Production Underway on 19 New, Half-Hour Episodes -- -- Degrassi Episodes and Webisodes Now Available at ctv.ca –

Toronto, ON (June 7, 2006) - There's no stopping Degrassi: The Next Generation. After a successful 25th Anniversary season that celebrated 100 episodes, increased viewership and plenty of awards, the series surges forward with production on 19 new episodes for its sixth season on CTV. The series also enters a whole new dimension by joining Canada's first multi-channel, on-demand broadband service. Unveiled Monday at CTV's 2006 Fall Upfront presentation, CTV.ca now features free Degrassi episodes from Season Five and the all-new Degrassi Minis, a series of unique Degrassi Webisodes created exclusively for broadband. 

"Progressive and always entertaining, Degrassi is always on the leading edge of what is happening with youth culture," said Susanne Boyce, CTV President of Programming and Chair of the Media Group. "Making the episodes and the Minis available online gives fans another way to keep up to date on the ever-changing lives of their favourite Degrassi characters.”

Season Six of Degrassi is daring to be the most provocative and intense season yet, as the series continues to address issues and topics that face adolescents and young adults today. For the first time, the Degrassi series follows some of its graduates through university as they face the ups and downs of post-secondary life. This season, Ellie, Paige, Marco and Craig experience a whole new series of challenges at another level.

The new school year has Degrassi Community School's students caught up in a vicious school rivalry, with life-altering affects for some of its students. Ellie embarks on a hot new romance with an older man while Jimmy, confined to a wheelchair, explores news ways to deal with his sexuality. After a tragic accident, one student will end up in jail, and a new character, a 16-year-old single mom, graces the halls of the school as a new student.

"Last season our characters had to deal with tough issues and even tougher consequences and this school year will be no different," said Linda Schuyler, Executive Producer and CEO, Epitome Pictures Inc. "In a world where life's lessons can be cruel and unrelenting, we're thrilled that our show is back for another season to focus on issues that speak directly to our viewers."

Returning cast regulars are Dalmar Abuzeid as Danny; Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty; John Bregar as Dylan; Deanna Casaluce as Alex; Daniel Clark as Sean; Ryan Cooley as JT; Jake Goldsbie as Toby; Aubrey Graham as Jimmy; Shenae Grimes as Darcy; Jamie Johnston as Peter; Shane Kippel as Spinner; Mike Lobel as Jay; Miriam McDonald as Emma; Melissa McIntyre as Ashley and Cassie Steele as Manny. Also returning this season for their first year out of high school are Lauren Collins as Paige; Jake Epstein as Craig; Stacey Farber as Ellie and Adamo Ruggiero as Marco.

Returning adult cast members are Stefan Brogren as Archie "Snake" Simpson, Amanda Stepto as Christine "Spike" Nelson, and Melissa Dimarco as Principal Hatzilakos.

James Hurst, 2005 winner of the Writer's Guild of Canada Award, will be returning to the show as Executive Producer, running the story department.

The "Degrassi Minis" are produced by Stefan Brogren (Archie "Snake" Simpson) of Epitome Pictures and gives fans a chance to see their favorite characters in all new scenes and scenarios.  While some of the 2-3 minute shorts take place in between existing episodes of the series, giving fans an extra taste of their favorite moments, others are completely fantastical takes on the Degrassi universe. The minis follow the lives of the Degrassi characters, revealing secret crushes and even the return of a beloved Degrassi student.

Encore broadcasts of episodes from Season Five will also air Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ET beginning  June 18 on CTV (check local listings). The episodes follow encore episodes of the new original comedy series Alice, I Think.

Last season marked a number of firsts for the popular series including its 25th anniversary, 100th episode, an audience increase of 24 per cent* as well as breaking the one million viewer mark for a single episode for the first time. In addition, the series beat out four American series at the Television Critics Association Awards for "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming" and took home the coveted surf board for its Teen Choice Award win for "Choice Summer Series", illustrating its growing success across the border.

Six years ago, the Degrassi.tv website was launched and remains a core element of the Degrassi multi-platform experience. Fans of the show are encouraged to check out the award-winning Website at www.degrassi.tv, winner of the 2003 Gemini for Most Popular Website and Best Interactive Award in 2003 and 2002. Produced in association with CTV and Quickplay, www.degrassi.tv provides enhanced storytelling on the web in synchronization with CTV's television broadcasts. Degrassi's online community continues to create lockerpages, journal entries, send d-mails and post messages on the club message boards in record numbers.

Degrassi: The Next Generation is produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. The series was co-created by Linda Schuyler, co-producer of the original Degrassi series and Yan Moore. Schuyler and Stephen Stohn serve as Executive Producers. Kathleen Meek is the CTV production executive working with the series. Bill Mustos is Senior Vice-President, Dramatic Programming for CTV. Susanne Boyce is President of CTV Programming and Chair of the Media Group.                                                                                                                        

Degrassi: The Next Generation has been successfully licensed internationally, including France, Switzerland, the U.S and Australia by AAC Kids, an Alliance Atlantis Division.

Epitome Pictures and its affiliate companies have been producing quality Canadian programming since 1976, including the multi-award winning, internationally recognized Degrassi: The Next Generation. Previous shows produced for the Degrassi franchise include: The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, which still air throughout the world. Epitome Pictures also produces Instant Star, the Gemini Award winning series that is now seen in over 121 countries. Epitome Pictures also produced Liberty Street and Riverdale in addition to several MOWs. For more information, please visit www.epitomepictures.com.

CTV, Canada's largest private broadcaster, offers a wide range of quality news, sports, information, and entertainment programming. It has the number-one national newscast, CTV National News With Lloyd Robertson, and is the number-one choice for prime-time viewing. CTV owns 21 conventional television stations across Canada and has interests in 16 specialty channels, including the number-one Canadian specialty channel, TSN. CTV is owned by Bell Globemedia, Canada's premier multi-media company. More information about CTV may be found on the company website at www.ctv.ca.

-CTV-