Degrassi

Degrassi is arguably Canada's most durable TV export, a teen soap that's been running, on and off, since 1979. The channel pulls from that deep archive: the original 'Degrassi Junior High', the beloved 'Degrassi: The Next Generation', and the more recent 'Degrassi: Next Class'. What's striking is how well the older episodes hold up. The acting is raw, the budgets tiny, but the writing trusted its audience to handle real issues. Contrast that with the glossy Netflix-era episodes, which look like a different species. The channel runs without commercial breaks, which is unusual for a free-to-air feed. Scheduling leans into nostalgia: morning blocks of the 1980s and '90s episodes, after-school repeats of the 2000s era. Fans of the franchise will find the deep cuts here, the spin-offs, the TV movies, the cast interviews between blocks. It's not a channel for casual viewers; it's a lovingly curated vault for anyone who grew up with these kids in Toronto. For the uninitiated, start with the 'Next Gen' season 1. You'll see a young Aubrey Drake Graham before he became Drake. That alone is worth the watch.