can talk about what sets this show apart from other teen shows. Does that fact that the teens look like regular teens make it more realistic? Can you relate to their issues? Have you or your friends dealt with similar ones?
The issue of self-image is a common theme in this show, and families can discuss the pressures on young women to lose weight and get plastic surgery. Are there aspects of your body that you wish you could change? Does this issue affect your enjoyment of life? How does the media influence how you think you look?
This series shines a light on several timely issues, including bullying, tolerance, sexual identity, and sexual activity. Depending on the episode's content, talk to your kids about these and other topics, drawing comparisons between the characters' actions and your own family rules. Did the show encourage you to see a situation differently than you have in the past? How does peer pressure play a role in your decisions about what you will and will not do?
TV details
| Cast: | Mike Lobel, Miriam McDonald, Stacey Farber |
| Network: | TeenNick |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Topics: | Friendship, Great boy role models, Great girl role models, High school |
| TV rating: | TV-PG |
| Available on: | DVD, Streaming |
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QUALITY
Many concerns, but many lessons learned
Great drama for kids who aren't interested in comedy.
Lesson taught in every episode!
ADDICTIVE!
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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QUALITY
Not appropriate, nor educational, nor truly 'realistic'.
Many will advocate for the show, claiming that the depictions of such off-color and "gritty" themes as drugs and sex are "realistic".
I think otherwise. While there are occasional consequences for actions, the simple fact that the show is depicting such drama at all as a means for entertainment is what's truly disturbing. This show is not educational in a realistic way. Many parents are getting confused, thinking that this show, meant for the entertainment of teenagers, has an educational undertone. The kids are not watching the show to learn that sex is wrong, or that drugs are bad -- on the contrary, they will be watching to see these depictions of sex and drugs.
The drama in the show enraptures its audience, yes, but it's that same dramatic overtone that teenagers may be seeking out. They could see the drama brought on by such actions depicted on the show, and feel compelled to add that 'enriching' drama to their own lives by following suit.
Let us not forget the 'invincibility fable', which states that young people feel that dangerous behaviors and actions won't have the same, or any, consequences for them.
Those who advocate that the show is educational for teens, let alone appropriate, assume that teens who see the consequences of sex and drugs will be less likely to emulate, when the opposite is true. When teens, who often are plagued by the invincibility fable, watch such material, the likelihood of emulation is increased. Their peaked curiosity in the show's material combined with the innate feelings that tell them, "that won't happen to me; I'm different," leave the door open for the teen to replicate what they witness.
Don't be fooled by parents who state that the show is educational or appropriate. It isn't true. Such subject matter should be taught at length in a constructive manner by caretakers, one-on-one, not by relying on this skewed show to teach them the "realities of the world".
What other families should know
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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QUALITY
Educationally Vogue; Refreshingly Original; A Parental Doorway to Your Children's World
My teens are fans of this show and if a parent takes the time to watch it with their children, they find that it is hitting picture perfect on the issues that kids face at school. Unfortunately, we'd all like to think that our children are perfect and their friends, bullies, and other kids at school are perfect angels, but reality reminds us that we all faced similar issues at much younger ages than our parents would have wished. The truth is, we can either educate our children by spending time with them and talking about issues seen on this show (while experiencing some entertainment from the excellent writing, acting, and situational realism), or we can return to the void of ignorance and let our teens face these issues totally alone and unguided. I prefer to raise issues of concern rather than conceal them or ignore them the way other parents' choose. Additionally, the program's cast of characters afford the show some credibility in giving us a youth universe that is anything but picture perfect; a student body of real relational characters; and a set of problems that most teens are going to face every day in their lives. Finally, I think parents need to reconsider this show as a way to broach hard topics, while still providing an enormous benefit as something worthwhile on an increasingly bare content, commercial-flooded, and highly uneducational universe of television. In my firm opinion Degrassi has the content to be placed with PBS, the Science Channel, and such places that contain worthwhile programming. Though I believe that the best thing one can do is turn off the television and spend quality family time with one another, when my teens do watch, I want them to watch programs exactly like Degrassi: The Next Generation.
What other families should know
Great role models
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