Driven by raging hormones, spiked punch and God-knows-what-else, Degrassi characters have gotten up to no end of on-screen trouble for 25 years – producing no end of solid ratings for broadcasters in Canada and abroad.

A peek into the series’ playbook guide for its writers helps decipher the game plan behind characters on Degrassi: The Next Generation, soon entering its fifth season domestically on CTV.

For starters, only main characters get into big trouble, unlike on U.S. high school series such as Beverly Hills, 90210, where guest stars make the worst mistakes, and parents and teachers get them out of jams.

‘We keep the parents and teachers out of it,’ says James Hurst, the head writer on Degrassi: The Next Generation for season five.

‘Our research told us [kids] don’t always run to authorities. They’re ashamed,’ he adds.

So when Paige (Lauren Collins) was date-raped as a ninth-grader in one episode, her best friend Hazel was the first to be told of her trauma, not an adult.

‘[The writers] know that for a lot of girls in that situation, speaking to an adult is the last thing they want to do,’ Collins says.

Hazel eventually convinces Paige to seek professional help. Even so, Collins recalls the writers debating whether to end the first episode without Paige speaking to an adult. Paige didn’t, and only sought help from an adult in the next episode, with the accompanying lesson being not to keep problems to yourself, because they won’t just go away.

And while the Degrassi franchise has always welcomed controversy, stories set around sex and sexuality tend to give more emotional and dramatic storylines to female characters, not least of all because sex for young women has potentially greater consequences than for young men.

Male characters, by contrast, mostly lend laughs.

‘Male sex is always a little more comedic,’ says Stefan Brogren, who plays Snake in Degrassi Junior High and The Next Generation.

Case in point, in one episode, J.T. (Ryan Cooley) tries a penis pump to make himself more appealing to Manny (Cassie Steele).

Degrassi also keeps it real by hiring age-appropriate actors.

‘A 25-year-old can look 16, but they bring stuff to the performance – something behind their eyes that viewers can pick up on,’ Hurst notes. ‘A 14-year-old going through puberty is bringing [their level of] experience and physicality to the role.’

In addition, the series aims at the kids’ eye level, never talking down to them. And scripts never include WIBNIs – ‘wouldn’t it be neat ifs.’ This is a program that aims at authenticity, and does exhaustive research to attain it.

For example, in one episode, a psychiatrist was consulted to ensure a storyline on drug-dealing and its consequences sent out the right message to kids. The writers were told that, in the psychiatrist’s experience, drug-dealers often vomited after completing their first sale. That detail went into the script.

In addition, every episode of The Next Generation has a main story and subplot, with the main plot focusing on one character dealing with an issue.

To help them out of trouble, main characters are always given options from two peers – one pro and one con.

‘Then a character must decide what’s best for that character,’ says Linda Schuyler, cocreator and exec producer of the Degrassi franchise.

And finally, having fought their way to a safe resolution, the main plot character then gets the coveted freeze frame that ends each episode.