Degrassi: The Next Generation (season 9)

Degrassi: The Next Generation (season 9)
Degrassi: The Next Generation Season 9 DVD
Country of origin	Canada
No. of episodes	23
Broadcast
Original channel	CTV (Canada: 1-14) MuchMusic (Canada: 15-23) ZigZap (Poland) TeenNick (United States) BBC Two (U.K.)
Original run	4 October 2009 (2009-10-04) – 16 July 2010 (2010-07-16)
Home video release
DVD release
Region 1	20 June 2010 (2010-06-20)
Season chronology
← Previous eight Next → ten

The ninth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered in Canada on 4 October 2009, concluded on 16 July 2010, and consists of twenty-three episodes (19 episodes, and 1 movie). Degrassi: The Next Generation is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. Although each season, starting in season six, depicted only one semester, season nine is set in the second semester in which the year it aired. Writers have been able to use a semi-floating timeline, so that the issues depicted are modern for their viewers. This season depicts the lives of a group of high school freshmen, juniors and seniors, along with some college age students as they deal with some of the issues that young adults face such as drug abuse, relationships, sexual identity, sex, sexting, and illegal situations. Four actors were added to the ensemble cast, while four cast members have either left the series or been dropped from the main cast to recurring roles.

Production for the season began on 19 May 2009 at Epitome Pictures' studios in Toronto, Ontario. The final episodes of the season were filmed in part in New York City, New York, and were written and directed by Stefan Brogren, who plays Archie "Snake" Simpson. This was the first season to air on TeenNick in the United States, and to have some Canadian premieres on MuchMusic.

Cast

For the ninth season, twenty-four actors have star billing and appear in the title sequence, no change in the number of actors, but some replacements over the previous season. Stefan Brogren, Shane Kippel, Miriam McDonald and Cassie Steele, all original cast members, returned in their respective roles as Archie "Snake" Simpson, Gavin "Spinner" Mason, Emma Nelson, and Manuela "Manny" Santos. Returning cast members introduced in later seasons are Raymond Ablack as Sav Bhandari, Dalmar Abuzeid as Danny Van Zandt, Charlotte Arnold as Holly J. Sinclair, Paula Brancati as Jane Vaughn, Sam Earle as K.C. Guthrie, Jordan Hudyma as Blue Chessex, Jamie Johnston as Peter Stone, Judy Jiao as Leia Chang, Argiris Karras as Riley Stavros, Jajube Mandiela as Chantay Black, Samantha Munro as Anya MacPherson, Scott Paterson as Johnny DiMarco, Aislinn Paul as Clare Edwards, A.J. Saudin as Connor Deslauriers, Melinda Shankar as Alli Bhandari, and Natty Zavitz as Bruce the Moose.

Actors from season eight who did not return this season are Sarah Barrable-Tishauer as Liberty Van Zandt, Marc Donato as Derek Haig, Evan Williams as Kelly Ashoona, and Nina Dobrev as Mia Jones. All either left the series, or got demoted to recurring roles. Nina Dobrev landed a role on the CW Television Network's new series The Vampire Diaries much like her former-co-star Shenae Grimes, who is now a regular on another CW series, 90210. Their departures brought in four new additions to the cast, Landon Liboiron, Annie Clark, Jahmil French, and Jessica Tyler, as Declan Coyne, Fiona Coyne, Dave Turner, and Jenna Middleton, respectively.

Crew

Season nine was produced by Epitome Pictures in association with CTV. Funding was provided by The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit, the Canadian Television Fund and BCE-CTV Benefits, The Shaw Television Broadcast Fund, the Independent Production Fund, Mountain Cable Program, and RBC Royal Bank.

Linda Schuyler, co-creator of the Degrassi franchise and CEO of Epitome Pictures, served as an executive producer with her husband, and President of Epitome Pictures, Stephen Stohn. Brendon Yorke is also credited as an executive producer again. David Lowe was the producer, and Stephanie Cohen the supervising producer. As well as playing Snake Simpson, Stephen Brogren also served as a producer, and, for the first time, directed episodes,^[1] after previously writing, producing, and directing the exclusive online series Degrassi Minis. The casting director was Stephanie Gorin, and the editor was D. Gillian Truster.

The executive story editor was Sarah Glinski, and Matt Heuther the story editor. The script supervisor was Nancy Markle. Episode writers for the season are Duana Taha and Brendon Yorke. The director of photography was Jim Westenbrink, and the director was Phil Earnshaw.

Reception

Linda Schuyler, Stefan Brogren, David Lowe, Stephen Stohn, Stephanie Williams, and Brendon Yorke, along with Epitome Pictures, were nominated for the 25th Gemini Awards for best children's or youth fiction program or series, for producing Degrassi: The Next Generation, but lost to Overruled!. Directors Phil Earnshaw and Stefan Brogren were nominated for "Just Can't Get Enough (Part 2)" and "Beat It (Part 2)" respectively, for best direction in a children's or youth program or series, Brogren would win. On screen couple Landon Liboiron (Declan Coyne) and Charlotte Arnold (Holly J. Sinclair) were nominated for best performance in a children's or youth program or series, for "Waiting for a Girl Like You" and "Somebody" ("Love Games, Parts 1 & 2") respectively, Arnold would win. Linda Schuyler was honoured with the Academy Achievement Award.^[2] The following year "Degrassi Takes Manhattan" was nominated for best sound in a dramatic program,^[3] but lost to the first episode of The Pillars of the Earth miniseries.^[4]

Episodes

The first half of this season included a number of two-part episodes that aired on the same night on CTV, and MuchMusic later in the week. "Just Can't Get Enough" was an hour-long season premiere, and "Beat It" and "Heart Like Mine" were two-part episodes that aired on the same night in Canada, however on consecutive weeks in the US. Episodes 904 & 906 and 903 & 905 also aired together in Canada, to follow the ongoing story lines. The second half of the season premiered on MuchMusic, at one episode a week, then CTV a couple of weeks later in back-to-back format again. The first episode to have its Canadian premiere on MuchMusic was "Why Can't This Be Love? (Part One)". The US had aired the first half of the season by order of production, but opened the second half with the two-part "Why Can't This Be Love?", which was on consecutive weeks in Canada. In the US, four episodes were renamed by TeenNick, in both the TV spots, and the on-screen titles. This list is by order of production, as they appear on the DVD.

Episode #	Series #	Title	Canadian airdate	US airdate	Production code
1/2	166/167	"Just Can't Get Enough"[5]	4 October 2009	9 October 2009	901 & 902
Everyone is so happy to be coming back from Winter Break and the Stüdz from shooting their movie in LA. But life gets complicated when Mia reveals to Peter that she is going to Paris for a modelling contract. Declan and Fiona, the new students, decide to befriend Peter and Mia, so they invite them to one of their diplomat parties. Once Peter finds out that Mia will be going to France, he decides not to go to the party, but when Peter thinks up and idea to go with her, they decide to go to the party. While finding the party boring, Declan suggests that Peter try to play the guitar in front of everyone. After getting embarrassed, Declan and Fiona's cousin Victoria, offers Peter an escape drug (crystal meth). Peter then flees the party and heads home. Mia comes to check on Peter in the morning (she spend the night at Peter's because she knew Peter was high) and finds that Peter hasn't slept all night, and he's still a bit out of it. Although he does promise to never use crank again. Later in the episode, Mia finds that Peter has been using again (the cause of his need for drugs is largely due to his concern for Mia leaving him behind for Paris) but when she confronts him, he starts yelling at her and she leaves saying that he needs help, which results in their breakup. This only upsets Peter even more, and he is seen getting more crystal meth from a dealer in an alley. Meanwhile, Alli gets jealous of the new girl, Jenna, for stealing Clare from her. After they 'become friends', Jenna tells Clare and Alli that she was a boyfriend stealer at her old school and Jenna shows a possible interest in KC. At the Winter Beach Bash, Holly J. is stressing over her presidential duties. She eventually flips out on Blue, when he was only trying to be helpful. The next day, Blue asks her for an apology, but Holly J. says that there's no need for her to apologize; she was only being herself. She told Blue that he was trying to change her, and she wouldn't have that, so she breaks up with him. Also, Peter arrives at the Winter Beach Bash high, and wrecks the Stüdz performance. He then flees the party and Riley (along with the Stüdz) goes searching for him. Emotionally and physically drained, Peter calls his mom asking her to come back to Toronto to be with him. Mia can also be seen talking to Peter over the webcam before his mom comes in, saying even though they broke up, they're both still friends and she is happy that he's safe and that he's not alone.
3	168	"Shoot to Thrill"	18 October 2009	16 October 2009	903
Alli is having trouble with her boyfriend Johnny, who wants to keep his reputation as a "bad boy" and does not let Alli act affectionate with him in public. Although, when they're at her house, he is totally different. Alli takes pictures of Johnny cuddling with a stuffed animal but promises not to publish them. Alli learns about "sextings", and receives Sav's old cell phone then gives it to Johnny. Discontent with the idea at first, when Alli begins texting Johnny nude pictures of herself, he begins acting more affectionate in public. When Chantay informs Alli that her pictures of Johnny were cute, Alli posts it on the wall, only to anger Johnny past his boiling point. When Alli calls Johnny stupid, out of anger, Johnny sends one of Alli's nude pictures to Bruce, which eventually leads to Alli and Johnny's breakup. Meanwhile, Fiona is getting a lot of obnoxious attention from guys, until she meets Riley and initiates a relationship with him. Although, she's very suspicious of his orientation.
4	169	"Close to Me"	11 October 2009	23 October 2009	904
Jane and Declan are put in charge of the school theater production, and become closer. Peter gives his loft to Spinner after he leaves the band. Spinner asks Jane to join the band, and then asks her to move in with him after a party. When Jane goes to Declan's house to complete homework, the two kiss. Jane attempts to break up with Spinner, but changes the subject when Spinner begins hurting. She tells him she's just not ready to move in. As they hug, Declan arrives and asks Jane to come up and do more "homework". The Stüdz change their name to Janie & the Stüdz. Meanwhile, KC starts bonding with the basketball coach. When KC thinks he is doing bad and the coach benches him during one of the games, in frustration, he trashes the locker room and decides to quit. Later, the coach talks him into remaining on the team.
5	170	"You Be Illin'"	18 October 2009	30 October 2009	905
Alli decides she's done with Johnny. Although, when she realizes he wants to talk to her, she begins liking him again. But when he informs her he found a wart on his penis, and that she was not his first partner, she is let down. Alli worries that she might have a sexual disease, and confronts Jenna with the issue. Alli and Jenna plan to get back at him by tricking him into broadcasting to the entire school that he had STDs. Instead, the plan fails when he admits that 'Alli is the only girl he'll ever want'. Johnny tells Alli that even though he's been with other girls, she is the first one he ever truly cared about. Despite still having feelings for Johnny, she turns him down because she cannot be with someone she cannot trust. Meanwhile, Peter is feeling bitter that he was replaced by Jane in the band. Peter attempts to talk Spinner into letting him back into the band. Spinner and the rest of Stüdz decide not to let Peter back in, but they still remain friends.
6	171	"Wanna Be Startin' Something"	11 October 2009	6 November 2009	906
Holly J. and Jane pair up for a project and decide to start a babysitting service. Holly J. begins developing a crush on Declan when she meets him at a car collision that accidentally took place in front of the school. She informs Jane of the crush. Holly J. decides to surprise Jane when she is babysitting, but accidentally finds Jane and Declan kissing. She confronts Jane and tells her to not betray Spinner. In the end, Jane accepts Holly J.'s advice and stay with Spinner. Jane and Holly J. decide to keep their babysitting service and remain friends. Meanwhile, Dave is desperate for popularity. After Bruce embarrasses Dave in front of the cafeteria, Dave decides to get revenge by urinating on his locker. When Bruce catches him, he runs in fear. Johnny tells Dave to meet Bruce in the alley after school. There, Bruce claims he won't fight him, but throws a water balloon filled with urine at Dave. After Dave finally receives popularity, he comes into terms with Bruce and Johnny.
7	172	"Beat It" Part One	1 November 2009	13 November 2009	907
After an incident that happened in lifeguard class, Riley tries to prove that he is straight by attempting to sleep with Fiona. Riley finds out that his lifeguard instructor (Sam) is gay. After being rejected by Fiona when she tells him she thought he was homosexual. He begins developing anger issues and fights with Fiona, and even Sam. Meanwhile, Anya lies to Sav about taking self-defense classes after school when she is taking role-play class in the woods, an activity she is scared Sav will mock her about it. Sav is angry when Anya won't tell him where she really goes. At the same time Dave is trying to ask Jenna out, after making the winning shot at the basketball game, he gets confident and asks her out and when they go out he assumes that Jenna is his girlfriend.
8	173	"Beat It" Part Two	1 November 2009	20 November 2009	908
Riley is discontent with accepting his sexuality, and decides to get help for it. When Riley informs Fiona that he's getting help, Fiona is disappointed and claims that 'he really hates himself'. Out of anger, Riley calls her a bitch and Fiona orders him to never talk to her again. Riley realizes that the help for his homosexuality is costly, so he quits and tries to help himself. Riley and Peter hang out and attempt to find girlfriends, although Riley fails to appeal. When Riley sees Sam (his lifeguard instructor) enter the club, Riley starts drinking. Drunk, Riley goes to the bathroom and initiates a fight with the him, but when the Sam nails him to the wall, Riley starts crying and claims 'he deserves it'. Sam informs that he understands and that it's not easy. Finally accepting himself, Riley finds Peter and informs him that he is homosexual, but he's not coming out until after high school. Meanwhile, Jenna is not happy with the fact that Dave thinks they are dating, and informs Dave. When Dave informs her that he's been getting a 'reputation', Jenna helps him by pretending that he broke up with her. Meanwhile, Anya decides to get married in her role-playing class. When Sav finds out about her role-playing class, he begins making fun and is not happy with it. But at the end, when she arrives at her 'marriage', Sav is there playing the mandolin, and accepts her new hobby.
9	174	"Waiting for a Girl Like You"	8 November 2009	5 February 2010	909
It's Matchmaker week at Degrassi and Declan's not interested in a serious relationship. But when he sets his sights on Holly J as his next romantic victim, he is surprised to find she's immune to his charms. He tries hard to woo her over, using every means available, from money and power to his sister and internet for information mining. Eventually, he wins her over by merely wanting to spend time with her on Friday night babysitting while everyone else is having fun. Meanwhile, when Leia confides in Chantay about her rocky relationship with Danny, Chantay suggests she break up with him to make him want to win her back. She has ulterior motives in this, however, as she has been harboring a big crush on him for a while. When Danny doesn't ask her back and instead turns his interests to Chantay, she feels conflicted as she wants to be his girlfriend but doesn't want to betray Leia as a friend. She tells Danny the whole truth behind the break-up and that he should get back with Leia, but it turns out he wasn't happy and wanted to get out of it anyway. Danny and Chantay decide that after an acceptable waiting period, the two of them will start dating. Note: Renamed "Love Games (Part One)" by TeenNick.
10	175	"Somebody"	8 November 2009	5 February 2010	910
Holly J and Declan are officially a couple now, but she has a hectic schedule while Declan is the relaxed bad boy type. School president, part-time job and busy babysitter, her life will become more demanding as she short-lists for the management internship. Declan encourages her to play politics and mention that she's dating him, as his mother in on the committee to decide who gets the position. This initially seems to backfire, as it could show favouritism on her part, but she declares that she'll drop out if it seems like she might be disqualified despite having the best portfolio. This dedication ultimately wins her the position, but being caught with her shirt open next to Declan raises yet anouther scandal. Both mothers forbid the children from seeing each other, but they sneak into the school after hours. Declan likes the idea of sneaking around, but Holly J only wants to be open about their relationship. They are caught on the school's cameras, and once again confronted by their mothers, but this time they protest against their family and insist they will keep seeing each other. Meanwhile, Dave and Connor's friendship is strained as Dave tries to improve his popularity among the basketball team. After seeing the other players openly mock him, though, Dave stands up for Connor. When he learns that Connor has been keeping statistics all year, he shows them to the coach and gets a very indirect form of revenge. Note: Renamed "Love Games (Part Two)" by TeenNick.
11	176	"Heart Like Mine" Part One	15 November 2009	9 April 2010	911
KC and his basketball team have made it to the provincial finals, but he and Clare are growing apart and he finds support in his coach, Coach Carson. KC's secret crush on Jenna causes him to breakup with Clare, Clare is left crying and heartbroken on her doorstep. Soon after, KC and Jenna hook up in a hotel room that Coach had rented. After Jenna leaves, Coach Carson and KC drink beer and watch porn together. Meanwhile, Marco returns as a student teacher, and Declan and Holly J decide to use him to get an extension on their assignment. In the end, Mr. Perino teaches Marco a lesson, and Marco deletes their extension, leaving Holly J mad.
12	177	"Heart Like Mine" Part Two	15 November 2009	16 April 2010	912
KC is put in danger when Coach Carson gets him a prostitute. KC leaves the scene. However, he lives in fear. He gets the gun from coach's car and tells Mrs. H about what happened. Despite their disagreement on Coach Carson, Jenna and KC are still a couple in the end. Meanwhile, Fiona auditions for the musical. Even though she wasn't good, Declan gives her the part. He later kicks her out of the musical, leaving Fiona to believe he wanted to make a fool out of her. During the basketball finals, Coach Carson is arrested for putting KC in illegal situations. Meanwhile, Chantay gets the part in the musical, while Fiona becomes a wardrobe assistant.
13	178	"Holiday Road"	22 November 2009	23 April 2010	913
Emma and Kelly stop at Degrassi, and Emma hides her failure at Smithdale. Also, Emma breaks up with Kelly after discovering that he got a summer job and that he's leaving her. Chantay and Danny have a date, and when Danny doesn't pay the entire tab, Chantay writes an article on it, making everyone think he's cheap.
14	179	"Start Me Up"	22 November 2009	30 April 2010	914
Peter opens a club above The Dot to occupy his time and an old friend, Victoria, returns and says she's a changed person, but ends up continuing with her old habits and she tries to tempt Peter to join her. Clare needs to write a short autobiography, so she looks to Declan as an inspiration, and lies about her life, making it seem more like Declan's glamorous life.
15	180	"Why Can't This Be Love?" Part One	10 May 2010	2 April 2010	915
With the Spring Formal approaching, Sav and Anya plan to go together. When Sav's arranged wife, Farrah, comes to visit Sav's family, their parents force them to go to the formal together. Sav wonders if he should tell his parents that Anya and himself are still together, or he should tell Anya about Farrah. Anya is upset at first, but she quickly forgives him when Sav decides to make Farrah Peter's date. Meanwhile, Johnny tries to win Alli back by asking her to the formal. When she refuses, Bruce tries to set him up with Lindsey, a waitress at a local pool hall. But when Bruce finds that Johnny is avoiding him, he lashes out at him. Note: Renamed "Broken PROMises (Part One)" by TeenNick.
16	181	"Why Can't This Be Love?" Part Two	17 May 2010	2 April 2010	916
Anya worries that Farrah will try to steal Sav, and her fears might become reality when Anya is confronted in the bathroom by Farrah who says they will end up together. In a jealous rage, Anya takes Sav to the limo and they have unprotected sex, after Anya said she was on the pill. The two are then crowned King and Queen of the Spring Formal. The next day at school she tells Sav that she wasn't really on the pill, after he makes a comment on a vlog for Chantay's Anti Grapevine, that he doesn't want kids. He reacts horribly and convinces her to take a morning after pill, even though she didn't want to. Unsure that he can still trust Anya, he breaks up with her the next day. Unfortunately, the video Chantay took plays over the video announcements as soon as they breakup, causing Anya to have an emotional breakdown. Meanwhile, Dave and Alli are set on formal drink serving duty. Put off at first by Dave's carefree, fun attitude, Alli wonders if she's growing up too fast. Later, Dave and Alli create a club from their signature formal drink; the "Bhandurner", for a charity event Dave is promoting. When Johnny calls her immature as a response to his jealousy of Dave, Alli nearly cuts off her friendship with him. However, she soon realizes Johnny shouldn't be this controlling of her emotions, and she helps Dave with his charity. Note: Renamed "Broken PROMises (Part Two)" by TeenNick.
17	182	"Innocent When You Dream"	24 May 2010	7 May 2010	917
Clare is starting to have sexually charged, vampire inspired, dreams about Declan. She blames her dreams on a book series her classmates and herself are obsessed with, "Fortnight". She starts writing fan fiction about it, but instead of using the characters, she writes Fortnight themed stories with Declan, and an unidentified female vampire, under the pen name of Madame Degrassi. When her dreams start to mix with her real life, she steals Declan's sweater. Then the line between dream and reality continues to blur, when she finds herself in a game of seven minutes in heaven with a boy, Wesley, at a party. While approaching Wesley for a kiss, Clare begins dreaming of Declan again, and her vampire character biting Declan, and as a result gives Wesley a hickey. After feeling guilty, and returning the Fortnight books back to Alli the next day, she claims that they're turning her into a pervert and making her violate her abstinence pledge. When Alli tries to convince her that her fantasies are normal, Clare responds to Alli about what Alli did with Johnny, hurting Alli's feelings. After falling asleep on the couch at the musical rehearsal, Clare has dream about Declan and Holly J having a fight, and Declan kissing her. Declan then wakes her up, and while reviewing props she made for the play, Clare loses control of herself, and kisses Declan on the neck. Declan is surprised at first, but sympathetic towards her crush when he finds out that she is Madame Degrassi. Clare tries to quit the musical after she apologizes to Alli about what she said, but Holly J then has a talk with her, making it clear that she likes her and even likes the fan fiction, but that Clare needs to keep her hands off of Declan. Meanwhile, Sav has been lonely and bored since he broke up with Anya, while she seems to be happy and moving on with her life. Danny, trying to be helpful, suggests that he tries to keep himself busy. When he asks the band to film a music video for their song "House Arrest", during finals, the band confronts him about his diva-like attitude and he leaves. However, after meeting up with Anya and finding out that she was only acting happy to get him back, he realizes that he doesn't need her manipulation and he stops all feels for her.
18	183	"In Your Eyes"	31 May 2010	14 May 2010	918
Riley has been hiding his homosexuality for a long time, and he finally comes out to someone else besides Peter, and finds a friend in that person; Anya. When she figures out he has a crush on a guy from his yoga class, Zane, she finds out Zane is gay, and encourages Riley to ask him on a date. After school, when Zane comes up to Riley, Riley asks him out for coffee. When Riley shows up at The Dot, he spots some Degrassi jocks sitting behind Zane and he suggests they go somewhere else. After Zane figures out that Riley is really covering up, he seems to understand, but is upset with Riley after he argues with a security guard for kicking them out of the construction site they snuck onto; not because Riley went off on the guy, but because Riley can't be comfortable with people knowing who he really is. Realizing he might lose Zane, Riley gathers up his courage, and with some encouragement from Peter, goes to an LGBT mixer at Above the Dot, and ends up dancing with Zane. After some hesitation, Riley finally lets his defenses down, and kisses Zane. Meanwhile, Clare offers to tutor KC in math, when he asks Mr. Armstrong for help before exams. But with him falling so far behind, he doesn't think he can pass the test and is encouraged by his girlfriend, Jenna, to manipulate and cheat off of Clare. Clare allows this, but when she finds out Jenna convinced KC to cheat on the test, Clare tells them off and leaves, visibly upset. Trying to mend broken bridges KC comes clean to Mr. Armstrong he cheated, and that it wasn't Clare's fault that he looked at her answers. Unfortunately, his plan doesn't go the way he hoped, when Clare finally tells him that his problems are he needs to stop blaming other people for his problems, and that he can solve them himself.
19	184	"Keep on Loving You"	7 June 2010	21 May 2010	919
Holly J and Declan's relationship continues to grow. The show opens with Declan giving Holly J a bracelet, and with the two about to have sex, and Holly J confessing that she loves Declan. Much to Holly J's dismay, Declan does not return the exchange. The next day at school, in an act of hurting, Holly J returns the bracelet to Declan's sister, Fiona, who mentions that it was their grandmother's, and also says that he must love her, since he was saving the bracelet for someone special. She also reveals that he once told a girl he loved her, but he was very hurt. Pleased with the notion that he does indeed feel deeply about her, Holly J takes the bracelet back. When Fiona and Declan's mom comes back from New York, she tells her kids that they will be moving back to New York to attend their senior year of high school there. Fiona is pleased by this news, but Declan is devastated. Coupled with the stress of the musical, "Space Awakening", that he has been directing, Declan is pretty much a mess. Fiona, in what seems to be an attempt to be a not-so-nice person, tells Holly J the news of the move. When Holly J goes to the auditorium to confront Declan, she walks in on him and his mother discussing the move, with Declan pleading to be able to stay at Degrassi. On the night of the musical, Declan is late to arrive, so Holly J fills in as role of director. Declan soon returns. Throughout the show's sentimental songs, Holly J and Declan are shown hugging closer and closer. The musical closes successfully, and Declan tells Holly J he loves her. Later at the Dot, it is revealed that when Declan was late to the musical, he was sending Holly J's demo to TVM, a New York music channel. She receives an internship, and they plan to spend the summer together. In a side plot, Peter and Chantay are the leads in Declan's musical. Danny, Chantay's boyfriend, has insecurities about Chantay kissing Peter. Coming down with a cold, Danny and Peter knowingly switch water bottles, so that Peter can get sick and will not have to kiss Chantay. Unfortunately, Chantay takes a sip out of Peter's (which was Danny's) water bottle, and she inevitably gets sick. On the night of the musical, Jane takes her place. To make it up to Chantay, Peter and Danny arrange an encore production of "Space Awakening" at Above the Dot. This episode is a lead in to the Degrassi feature length movie, "Degrassi Takes Manhattan".
20-23	185-188	"The Rest of My Life"[5]	16 July 2010	19 July 2010	920-923
The final four episodes of season 9 were filmed, and aired as the movie "The Rest of My Life: Degrassi Takes Manhattan." During a graduation party, Spinner finds out that his girlfriend, Jane, cheated on him with Declan, and Emma starts a fire at The Dot. Wanting a summer vacation, Jane heads to New York with Fiona, Declan, and Holly J., where she finds an indie band looking for a female lead singer. Trying to comfort Spinner, Manny, Jay and Emma take him to a casino at Niagara Falls.

DVD release

The release of season nine was made available online and on DVD in select stores by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment in the US on 20 July 2010; this is the third season not to be released by Alliance Atlantis Home Entertainment in Canada or by FUNimation Entertainment in the US. As well as every episode from the season, the release features the Degrassi Takes Manhattan movie, and bonus material including deleted scenes, bloopers and behind-the-scenes featurettes.

The Complete Ninth Season
	Set details[6]			Special features[6]
	19 director's cut episodes/1 Movie 4-disc set 1.78:1 aspect ratio Languages: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)			Degrassi Takes Manhattan: The Movie (episodes 920-923) Bloopers Deleted Scenes Webisodes/Minis Music Videos
	Release dates[6]
	Region 1
	20 July 2010

References

1. ^ "New season begins Oct. 5 on CTV". CTV Television Network. 29 September 2008. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080929/degrassi_premiere_080929/20080929?s_name=degrassi2006&no_ads=sky. Retrieved 30 September 2008. 
2. ^ "2010 Gemini Awards Presented in Drama, Children's and Youth, Comedy, and Variety Categories". Gemini Awards. 3 November, 2010. http://www.geminiawards.ca/gemini25/press/2010_Gemini_Award_Winners_November_3_2010.pdf. Retrieved 5 November 2010. 
3. ^ "26th Gemini Awards Nominee List". Gemini Awards. 3 August 2011. http://www.geminiawards.ca/gemini26/press/GEMINI-Nominees-LIST-News-Release-Aug-3-2011.PDF. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
4. ^ "2011 Gemini Awards Presented in Drama, Children’s or Youth, Comedy and Variety Categories". Gemini Awards. 31 August 2011. http://www.geminiawards.ca/gemini26/press/gemini-news-release-aug-31.pdf. Retrieved 1 September 2011. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Aired as separate half-hour episodes in broadcast syndication
6. ^ ^{a b c} "Degrassi Season 9". Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. https://www.echobridgeentertainment.com/dvd/DeGrassi_Season_9_95329. Retrieved 24 May 2010. 

External links

• List of Degrassi: The Next Generation episodes at IMDB.
• Season 9 at TV.com.