Interview TV Guide

'DEGRASSI' EXPLORES ANYA AND RILEY'S INNER STRUGGLES

So the word of the week is self-acceptance.

  On one end of the spectrum is Anya, who finds the passion and camaraderie she’s been looking for in live-action role-playing — that’s LARPing for the uninitiated. Though her hobby seems a little lame to some, she considers it her very own Stüdz. With Sav and the boys in such high demand, Anya’s happy to have a hobby that she loves, is good at, and in which she’s respected. Besides, doesn’t every girl want to be a princess, even if she reigns over a pretend kingdom? Take it from someone who’s going as Marie Antoinette for Halloween: Anya’s just living the dream. When Sav starts to stand in her way, Anya needs to decide whether to fade into the background as “Sav’s girlfriend” or stand her ground and defend her dorkiness.

  On the other end is Riley. Degrassi is no stranger to the issue of dealing with one’s sexuality — from Marco, to Alex and Paige, to Snake’s brother from the original Degrassi series. However there’s never been a character quite like Riley, who has struggled with self-loathing to the point of injuring himself and others. When he meets Fiona, he thinks he has found the perfect “beard,” just in time to cover up his attraction to a hot lifeguard. Lying to yourself isn’t that easy though, and as Fiona begins to catch on, Riley is caught up in another violent encounter. Will Riley decide to come out, keep living the painful lie, or learn to accept himself in a more private way?

Kudos to the writing team here at Degrassi for creating a character that is going through a struggle very different from Marco’s. Riley’s story is so heartbreaking — to me anyway — because of the way that he, like many other questioning teens, tries to de-gay himself by buying into the idea that your identity is a choice. The good news is that Riley’s got support in the form of Peter, not to mention … Zane? We may or may not have just filmed an episode block with the incredible Shannon Kook-Chin, who introduces Riley to the LGBT club at Degrassi and becomes more than a shoulder to cry on. I was a member of the Gay-Straight Alliance when I was in high school and saw some pretty unbelievable discrimination against my friends. Does your school have a club that people can go to for a safe space? If not, now’s the time to start one!

So the moral of this story is let’s just all learn to love ourselves no matter how gay or LARPy we are, shall we? Sidebar: Stefan Brogren, who plays Mr. Simpson, directed these two episodes and next week, Landon, Annie, Paula and I are headed to the States to film the end of this year’s special, which Stefan also directs. NYC, here we come!

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