Zits and all: Six things we learned from the new ‘Degrassi’ documentary

The cast and producers of Degrassi pose for a photo after being voted Canada's Top Show of the Last 25 Years during the 25th Annual Gemini Awards in Toronto on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim

TORONTO — Alongside the warm nostalgia in “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes,” there are many surprising revelations about the making of the hit Canadian teen TV franchise.

Lisa Rideout’s new documentary premières at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, with another sold-out screening on Sunday.

Here’s a look at some of the biggest insights into “Degrassi” lore:

Cast members wore their own threads

Budgets were so tight on the original 1979 series “The Kids of Degrassi” that actors were encouraged to just dress as themselves, Stacie Mistysyn, who played Caitlin Ryan, says in the doc.

“Wardrobe was a lot of our own clothes that were brought in,” she explains.

Art and wardrobe director Judy Shiner backs up those claims, saying she started the job at age 25, with no experience.

“I started with their own clothes and quite a lot of the pieces were found at Goodwill or thrift stores,” she adds.

“There are many fashion faux pas on Degrassi — it was the ’80s."

One of the greatest fashion errors involved B.L.T., a character in “Degrassi Junior High” played by Dayo Ade. The actor said he was dressed nothing like he should’ve been.

“It was more a white woman or a white man’s perception of what a young Black man would look like or be dressed like in that world,” he says.

It’s a misstep Shiner agrees with.

“We wanted a very upwardly mobile Black character to stand out as a role model and we dressed him as white golfer guy,” she says.

“I was so embarrassed that I had made that error.”

‘Degrassi’ cast carried the burdoen of storylines

It was immediately clear that Spike’s teen pregnancy episode on “Degrassi Junior High” was a cultural moment.

“We started getting fan mail. It was toys for Spike’s baby, it was blankets,” says Linda Schuyler, co-creator of the franchise.

Amanda Stepto, who played the character, says some people thought she was actually pregnant.

“There was a lot of hate regarding that storyline, whether I was on (Toronto public transit) or in the mall, getting called a ‘slut’ or ‘trash,’” she adds.

“But I never let the negative get to me.”

Later in the documentary, actress Miriam McDonald, who appeared in “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” recalls how the Spike pregnancy episode was shown in her Grade 6 sex education class.

Drake’s time at ‘Degrassi’ was never conventional

From the moment the soon-to-be rap star heard about the 2001 resurrection of the franchise, he says he was convinced he wouldn’t be on it. His agent presented him with an audition but cautioned it was an unlikely fit since the role was written as a white football player.

Drake, then known as 14-year-old actor Aubrey Graham, says he showed up with an equal lack of enthusiasm.

“For my first auditions, I was high,” he confesses. “I laughed and told my mom it was over. I threw away a big opportunity.”

To his surprise, he got the part, and within a few years, Graham was trying to balance his role as Jimmy Brooks with time in the studio making music.

“I would record songs until about three or four in the morning,” he says. “And I would drive back, go up to my dressing room and ... sleep for three hours before my call time. It was the only way I could do both things.”

Fame took its toll on the actors

“Sometimes you don’t want to be known for Degrassi,” says Stefan Brogren, who played Snake in various iterations of the series.

“I think we all had that where we were just trying to escape it.”

The absence of several notable actors in the documentary drives home that point. Pat Mastroianni, who played Joey Jeremiah, and Adamo Ruggiero, the character of Marco Del Rossi, were among the many who didn’t sit for interviews.

McDonald, who portrayed Emma on “The Next Generation,” says she had an eating disorder during the early seasons, when body image was at the forefront of culture.

McDonald says she ended up overcoming her eating disorder with years of work on herself.

Remembering Neil Hope

Neil Hope appeared in many of the early “Degrassi” series as beloved teen character Wheels, but creators say he endured a difficult family life off-camera. There was rampant alcohol abuse at home and Schuyler says Hope found his father dead one night after production had wrapped for the day.

At one point, Hope temporarily moved into Schuyler’s home.

“He did spend a lot of time living with us, and I felt that I was giving him a safe place,” she says.

For years, Hope lost contact with most of the cast members. Schuyler offered him a guest role on a reunion episode of “The Next Generation” in the early aughts and says it became apparent he was facing much personal strife.

“He came into my office and he said, ‘Do you think I could get an advance for the work that I did today?’” she remembers.

“I said, ‘Are you drinking” And he said, ‘Well, I’m going to stop.’ I said, ‘Neil, you have to stop, you know what happened to your dad.’ ... And then I didn’t hear from him for a long period of time."

Schuyler says she learned that Hope died in 2007 “in a rooming house, puddles of alcohol around, and he had left this world alone.” She describes being devastated by the news.

She says “Degrassi” was meant to give young people the tools to see “consequences of their actions, (encourage) better choices and live better lives.”

“And yet I was not able to do that with Neil,” she says. “It made me question for a long time the whole premise of what I was doing, if it was really worth it.”

Netflix left ‘Degrassi’ in limbo

“Degrassi: Next Class” ran for four seasons over about two years, but Netflix was indecisive on its renewal. Schuyler says after shooting what became the final season, the cast and crew waited and waited for a verdict on its fate.

“Netflix kept delaying. We were living in this limbo of no answer,” she says.

“More time went on until one day you wake up and you go, ‘It’s not going to happen, is it?’”

Netflix dropped the axe and the final episode was released on the streaming service in mid-2017.

So far, another instalment of the “Degrassi” series hasn’t taken shape, though its creators don’t rule it out someday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2025.

David Friend, The Canadian Press