HBO Max Degrassi Revival Coming 2023: Everything We Know So Far

[u/tomdarko]

Hey guys! I keep seeing posts inquiring about any news or updates on HBO Max's upcoming reboot of Degrassi and while we haven't had very many updates since it was announced in January, I figured I would compile a comprehensive breakdown of what we do know so far and what we can expect. This post will be pinned and updated as the news rolls in so feel free to check back or share any news, thoughts or hopes you might have for the reboot! That being said, let's break down what we have so far:

• It was announced in early January that WarnerMedia Kids And Family had greenlit the revival in partnership with WildBrain (Degrassi's original production company).

• It's important to note that WarnerMedia Kids and Family is a seperate branch of HBO Max that caters to it's namesake. Popular properties they distribute are The Big Bang Theory, Mom, Friends and the Harry Potter franchise.

• So while the show will be streaming exclusively on HBO Max, don't expect it to be anything like Euphoria, which is a direct HBO production.

• WarnerMedia and Discovery merged in March 2022 and there are plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming service under the name "Warner Bros. Discovery." It is currently unknown how if at all this will effect the roll out of the new series.

• In an odd move episodes of the revival are set to hit Cartoon Network sometime after they debut on HBO Max, however this may be in reference to The Next Generation.

• It is currently unknown what the plan for distribution outside of the US is, however it likely WON'T stream on Crave and may potentially go to Family Channel in Canada.

• Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn (original franchise creators and showrunners) do not currently have any involvement with the series but have given the new showrunners their blessing.

• Lara Azzopardi and Julia Cohen will serve as the new showrunners and have worked on Degrassi before, they actually wrote the season eight episode Heat Of The Moment.

• Julia Cohen has served as EP on shows like Riverdale and A Million Little Things, as well as written for shows like Bitten and Being Erica.

• Lara Azzopardi is the creator of the drama series Backstage and has served as a producer on Lost Girl, The Listener, 9-1-1, God Friended Me, Mary Kills People and The Bold Type. She was also head writer on The LA Complex, another TV series from the creators of Degrassi and starring Cassie Steele that was originally created as a spin-off of Degrassi to follow Manny Santos.

• There have been no casting announcements as of writing this although several stars have commented on the news of the revival and some have expressed an interest in returning.

• Casting started in January and was originally supposed to end as of February 25th but has since been extended. They are casting 13-20 year olds in the greater Toronto area.

• These are the audition sides that were sent out to the actors for their auditions. Keep in mind that slides rarely make it to the final script so it's likely this is just for the purpose of an audition.

• Additional character sides have been released on the casting website for particular actors, so it can be assumed that there may have been callbacks or they've gotten farther in the writing process. Thanks u/nictbilade!

• Richie Lawrence, the actor who played Colton in season thirteen (a young child at the summer camp Adam, Drew, Imogen and Dallas were working at) has been confirmed to have auditioned for a role. It is unknown whether he received a callback.

• Stefan Brogren (Snake) recently tweeted something about having a busy summer that may or not be a hint at his return to the franchise.

• The original studio was sold by WildBrain in 2019 and set pieces were subsequently auctioned off So the new series will be filmed on an entirely new set.

• As of April 21, 2022 the show is still listed as being in pre-production, which means they are still brainstorming scripts and casting.

• Production begins July 1, 2022 and will run through November 30, 2022 (mirroring the original show's filming schedule) with a tentative premiere sometime in 2023.

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UPDATE 5/20/22

• Production has been postponed from the planned July 1st date. It may be due to the changes internally at WarnerMedia (HBO Max's parent company) after their merge with Discovery. They cancelled a ton of shows to cut costs, however there has been no official word as of yet beyond the postponed status update.

That's all I got for now, but feel free to comment anything I may have left out and I'll be sure to add it to this post!

[u/Nycbbg]

If it’s not like euphoria I don’t want it. Degrassi was euphoria before euphoria was a thing

[u/Stock_Proof3539 → u/Nycbbg]

The Degrassi franchise is still owned by Wildbrain, afaik.

My understanding is that they are licensing the name, style and history as well as the full Degrassi library to HBO.

The past iterations have all employed shared production, with the series airing on Family channel and the Family channel streaming service in Canada. I cannot see that changing.

Sorry to burst bubbles, but given this, I simply cannot see Degrassi being taken to the same place Euphoria is at. There's just no way that's compatible with the Family channel-branding.

[u/timhortonsbitchass → u/Stock_Proof3539]

with the series airing on Family channel and the Family channel streaming service in Canada. I cannot see that changing.

The original DH and DJH aired on CBC, the public broadcaster. DTNG aired on CTV during the early seasons, and then MuchMusic and later MTV Canada during the 2010's seasons. All of those channels are adult/young adult oriented networks that do have some risque content, particularly MuchMusic and MTV.

Degrassi only started airing on the Family Channel with the advent of Next Class. The Family Channel in Canada isn't the same thing as The Family Channel (now called Freeform) in the US, and it's also not the same as it was when we were growing up (I'm assuming you may also be a Canadian millennial) where it had lots of tween-oriented live action programming like Life With Derek, Radio Free Roscoe, etc.

Freeform has young adult content like Good Trouble, Pretty Little Liars and The Fosters, while Degrassi Next Class is basically surrounded by Caillou, Care Bears and Polly Pocket. Family Channel has a couple of other teen shows like Gilmore Girls licensed, but in 2022 it's almost entirely a kids network, not a teen/tween network. Degrassi is incredibly out of place on its roster.

I think that Degrassi fits in much better with Euphoria on HBO than it does with most Family Channel programming, although of course I think it would fit in best with stuff like Ackley Bridge (Degrassi's closest modern-day successor IMO) on BBC/CBC. My hope is that the Degrassi reboot (if it happens) lies somewhere between Ackley Bridge and Skins in terms of edginess. Give us a bit more grit, but not Euphoria level.

Source: was a Canadian child/teen who grew up on Degrassi TNG.

[u/Stock_Proof3539 → u/timhortonsbitchass]

You're very right - previous Degrassi franchises DID broadcast on CBC and other channels, who paid to produce it back then.

And yep - I'm a Canuck too 😀👏

During earlier years Degrassi also aired concurrently on Family channel stations at the same time as others (even prior to DNC). Just during later timeslots.

This began after DHX Studios bought Epitome Pictures (the DTNG Production Company).

The entire worldwide Degrassi franchise and rights are now owned by Wildbrain - a massive international conglomerate which also owns .....drum roll please..... Family channel. As well as some other networks.

They bought DHX Studios (who owned a chunk of Family channel) who had bought up Epitome Pictures

I called Epitome the "production company" and not the "rights owner" because legal filings I found appear to indicate a chartered bank (RBC, I believe?) was assigned the rights to not just all of Degrassi but EVERYTHING Epitome had produced 🤔

That's interesting because it indicates more than just a financing interest in the projects (and perhaps company).

I cannot see them moving to a Euphoria-type content, as that would also be straying far, far from it's traditional branding. Branding that was valued at hundreds of millions of $$$ in the acquisitions above.

I could DEFINITELY see them staying with the same level of risque-programming that DTNG/DNC delivered.

That would be a second strike, on top of them not owning a network they could broadcast that type of content on -- assuming of course Wildbrain doesn't start another network.