Degrassi Community School will be back in session in 2023.
HBO Max has given the green light to a revival of the 1980s Canadian teen drama series, People reported. The show, which will be called “Degrassi,” will feature 10 hourlong episodes and will premiere on the streaming platform in 2023, according to the magazine. Filming begins this summer in Toronto.
HBO Max has also acquired U.S. rights to all 14 seasons of “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” which will begin streaming this spring, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lara Azzopardi and Julia Cohen will serve as showrunners and will be the series’ executive producers, the website reported. WildBrain, which owns the “Degrassi” franchise, will produce the series.
“What excites us maybe the most about reviving this beloved franchise is turning it into a truly serialized one-hour drama,” Azzopardi and Cohen, who teamed up to write a season eight episode of the show in 2009, said in a statement. “We’re honored to be given the opportunity to lead this evolution and bring this iconic series back into people’s homes.”
According to a plot description from HBO Max, the new series is described as “a character-driven series about the high school experience and the thrilling, often painful journey of self-discovery.”
“Set in Toronto, the new series explores a group of teenagers and school faculty living in the shadow of events that both bind them together and tear them apart. The show travels deep into the hearts and homes of diverse, complicated characters, as they struggle to find their new normal, reaching for hope, redemption and love,” the description reads.
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“Series after series, the ‘Degrassi’ franchise continues to make an indelible impact on young viewers looking for trustworthy and authentic storytelling,” Amy Friedman, head of kids and family programming at Warner Bros., said in a statement. “WildBrain continues to artfully capture high school life in a compelling format that can be experienced seamlessly on HBO Max.”
The franchise was born with “The Kids of Degrassi Street” in 1979 on Canada’s CBC network, Us magazine reported. Middle school teacher Linda Schuyler and her producing partner Kit Hood launched the franchise as a series of short films about a group of kids living on Degrassi Street in Toronto, People reported.
After “Degrassi Junior High” and “Degrassi High” aired during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the series returned in 2001 with “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” according to Us magazine. After 10 seasons, the show aired under the name “Degrassi” until 2015.
In 2016 Netflix picked up “Degrassi: Next Class,” according to Us magazine.
“Now in its fourth decade, Degrassi is one of those beloved evergreen properties that demands to be refreshed for each new generation,” WildBrain president Josh Scherba said in a statement, adding that the show’s creators “have envisioned an evolution for ‘Degrassi’ that, while staying true to the fundamental honesty, humanity and integrity of the brand, promises fans a journey into exciting new territory, both creatively and dramatically.”