Country of origin Canada | No. of episodes 19 | |
 | ||
Original network CTV (Canada)
The N (United States) Original release 28 November 2006 (2006-11-28) – 14 May 2007 (2007-05-14) | ||
The sixth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation commenced airing in Canada on 28 November 2006, concluded on 14 May 2007 and contains nineteen episodes. Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. This season depicts the lives of high school juniors, seniors and college freshman as they deal with some of the challenges and issues young adults face such as imprisonment, online predators, burglary, substance abuse, stress, gambling addiction, financial difficulties, school rivalries, pregnancy scares and death. Unlike the previous seasons, which took place over the course of an entire school year, season six only covers the first semester of the school year, utilizing a semi-floating timeline. It also marks the first death of a main character in the series.
Contents
Production took place between May and September 2006.
Season six also aired in the United States Fridays at 8:00 p.m. on The N, a digital cable network aimed at teenagers and young adults. The season actually premiered on The N, on 29 September 2006, two months before CTV, a Canadian terrestrial television network, began to screen it. By broadcasting two episodes every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., CTV were able to broadcast the final ten episodes of the season before The N. The season was released on DVD as a four disc boxed set on 27 May 2008 by Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment in Canada, and FUNimation Entertainment in the United States. Registered users of the Canadian and US iTunes Stores are also able purchase and download the season for playback on home computers and certain iPods.
The season received eight award nominations, six more than it received for season five. It received mixed reviews from the media, and lacklustre ratings compared to the previous season's record high of one million viewers.
Cast
The sixth season features twenty actors who receive star billing with seventeen of them returning from the previous season. Returning cast members include:
Joining the main cast is Shenae Grimes as Darcy Edwards (11 episodes), who was promoted after recurring in the previous two seasons. Daniel Clark and Melissa McIntyre return as Sean Cameron (11 episodes) and Ashley Kerwin (7 episodes)1 and are promoted back to the main cast following their departure in season four.
The three actors from season five who did not return this season were Andrea Lewis as Hazel Aden, Pat Mastroianni as Joey Jeremiah and Stacie Mistysyn as Caitlin Ryan. All left the series except for Stacie Mistysyn who returned in season seven.
Returning in their recurring roles are John Bregar as Dylan Michalchuk, Dalmar Abuzeid as Danny Van Zandt, Marc Donato as Derek Haig, Linlyn Lue as Ms. Kwan, and Jennifer Podemski as Ms. Sauve. Nina Dobrev and Steve Belford are introduced as Mia Jones and Jesse Stefanovic.
^Note 1 : With this season, Jake Epstein, Jake Goldsbie, and Melissa McIntyre are given a "Starring" credit after the opening theme for episodes they appear in.
Crew
The season was produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. Funding was provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Canadian Television Fund and BCE-CTV Benefits, The Shaw Television Broadcast Fund, the Independent Production Fund, Mountain Cable Program, and RBC Royal Bank.
Linda Schuyler, co-creator of the Degrassi franchise and CEO of Epitome Pictures, was the co-executive producer of season six with her husband and Epitome Pictures' president, Stephen Stohn. James Hurst also served as an executive producer. David Lowe served as the producer, and Shelley Scarrow was the executive creative consultant. Brendon Yorke and Nicole Demerse were co-executive story editors, with Duana Taha as the junior story editor. The editors were Stephen Withrow and Jason B. Irvine, Stephen Stanley was the production designer, and the cinematographers were Gavin Smith and John Berrie. The writers for the season are Tassie Cameron, Nicole Demerse, James Hurst, Aaron Martin, Will Pascoe, Shelley Scarrow, Duana Taha, and Brendon Yorke. Phil Earnshaw, Eleanore Lindo, Stefan Scaini, Gavin Smith, and Sudz Sutherland directed the episodes.
Reception
Season six was watched by fewer Canadian viewers than season five, which achieved an average of 767,000 viewers, and had one episode watched by a million viewers. The first twelve episodes of season six only averaged 500,000 viewers; the first episode after the winter break, broadcast on March 28, 2007, was watched by a season high of 645,000 viewers. The season finale was watched by 520,000 viewers, and the season eventually averaged 522,000 viewers.
The sixth season received mixed reviews from the media. Laura Betker of the Winnipeg Sun said, "Wrapping up plot lines so quickly creates a bit of disappointment for audiences. Typically, season finales end with exciting cliffhangers to entice fan interest. Degrassi’s finale really had no loose ends. There is no pending excitement for fans and the two-part finale became a disappointment. The episodes felt more like a series finale rather than just a season ending." In his end of year review, Joel Rubnoff of the Waterloo Region Record said Degrassi: The Next Generation was one of the best shows of 2007, adding, "The greatest teen show on the planet rediscovers its mojo with a same sex romance between control freak Paige and teen rebel Alexa. The year's most compelling—and bittersweet—love story." AfterEllen.com, a website which focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media, and owned by MTV Networks' Logo cable television network reported on the portrayal of two Degrassi: The Next Generation lesbian characters. "Paige and Alex's relationship, developed over three seasons, has become one of the best portrayals of a lesbian teen relationship we've seen on American television," said Sarah Warn, the website's Editor in Chief, before giving the series an "A" Grade for the portrayal of class issues, character development, sexual orientation, dialogue, the relationship and lesbian sex.
The season received nominations for eight different awards, and won two. At the Directors Guild of Canada Awards, the episode "Can't Hardly Wait" was nominated in the category for "Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series – Family", and Stephen Stanley was nominated in the "Outstanding Achievement in Production Design – Television Series" category for "What's it Feel Like To Be a Ghost? Part Two". At the Gemini Awards, Shenae Grimes won the category for "Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series" for her portrayal of Darcy Edwards in the episode "Eyes Without a Face Part Two". Degrassi: The Next Generation received three other Gemini Award nominations, for "Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series", "Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series", and "Best Sound in a Dramatic Series". In the US, the series won its second Teen Choice Award for "Choice Summer TV Show", and Marc Donato was nominated for "Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series Recurring Young Actor" at the Young Artist Awards.
Episodes
Season six premiered on The N two months before its CTV debut, and it was not until the ninth episode that Canadian viewers were able to watch an episode before US viewers. The N aired the season in three separate blocks, airing the first third of the season between 29 September 2006 and 17 November 2006, then the second block of episodes between 5 January 2007 and 16 February 2007. The final episodes of the season were broadcast between 29 June 2007 and 3 August 2007. Every episode aired on Fridays at 8:00 p.m.
In Canada, CTV aired the season in two separate blocks of episodes. The first twelve episodes aired between 28 November 2006 and 9 January 2007, on Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The second block of episodes aired between 28 March 2007 and 14 May 2007. The first two episodes in this block aired on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m., immediately after CTV's simulcast of American Idol; from 9 April 2007, the remaining episodes aired on Mondays at 9:30 p.m., immediately following CTV's simulcast of Dancing with the Stars. CTV also broadcast episodes fourteen and fifteen before episode thirteen.
This list is by order of production, as they appear on the DVD.
DVD release
The DVD release of season six was released by Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment in Canada, and by FUNimation Entertainment in the US on 27 May 2008 after it had completed broadcast on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including deleted scenes, bloopers and behind-the-scenes featurettes.