A small controversy arose involving the episode when PBS removed a scene of anti-abortion protesters against the wishes of Hood and Schuyler.

The end of the series, despite good ratings, was the result of multiple behind-the-scenes problems, including creative exhaustion and the aging cast, which led to the loss of its funding.

Many principal, recurring, and minor cast members of the previous series reprise their roles, including: Degrassi Junior High, which was created by Linda Schuyler and Kit Hood, premiered on the CBC on 18 January 1987 and garnered widespread acclaim from critics for its realistic portrayal of teenage issues.

"[4] It was decided to continue with Degrassi High so that more serious and complex issues could be dealt with, including abortion, which was addressed in the series premiere.

[7] To keep the entire cast together, a creative decision was made to move the younger students displaced by the fire to the new school to join those that had already graduated.

[13] Other filming locations included the Rose Donut Shop on Carlaw Avenue, where character Michelle Accette briefly works after moving away from her conservative father.

[22] Compounding this was WGBH's difficulty procuring funding from the PBS's children's department due to the aging cast, and consequently being forced to withdraw from the show.

[23] In spite of these mounting issues, both Hood and Schuyler felt the series had run its course and wanted it to end before it became stale and predictable.

[24] In a 1998 web interview with fan site owner Natalie Earl, Hood elaborated:[21] The kids were getting older and we had covered every conceivable topic.

We didn't want to reach the point where the viewers could predict that show's formula and outcomes.Schuyler informed CBC programming chief Ivan Fecan that they would not be able to produce any more of Degrassi High.

[40] On the ABC, broadcasts of the series were preceded with a disclaimer that read: "Viewer Advice: The following episode of Degrassi High contains themes appropriate to a teenage audience.

[43] The series was released on VHS by WGBH-TV Boston Home Video[44] in the United States on March 7, 2000, both as separate tapes containing two episodes each and a full box set.

While feeling the show continued its predecessor's realism, Bacchus felt that it simplified the issue to "the bumper-sticker level of righteous moralism" and "lofty platitudes".

Writing for The Age, Margaret Geddes declared that the series gave Australian soap operas such as Neighbours and Home and Away "a run for their money", but unlike the "trite morality plays" she felt were pervasive in those shows, Degrassi High was more realistic and thoughtful.

[40] Writing for The Los Angeles Times, Lynne Heffley declared that Degrassi High had proved itself to be one of the "gutsiest shows on television".

Kate Taylor, co-producer of the series and of WGBH Educational Foundation, defended this as an "[a]esthetic decision" that made for a "more powerful, more poignant" ending.

[56] This was done without the permission of Playing With Time, the show's production company, with Kit Hood denouncing it as "an American ending -- happy, safe but incomplete" and requesting his name be removed from the PBS broadcast credits.

", which centres around several students shooting a horror movie in the school, aired on ABC-TV in Australia in 1991, various scenes depicting graphic violence were removed.