School's out for 'Degrassi' on MTV Canada series finale

As fans of Canada's longest running teen saga know, there's really no such thing as a "Degrassi" series finale. The show's cast is seen here in a file photo on Feb. 18, 2012. (Dave Allocca/The Canadian Press/AP Photo/StarPix)

TORONTO -- As fans of Canada's longest running teen saga know, there's really no such thing as a "Degrassi" series finale.

The beloved Toronto-set franchise has wrapped various incarnations over the past three-and-a-half decades, only to return afresh for a new generation of youth.

That will be no different with the hour-long farewell airing on MTV Canada this Friday, when "Degrassi" sends another batch of graduates off into the sunset, and hints at a new chapter bound for Family Channel in 2016.

"It's one of those things where things just fell into place," executive producer Stephen Stohn says of the seamless jump to a new network.

Still, he says that final day on set was an emotional gathering for the cast, himself and co-creator Linda Schuyler.

"It is like a family and it's like they are graduating from high school," Stohn said Thursday.

"I'm like a proud parent and Linda's like a proud parent and they're going off and I'm in tears. We had a cake on set and everybody's crying."

Friday's two back-to-back episodes will be followed Sunday by the two-hour movie, "Degrassi: Don't Look Back," in which the kids look forward to a great summer.

In June, Bell Media announced it was ending a 14-season run that started on CTV in 2001 with "Degrassi: The Next Generation." The show trimmed its name and was moved over to Much in 2010, and then MTV Canada in 2013.

Throughout, it continued to draw acclaim for its unflinching look at teen issues, and Stohn assures that will continue when the show lands on Family Channel as "Degrassi: Next Class." In the U.S., the new show will air on Netflix.

By eerie coincidence, Stohn says he instructed the writers to target a streaming audience when they began preparing for a new season, not knowing that Bell Media and their U.S. broadcaster, TeenNick, would ultimately pass on more episodes.

"They were really energized by this and came back a while later with a plan for a new approach. Not a radically new approach, but a very significant philosophical one because they came back and said, 'We're no longer talking to the millennial, we're talking to Generation Z."'

Since the series first hit the air on CBC in 1980, Stohn guesses more than 800 actors have appeared onscreen. He says he's still in touch with some of the biggest alumni, who include Jake Epstein, Nina Dobrev and rap superstar Drake.

"We call him Aubrey, by the way," Stohn chuckles, referring to Drake's acting credit as Aubrey Graham, when he played wheelchair-bound Jimmy Brooks.

"We're sort of in touch. There's a little project that I can't talk about that we've been working on -- a web project that he's involved behind the scenes on."

There's a lot for "Degrassi" to celebrate these days. The show is also up for a primetime Emmy in September, when it competes for the title of best children's program.

This is the show's fourth nomination and Stohn says he hopes to bring a big contingent with him to Hollywood in case they win.

"In the dream scenario, we will have at least a dozen people up on stage -- whether they're technically nominated or not -- just because we want our cast to be up and just experience being in front of the crowd."