Degrassi: The Next Generation, which was renamed Degrassi from the tenth season and on, is the current series set in the fictional Degrassi universe, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood in 1979.

Degrassi: The Next Generation is currently the fourth fictional series in the Degrassi franchise, and succeeds The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and Degrassi High. Like its predecessors, Degrassi: The Next Generation follows a group of students at Degrassi Community School who face various challenges of teenage life, such as poor self image, peer pressure, child abuse, sexual identity, gang violence, self harm, teenage pregnancy, and drug use.

The series was created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore, and is produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. The current executive producers are Schuyler, her husband Stephen Stohn, and Brendon Yorke. The series is filmed at Epitome's studios in Toronto, Ontario, rather than on the real De Grassi Street from which the franchise takes its name.

The series has received critical praise throughout its run from many different outlets including Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and AfterElton.com. In its initial years, it was frequently the most watched domestic drama series in Canada, and it is the highest-rated show on TeenNick in the United States. In 2004, for example, one episode received just under a million viewers in Canada, and over half a million viewers in the US. In recent seasons, however, viewing figures have begun to drop. The series has won numerous awards, from the Geminis, Writers Guild of Canada and Directors Guild of Canada, and internationally from the Teen Choice Awards, Young Artists Awards, and Prix Jeunesse.

The series premiered on CTV on 14 October 2001. In 2010, during the ninth season, the series moved to CTV's youth-oriented sister channel, MuchMusic, and the tenth season marked a change in production style which saw the series become more like a soap opera. The first half of season 12 is airing 20 episodes in its first five weeks, and premiered on July 16, 2012. 311 episodes have aired as of March 8, 2012, and the twelfth season is in continued production.

The series has been syndicated on cable television, and episodes are available on DVD and in new media download formats from Puretracks, the iTunes Store, and the Xbox Live Marketplace. Internationally, Degrassi: The Next Generation has been highly successful in the US, where it is broadcasted on channels such as TeenNick, MTV, and ABC Family, as well as being broadcasted in 140 countries.

It was announced on June 2, 2011, that MuchMusic renewed Degrassi for a 12th season, currently scheduled to consist of 40 episodes. Production for the season began on February 27, 2012, at Epitome Pictures' studios in Toronto, Ontario. -wiki