Award-Winning Degrassi Junior High And Degrassi High Come To Showcase Television

Showcase Television premieres the award winning, critically
acclaimed series Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High beginning
on Monday, September 1. The two half-hour shows will air
back-to-back, Monday to Friday, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
(Eastern/Mountain).

Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High have received numerous
awards including the Prix Jeunesse, the world’s top award for
children’s programming, two International Emmies, three
Children’s Broadcast Institute Awards, several Gemini Awards and
countless others from all over the world. In Canada, Degrassi
Junior High is one of the highest rated Canadian-produced drama
series ever.

The Degrassi series portray real life situations facing
today’s youth in an open, gutsy manner. The scripts, which often
have several layers of moral complexity, have been praised for
their psychological accuracy and dialogue that rings true.

Degrassi Junior High addresses the problems faced by young
adolescents in an urban school. A diversity of nationalities is
represented by the students and the series addresses issues
including alcohol and drugs, child abuse, sexism, sexual
orientation, pregnancy, adoption, sexual harassment, depression
and relationships.

Degrassi High follows the same characters into high school. As
the students get older the issues they face are more complex,
with farther reaching consequences. Topics include abortion,
AIDS, physical and learning disabilities, adultery, abusive
relationships, suicide and love.

The Toronto Star’s Greg Quill writes about Degrassi High,
“as different from the kind of homogenized, sanctified,
purified family fare from American networks as a Ferarri is from
a Buick…Degrassi gets on with it, tells it pretty much as it
is. And because it looks and sounds like us, we like it even
more…writer Yan Moore and director Kit Hood never flinch…This
is good TV. Degrassi is a tough, compelling slice of life.”

Showcase Television’s fall season begins September 1 with a
lineup of exciting new programs in primetime, including Out Of
The Blue, Water Rats, Forever Knight and Fly By Night. Showcase
Television is operated by Alliance Broadcasting, a division of
Alliance Communications Corporation.

On October 17, Alliance Broadcasting will unveil History
Television, a new specialty network featuring a compelling blend
of documentaries, movies and original historical programming from
Canada and around the world.

For further information, contact:

Danielle Iversen, Publicist