Sad news for Nickelodeon fans today as the network announced that ‘Degrassi’, the Canadian teen drama, is coming to an end after fourteen seasons. The series finale will air later this summer on TeenNick, taking the form of a two-week event kicked off by an hour-long special episode.

Beginning life on Nickelodeon way back in 2001 as ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, set up as the fourth iteration of a franchise of TV series that dated as far back as 1979, the current programme shortened its name to ‘Degrassi’ in 2010 for its tenth season.

Degrassi castCast of 'Degrassi' back in 2012

The show gave television breakthroughs for a number of actors who went on to do bigger things, such as ‘The Vampire Diaries’’ Nina Dobrev, Shanae Grimes from ‘90210’, and rap megastar Drake. The hour-long special will kick off the fourteenth and final season and will be aired on July 20th, followed by a new episode each day of the week until it wraps for good on July 31st.

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In the final episodes, the high school's senior class will be preparing to end the school year, with proms and graduations and all the drama that entails, according to Variety.

“For an incredible 14 seasons, ‘Degrassi’ has been a groundbreaking show tackling so many important topics that real teens face in their everyday lives,” said Keith Dawkins, SVP and general manager for TeenNick, in a statement. “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.”

Stephen Stohn, an executive producer on the show, commented, “Few producers are as blessed as we have been, working with so many talented and creative individuals at TeenNick for 14 seasons of ‘Degrassi’; including 385 episodes and over 100 pieces of original short-form web content. We thank all those at TeenNick who have worked so hard over the years to help us create a television series that changes with the times and continues to authentically connect and interact with the youth audience.”

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