‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’ Canceled After 14 Seasons

Degrassi: The Next Generation has been canceled, the Hollywood Reporter is reporting.

The Canadian import, which has been a fixture on TeenNick since 2009, officially belongs to MTV Canada. And today, MTV Canada announced the decision to cancel the teen drama. CTV President of Sports and Entertainment Programming, Phil King, issued a statement praising the show.

“We are immensely proud of Degrassi, and our longstanding partnership with [exectuive producers] Linda [Schuyler] and Stephen [Stohn]. We wish the entire Epitome team the best of luck, and look forward to working with them again in the future.”

Over at Nickelodeon, TeenNick boss Keith Dawkins had nothing but good things to say about the show in a statement via Us Weekly.

“For an incredible 14 seasons, Degrassi has been a groundbreaking show tackling so many important topics that real teens face in their everyday lives.”

Degrassi: The Next Generation, like its predecessors in the Degrassi universe (The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, and Degrassi High) candidly took on topics of importance to teens: sex, drug abuse, pregnancy, date rape, homosexuality, racism, and any number of other tough subjects. And not surprisingly, the show has generated some backlash, according to Uproxx, among parents and even a powerful political think tank.

A third-season episode of the teen drama dealt with a teenager getting pregnant and having an abortion, and doing so with no regrets. So controversial was the episode that the network that owned the U.S. broadcasting rights to Degrassi: The Next Generation at the time, The N, refused to broadcast it in the States.

Another episode caught the attention of a conservative think tank — and not in a good way. A 2011 episode, featuring a same-sex relationship between a girl and a girl who was transitioning to male, spurred the Florida Family Association to call for boycotts of the network’s sponsors.

“It is very concerning that your company would knowingly advertise during a television show that condones and promotes transgender lifestyles to an audience that is almost exclusively watched by young teens and children.”

Of course, the boycott didn’t take, since Degrassi: The Next Generation has continued to air, four years later.

TeenNick’s boss promises that Degrassi will be given the respect it deserves when it leaves the airways.

“In the final episodes on TeenNick and through the hour-long special and social activations, we hope to say goodbye in a way that is both fitting to the show and Degrassi’s passionate fan base.”

The final episodes of Degrasi: The Next Generation will include an hour-long special entitled “It Goes There: Degrassi‘s Most Talked About Moments” and then the one-hour series finale.

What do you think of Degrassi: The Next Generation being canceled? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[Image courtesy of: Getty Images/Michael Loccisano]