The documentary premieres Sept. 13 at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival
The first trailer for “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes” sees rapper Drake and other past “Degrassi” cast and crew members reflecting on their experiences making the hit Canadian teen TV franchise.
The new documentary from filmmaker Lisa Rideout is set to make its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 13. In anticipation of its festival debut, WildBrain and Peacock Alley Entertainment have given viewers their first look at the new documentary, which explores the meteoric rise of the “Degrassi” franchise, its cast members’ memories from making its shows, as well as the costs and benefits of the fame it offered them.
In addition to Drake, who first achieved mainstream recognition for playing Jimmy Brooks on “Degrassi: The Next Generation,” the documentary will also feature interviews with “Degrassi” creator Linda Schuyler, executive producer Stephen Sohn and other notable cast members, including Miriam McDonald, Dayo Ade, Stefan Brogen, Shenae Grimes-Beech, Jake Epstein, Shane Kippel, Stacie Mistysyn, Melinda Shankar, Amanda Stepto and more.
The documentary will feature interviews with fans of the franchise as well, including “Clerks” and “Mallrats” filmmaker Kevin Smith, who is prominently spotlighted in the film’s first trailer.
The “Degrassi” franchise launched on Canada’s CBC in 1979 with “The Kids of Degrassi Street.” That series kicked off a multimedia franchise that went on to include multiple TV spinoffs, novels, soundtracks and more. While immensely popular in Canada, the “Degrassi” shows gained an impressive following in the U.S. in the 1980s, ’90s and 2000s, too. They became known partly for tackling hot-button issues from a teen perspective, including abortion, teen pregnancy and the realities of queer life.
“‘Degrassi’ changed the landscape of television with real, unvarnished storytelling and did it unapologetically from a teenage perspective,” Rideout said in a statement Wednesday. “I was inspired by how fearless the series was in tackling issues that others wouldn’t touch. This documentary celebrates the iconic Canadian franchise while revealing the impact it had on the people who made it and the audiences who loved it.”
“‘Degrassi’ is more than a TV show — it’s a time capsule of growing up, full of heart, honesty and every ‘first’ experience you can think of. Nothing then, or now, has captured the teenage experience in a more raw, authentic or unfiltered way,” Carrie Mudd, an executive producer at Peacock Alley, added. “‘Degrassi’ is one of Canada’s biggest cultural exports, which helped shape four decades of TV and touched multiple generations of kids around the world. Telling its story felt like honoring a piece of the Canadian identity.”
You can check out the first “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes” trailer yourself in the video above.
