Insane Reason One Degrassi Episode Earned a Ban in the U.S.

Back in 2004, when foreign television for teens and young adults was only available through affiliate distributors, Degrassi: The Next Generation, coming from Canada, was entirely in the hands of a few people who could either let it through or pull it.

Unfortunately, this meant that some of the decisions those people made kept U.S. audiences from seeing two of the show's most thoughtful and important episodes.

The two-parter, titled Accidents Will Happen, was meant to show teens how valid a choice an abortion is in dealing with teen pregnancy, but the message didn't sit well with American adults. To say that the team behind the show was disappointed would be an understatement.

“Every season we would make a list of issues we wanted to tackle. To me, abortion’s one that has to be there. It deserves dramatic representation. It’s something that we run into, and yet it’s like the third rail — you just don’t touch it,” the head writer of the episode Shelley Scarrow said to The Fader.

Degrassi: The Next Generation was no stranger to tackling topics that many parents would be uncomfortable discussing face-to-face with their teenage children. While the show never tried to replace parental guidance, it did try to provide some answers for those who lacked them, or at least start a conversation about them.

In the United States, the show aired on The N, a Nickelodeon-based channel with content aimed at older kids. While the creators of The Next Generation never tried to hide any of their more controversial topics, there were no problems before these two episodes, and there wouldn't be any after.

Thanks to Cassie Steele, who portrayed Manny on the show, the episodes were shown to audiences as part of the Actor's Favorites special. In 2006, the actress stated that this story was one of her favorites and she was eager to share it with the audience. Better late than never.

If you want to rewatch Degrassi: The Next Generation in general, or the controversial two-parter in particular, you can go ahead and stream the series on Max.

Source: The Fader