Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian teen drama television series created by Linda Schuyler and Yan Moore.

Degrassi: The Next Generation is the fourth entry of the Degrassi television franchise created by Schuyler and Kit Hood, and a revival of Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. In Canada, it premiered on CTV on October 14, 2001, and ended on MTV Canada on August 2, 2015.

Like its predecessors, it follows the lives of students attending the titular fictitious Toronto school and depicts some of the typical issues and challenges common to a teenager's life. It also features several cast members from the previous series in recurring adult roles.

The following is a list of characters who have appeared in the television series.

Cast and characters

Main cast (opening credits in every episode) Special guest cast (credited as "starring" or "also starring" after opening credits when they appear) Recurring guest star (3+ episodes) Guest star (1–2 episodes) ActorCharacterDegrassi: The Next GenerationDegrassi1234567891011121314 Main characters Miriam McDonald Emma Nelson colspan="9" colspan="5" 2 Aubrey Graham Jimmy Brooks colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="6" 1 Christina Schmidt Terri MacGregor colspan="3" colspan="11" 1 Melissa McIntyre Ashley Kerwin colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="6" 1 Sarah Barrable-Tishauer Liberty Van Zandt colspan="8" colspan="1" colspan="5" 2 Cassie Steele Manny Santos colspan="9" colspan="5" 2 Stefan Brogren Archie "Snake" Simpson colspan="14" – Jake Goldsbie Toby Isaacs colspan="5" colspan="3" colspan="6" 2 Shane Kippel Gavin "Spinner" Mason colspan="9" colspan="4" colspan="1" 1 Ryan Cooley J.T. Yorke colspan="6" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="5" 2 Lauren Collins Paige Michalchuk colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="3" 1 Daniel Clark Sean Cameron colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="7" 2 Dan Woods Dan Raditch colspan="4" colspan="10" – Pat Mastroianni Joey Jeremiah colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="9" – Jake Epstein Craig Manning colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="6" 1 Stacey Farber Ellie Nash colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="6" 1 Andrea Lewis Hazel Aden colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="9" 1 Amanda Stepto Christine "Spike" Nelson colspan="2" colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="5" – Stacie Mistysyn Caitlin Ryan colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="7" – Adamo Ruggiero Marco Del Rossi colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="5" 1 Mike Lobel Jay Hogart colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="5" 1 Deanna Casaluce Alex Nuñez colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="7" 1 Jamie Johnston Peter Stone colspan="4" colspan="6" colspan="4" 3 Melissa DiMarco Daphne Hatzilakos colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="5" – Shenae Grimes Darcy Edwards colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="6" 3 Charlotte Arnold Holly J. Sinclair colspan="6" colspan="5" colspan="3" 4 Nina Dobrev Mia Jones colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="5" 3 Mazin Elsadig Damian Hayes colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="7" 2 Paula Brancati Jane Vaughn colspan="6" colspan="3" colspan="5" 3 Marc Donato Derek Haig colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="6" 3 Dalmar Abuzeid Danny Van Zandt colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="3" colspan="5" 3 Evan Williams Kelly Ashoona colspan="7" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="5" – Judy Jiao Leia Chang colspan="7" colspan="3" colspan="4" – Jajube Mandiela Chantay Black colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="3" 4 Samantha Munro Anya MacPherson colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="3" 4 A.J. Saudin Connor DeLaurier colspan="7" colspan="7" 6 Sam Earle K.C. Guthrie colspan="7" colspan="5" colspan="2" 6 Aislinn Paul Clare Edwards colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="7" 6 Melinda Shankar Alli Bhandari colspan="7" colspan="7" 6 Raymond Ablack Sav Bhandari colspan="6" colspan="1" colspan="4" colspan="3" 4 Natty Zavitz Bruce the Moose colspan="6" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="5" 3 Scott Paterson Johnny DiMarco colspan="5" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="4" 3 Jordan Hudyma Blue Chessex colspan="7" colspan="2" colspan="5" – Argiris Karras Riley Stavros colspan="7" colspan="4" colspan="3" 4 Annie Clark Fiona Coyne colspan="8" colspan="4" colspan="2" 5 Landon Liboiron Declan Coyne colspan="8" colspan="2" colspan="4" 4 Jessica Tyler Jenna Middleton colspan="8" colspan="6" 6 Jahmil French Dave Turner colspan="8" colspan="5" colspan="1" – Munro Chambers Eli Goldsworthy colspan="9" colspan="5" 5 Cory Lee Winnie Oh colspan="9" colspan="4" colspan="1" – Spencer Van Wyck Wesley Betenkamp colspan="8" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="3" – Jordan Todosey Adam Torres colspan="9" colspan="4" colspan="1" 6 Alicia Josipovic Bianca DeSousa colspan="9" colspan="4" colspan="1" 5 Luke Bilyk Drew Torres colspan="9" colspan="5" 6 Shannon Kook-Chun Zane Park colspan="8" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="3" 4 Daniel Kelly Owen Milligan colspan="9" colspan="3" colspan="2" 5 Justin Kelly Jake Martin colspan="10" colspan="2" colspan="2" 5 Shanice Banton Marisol Lewis colspan="9" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" 5 Chloe Rose Katie Matlin colspan="10" colspan="3" colspan="1" 5 Cristine Prosperi Imogen Moreno colspan="10" colspan="4" 6 Lyle Lettau Tristan Milligan colspan="10" colspan="4" 7 Olivia Scriven Maya Matlin colspan="10" colspan="4" 7 Alex Steele Tori Santamaria colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="5" colspan="2" colspan="2" 7 Ricardo Hoyos Zig Novak colspan="10" colspan="4" 7 Jacob Neayem Mo Mashkour colspan="8" colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="2" 5 Sarah Fisher Becky Baker colspan="11" colspan="3" 6 Craig Arnold Luke Baker colspan="11" colspan="3" – Demetrius Joyette Mike Dallas colspan="11" colspan="3" 6 Dylan Everett Cam Saunders colspan="11" colspan="1" colspan="2" 7 Ana Golja Zoë Rivas colspan="12" colspan="2" 7 Andre Kim Winston Chu colspan="12" colspan="2" 7 Eric Osborne Miles Hollingsworth III colspan="12" colspan="2" 7 Sara Waisglass Frankie Hollingsworth colspan="12" colspan="2" 8 Nikki Gould Grace Cardinal colspan="12" colspan="2" 7 Niamh Wilson Jack Jones colspan="12" colspan="2" 6 Spencer MacPherson Hunter Hollingsworth colspan="12" colspan="1" colspan="1" 8 Richard Walters Tiny Bell colspan="12" colspan="1" colspan="1" 7 Amanda Arcuri Lola Pacini colspan="13" colspan="1" 8 Reiya Downs Shay Powers colspan="13" colspan="1" 8

Cast notes

Main characters The following actors have all received star billing and appeared in the opening credits of Degrassi: The Next Generation. A regular is an actor who appeared in the opening credits of the show in any given season. In season 6, three actors were credited only for the episodes they appeared in, and in seasons 13–14, all actors are credited only for the episodes in which they appear. A recurring character is an actor who does not appear in the opening credits, but appears in several episodes of any particular season. A guest appearance means that the actor does not appear in the opening credits, but appears in no more than two episodes of any particular season.

Students

Character name Portrayed by Seasons featuredAdam Torres Jordan Todosey 10–13 (regular)Born "Gracie," Adam was a trans boy. He and his brother Drew transfer to Degrassi due to the excessive bullying he has received at his old school. After being outed by Bianca, he is again the victim of transphobia, although he eventually earns respect and admiration from his classmates. As a trans man, finding love is difficult for Adam. After many attempts at romance, he finds love with Becky Baker, despite their opposing beliefs. During summer break, Adam is involved in a car accident in which he inadvertently crashes his car into a tree while texting Becky and later passes away during surgery.

When Torres was killed off from the series in 2013, controversy ensued, including a statement from GLAAD.<blockquote>When Degrassi introduced its large and loyal audience to Adam Torres, an authentic, multi-dimensional transgender character, the show not only made television history, but set a new industry standard for LGBT inclusion. With so few transgender characters on television, we are disappointed that Adam's story had to end this way, and we hope other shows will follow Degrassis lead in bringing stories like Adam's to viewers...</blockquote>Linda Schuyler, one of the show's creators, defended the choice to kill the character, saying in a statement:The combination of Adam being a favorite character, and Jordan being at the end of her contract, presented a unique opportunity to tell this story through such a beloved character. As saddened as we are to say goodbye to Adam, we feel this storyline will affect even more lives in an authentic way... Adam appeared in 78 episodes. |- | colspan="3" height="2" style="background:#0070FF;"| |- | Alexandra "Alex" Nuñez || Deanna Casaluce || 3–4 (recurring); 5–6 (regular); 7 (guest appearance) |- | colspan="3" |Alex is originally a poor, violent outcast whose home life involves protecting her mother from her abusive boyfriends. She is considered a "bad girl" at Degrassi; she hangs out with her rebellious boyfriend Jay and his gang. Her exterior softens as she befriends Ellie, Marco, and her once-nemesis Paige, with whom she begins a same-sex relationship. She briefly becomes a stripper to prevent her family from being evicted. After realizing things are never going to change at home, she moves in with Paige, Marco, and Ellie. She later breaks up with Paige as they are headed down different paths. She is last seen going to live with her aunt in Ajax. Alex appeared in 41 episodes. |- | colspan="3" height="2" style="background:#0070FF;"| |- | Allia "Alli" Bhandari || Melinda Shankar || 8–14 (regular) |- | colspan="3" |Alli is Sav Bhandari's younger sister and Clare Edwards' best friend. For most of her Degrassi tenure, she has rebelled against her conservative Muslim upbringing and became involved in difficult situations, particularly with boys. After her parents were alerted to her unruly ways through her disciplinary file at school, she soon realized that she needed to improve her life. Despite this, she makes many of the same mistakes repeatedly, although she has consistently been a good student. She dates a lot of boys including: Johnny DiMarco, who didn't want to be seen with her; Andrew "Drew" Torres, who cheated on her with Bianca; and Dave Turner, who got upset when he found out she was counting cards in an illegal gambling game. They took a break while she attended science summer camp; on her return, Dave tells her he slept with someone else. Alli breaks up with him and goes to Jake's cabin where they share a kiss due to her being upset over Dave. She and Dave make up and begin dating again. She begins dating Leo after a school trip to Paris, and nearly gets married. After he hits her on several occasions, Alli breaks up with him and begins dating Mike Dallas. Alli appeared in 162 episodes. |- | colspan="3" height="2" style="background:#0070FF;"| |- | Anya MacPherson || Samantha Munro || 6 (guest appearance); 7 (recurring); 8–11 (regular) |-