‘Star’ takes teens into fantasy world of instant fame

No one knows teens like the creators of “Degrassi,” the Canadian franchise that has built a worldwide market for shows about pimply faced teens with heavy-duty issues but precious little parental meddling.

But now producer and former junior high teacher Linda Schuyler has launched a sister show, “Instant Star,” that takes the authentic teen soap format into the fantasy world of music stardom. And some die-hard “Degrassi” fans are having trouble adjusting.

The message-board debate centers mostly on the show’s lead character, 15-year-old punk rocker Jude Harrison (played by real life singer-songwriter Alexz Johnson).

Would she really, as the first episodes depict, win an “American Idol”-type contest and instantly get a record deal? Would any punker even consider changing her song for the sake of corporate artistry and fame? Does her music rock, or is it stupid and annoying?

Its creators aren’t worried. “Instant Star,” they said, was intended to be a lightweight contrast to “Degrassi: the Next Generation,” which continues to zealously strive for high school authenticity by tackling issues such as oral sex and STDs in its new season on the N network, which airs both shows in the United States.

They are pleased with the early ratings for the show, which airs multiple times on Friday nights and later. On July 1, the performance of “Instant Star” along with the return of “Degrassi” led the N to its highest-rated Friday night of the year.

Besides, they said, it took at least one season to build “Degrassi” fans, who have become so rabid they forced its stars to take security measures during U.S. appearances.

“I’m just glad they’re talking about it,” Schuyler said. “I’m not surprised if kids get quite heated in their feelings to this. Music definitely polarizes kids.”

Schuyler and Stephen Stohn, her husband and partner in the Toronto-based Epitome Pictures, have an uncanny sense of what real teenagers are like.

In stark contrast to most American teen shows, “Degrassi” was cast with actors who were within one year of their character’s age. And none would be mistaken for Mischa Barton of Fox’s “The O.C.” – some had acne and crooked teeth.

The “Degrassi” scripts, chock-full of dilemmas involving sex, sexually transmitted diseases, drugs, emotional dysfunction, school shootings and abusive boyfriends, are workshopped with the cast so out-of-touch adult language doesn’t creep in.

The “Degrassi” franchise began with a semiscripted documentary, “Kids of Degrassi Street,” which ran from 1980 to ‘85 and evolved into the scripted dramas “Degrassi Junior High” and “Degrassi High,” which aired primarily on public television stations in the United States.

Viacom picked up the latest installment, “Degrassi: the Next Generation,” on its digital cable channel, Noggin, whose nighttime arm is known as the N.

The idea for “Instant Star” came one snowy night a few winters back, Schuyler said, when she was astonished to see teenagers standing in line to try out for “Canadian Idol.”

“They camped out overnight just to get people to listen to them so they could be a contender on the show,” she said. She turned to her husband and said, “I wonder if they have any idea what life will be like if they win this thing.”

Both Canadian Television and the N were interested in the idea. Already, a second season is in production in Canada, where Epitome works directly with CTV.

The episodes move back and forth among three worlds: peers, friends and school; family; and the music industry. “It is for (Jude) a constant battle in terms of trying to find the balance between her three worlds,” Schuyler said.

The characters are prettier and have more money and fashion sense than the “Degrassi” gang, and parental involvement in the show’s plot lines is, as in “Degrassi,” at a minimum.

But the writers insist on holding the young people accountable for their behavior in one way or another. For instance, Jude and her sister, Sadie, skip out to a party after Jude’s been grounded. The episode ends before we learn if they’re punished or even admonished by their parents, but Sadie gets humiliated in front of her friends after she drinks too much at the party.

Once she becomes an instant star, Jude still has to go to chemistry class, deal with a jealous sister and parents who are fighting. Not to mention boyfriend issues.

“It is a bit lighter while being as dramatic and as well-made,” Lindman said. “It’s not so much issue of the week. ‘Degrassi’ succeeds by showing teen life on a real level; ‘Instant Star’ succeeds by showing teens a life most of them don’t get to live.”

Despite the cranky bloggers, Lindman said she’s excited that “Instant Star” has elicited any emotional reaction at all: “Being passive and uninterested is the worst reaction your show can have.”