‘Degrassi’ co-creator settles lawsuit over TV series documentary screening at TIFF

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2025 (374 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – A short-lived legal dispute between “Degrassi” co-creator Linda Schuyler and makers of the new documentary “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes” has come to an end, allowing its premiere to move forward at the Toronto International Film Festival.

In a joint statement Wednesday, Schuyler and the documentary’s producers said the world premiere will continue as planned this weekend.

The announcement comes after Schuyler filed a lawsuit Monday alleging that “defamatory statements and innuendo” in the film would lead viewers to believe she created an “empire” that profited at the expense of the show’s young actors.

The suit named as defendants the Toronto film and TV production company WildBrain, owner of the “Degrassi” franchise, and Toronto production house Peacock Alley Entertainment.

As part of the settlement, producers of the documentary say they have agreed to add “some additional context around the compensation paid to the performers” after the film screens at TIFF.

A representative for WildBrain declined to say whether the settlement included any other terms.

In a version of the documentary provided to the media, some of the show’s early cast members say they were not paid much despite the franchise’s success.

Dayo Ade, who played B.L.T. on “Degrassi High,” says he ended up taking “every job under the sun” in the years that followed, including at a car rental and security company.

“People are under the assumption that we are millionaires; we have money for the rest of our lives. Couldn’t be more wrong,” Ade says in the film,” Ade says in the film.

“I’m not going to throw a number out there. I’ll just tell you this: it was nowhere near what people thought we were making. You’re going to bleep this part out. We were paid way too (expletive) nothing.”

Amanda Stepto, who played Spike, adds her perspective about working on the show the 1980s.

“On ‘Degrassi Junior High,’ I don’t even know if I’m allowed to say it, but I remember 50 bucks a day, or something like that. It’s not a lot of money.”

“And also being on a non-union set we weren’t allowed an agent or a lawyer or all those things that would be looking out for me professionally when it came time to payment, residuals and all those other things.

“When it first started, none of them would’ve known the success it would’ve been, but it grew into an empire. And there are definitely individuals who have made money off of the empire.”

The film then cuts to close-up shots of the show’s various awards, which include two Emmys, and the cover of Schuyler’s 2022 memoir “The Mother of All Degrassi.”

Schuyler’s lawsuit disputed the payment claims, stating that the early actors received a “generous compensation package” and more than union rates at the time.

In her settlement statement, she added further context, saying that “it was important to me, and to the whole Degrassi team, to do what we could to set our young performers up for success.”

“The cast was paid much more than $50 a day,” she said.

“We also created and contributed on their behalf to a retirement fund and a scholarship foundation that provided them with opportunities for counselling and supported them into the future.”

Schuyler sold her production company Epitome Pictures, including rights for “Degrassi,” to WildBrain 11 years ago.

She appears in the documentary to share memories of making the influential show, but is not shown onscreen addressing the payment allegations.

“You do the best you can with what you’ve got at the time. For our young performers, some of them have done well and others, it has been a disappointment for them, and I’m really sorry that they feel disappointed. I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do to help with that,” Schuyler says in the film.

On TIFF’s website, programmer Jason Anderson credits the doc with “delving into thornier matters, like some actors’ misgivings about what the show demanded of them and how little they were compensated.”

“Degrassi: Whatever It Takes” is set to screen Saturday and Sunday at TIFF.

— with files from Nicole Thompson in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2025.