from Toronto Sun, November 21, 2005
'Degrassi' franchise turns 25
By STEPHANIE MCGRATH -- Toronto Sun
Miriam McDonald and Cassie Steele are in good company in Degrassi: The Next Generation. The Degrassi franchise marks its 25th anniversary.
It's a rainy day in early fall. School is back in session in the real world and at Degrassi.
Student life at Degrassi is a bit more exciting than what's going on at a typical Toronto high school, though. The cast is busy shooting a carnival day episode and the set (which comes complete with a gym, classrooms, principal's office, lockers and a cafeteria on the edges of the city), is transformed.
There's everything you'd find at a typical fair -- rides, games and plenty of junk food stands ... even an ice cream truck.
"No peanuts or chocolate sauce, though," grumbles Cassie Steele, who plays Manny on the series. She and Miriam McDonald, who has the role of Emma, are finally finished work for the day and managed to hit the ice cream station before the carnival was packed away. Sadly, there will be no quenching of the banana split craving she was suffering from.
Luckily, Cassie quickly bounces back from disappointment and is eager to talk about the series.
It's fitting that there's a sense of celebration in the air. The Degrassi franchise is marking its 25th anniversary. Those who watched way back in the 1980s saw onscreen teens learn about love, heartbreak, disease, violence, addiction, acid-wash jeans and big hair.
Now, a whole new generation of fans tunes in to watch the exploits of The Next Generation. The original series became a cult hit and now the new one is a straight-out success here and south of the border, where mall tours find fans pouring in to get close to Manny, Emma and the others. Why?
"I think because our show isn't intimidating to kids," Miriam says. "They don't watch it and feel envious. They watch it and half the stuff they can relate to. They see people with problems. They see people who aren't polished and perfect. You almost feel good about yourself to watch it and see you're not alone."
Miriam's a recent high school graduate and Cassie is in Grade 11. Both girls are excited about a new season full of "scandal" that will keep viewers coming back for more. At the same time, they insist it's the characters' normal teenaged personas that have kept the Degrassi world alive for so long.
"You can look at your high school yearbook and say 'This is definitely a Manny or this is definitely an Emma,' " Cassie says. "They're real, and that's what makes it real for us, that's what makes it easy to be on Degrassi."
Letter after letter tells the cast members how much certain episodes meant to the writer, while lineups of fans on tours are full of people who want to thank the actors for bringing their own personal problems to light.
"There was one girl," Miriam explains, "I was in Chicago and she was like, 'Thank you for doing that show when the character's going to get leukemia' because she was going through that right at the same time and she said it really helped her. And, honestly, I'm sort of moved by that because you kind of devalue what you're doing, you look at it as entertainment. You don't realize that maybe it's actually helping somebody."
Eventually, "Manny" and "Emma" will grow up and leave the halls of Degrassi and move on to (hopefully) other acting gigs. They dream of a life in the movies where they can pick and choose from impressive projects.
Today, though, they're more than happy to be part of something as Canadian as Tim Hortons, and practically as popular in the U.S. as The O.C. The only thing that could make it a little better would be some peanuts and chocolate sauce.