Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama TV franchise. It began with the release of The Kids of Degrassi Street which premiered in 1979. Four more shows were made after: Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, Degrassi: The Next Generation, and Degrassi: Next Class. I talk mostly about the last two.
I was a young teenager when Degrassi: The Next Generation season 10 premiered on TeenNick. The promotional video for the season was set in a carnival to the song "Shark in the Water" by V V Brown, and it was incredible. I'd wanted to watch Degrassi before but the season 10 promo took it to a whole other level. My sister had control over the TV and I was too scared to ask to watch Degrassi because of how "girly" or "stupid" my sister would probably think it was. My sister is not a nice person LOL. But luckily for me, the promo also interested her. I was thrilled to finally be able to watch the show! I loved season 10 but I didn't watch beyond, frankly I can't remember why.
In adulthood, in 2021, I was fondly remembering Degrassi and wanted to watch a specific scene again. I went onto YouTube and discovered that the entire series (except Next Class) was on the official Degrassi channel for free. So, naturally, I watched all 14 seasons of The Next Generation. I had the absolute time of my life. My husband also got into it from me watching it while he was in the same room. Now Degrassi has become one of my special interests. I enjoy most of the characters but some of my very favorite characters are Maya Matlin, Eli Goldsworthy, and the Zoe Rivas.
Zoe is a character that was introduced in season 13 of Degrassi: The Next Generation. She's a washed up TV star and I love her. She's designed to be hated at first, she's the romantic rival to the "main" character, Maya. Zoe starts off rude, snobby, cold, and overall conniving. Later she becomes more caring and mellows out in a lot of ways, but my favorite Zoe is when she's at her worst.
I don't remember the exact moment when my opinion of her shifted but eventually I found myself joking with my husband about Zoe. The jokes were extremely hyperbolic and Zoe became a fun figure of chaos to me. She's more than just a character on a drama show, she's an icon!
Now Zoe serves as an archetype that I think every show needs. Someone that's not afraid to get their hands dirty to really stir up some drama. Serious drama! Zoe is an agent of mayhem and for that, I respect her. I salute her. She truly takes the show's theme "Whatever It Takes" to heart.
I have built a small replica of Degrassi Community School in The Sims 2 for use in a music video, set to a song actually sung by Maya Matlin.
I downloaded some custom content to get a better look for Maya and Zig's sims. The music video focused on their relationship drama, especially at the start of Next Class. When making the music video, I had to take multiple shots of the "first kiss" animation for Maya and Zig. The animation only triggers if one sim doesn't have the first kiss memory, so I had to wipe Zig's memory several times LOL.
Grace and Zoe's relationship drama was also touched on. I was very proud of how the whole thing turned out.
My big project is Degrassi: Got Well Soon, a fangame made in RPG Maker VX Ace. I am still actively working on it. It is a demanding project with how much needs to be made for it but it has been a fun and educational experience for me.
