The Mother of All Degrassi: a Memoir by Linda Schuyler

Author:Linda Schuyler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ECW Press
Published: 2022-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Building a Studio and a Soap

At Thanksgiving in 2019, my ninety-six-year-old mum and I were sitting on the front veranda at our farm, reminiscing about life back in England. I was young when we’d emigrated, but certainly old enough to remember much of our British life. We both recalled fondly our post-teatime ritual. At exactly 6:45 p.m. every weekday, we would stop whatever we were doing and gather around the radio. First would come the familiar jolly theme song — La-de-da-de-la-de-da, la-de-da-de-la-da — and then it was . . . The Archers! Stories of three farm families living in a fictional town in the Midlands, working hard to make ends meet raising pigs, sheep, and crops, while looking for meaning in their relationships.

“Do you remember when they had that terrible outbreak of hoof and mouth disease?” Mum asked.

“It was tragic,” I recalled. Like most of England, we all cried when the farmer’s wife, the one with all the young children, died from that awful disease. I was only seven but remembered it clearly.

Mum and I laughed. Oh, the power of storytelling in the media.

“It was a shame,” she mused, “that your soap opera got cancelled. I really liked that show.”

“So did I, Mum.” And it owed its roots to The Archers.

The success of BBC’s The Archers had led to the development of further British soaps on both radio and television, including Coronation Street and EastEnders. I loved all these shows. And it was that connection with real folks that I wanted to bring to Canadian audiences. This was what I had discussed with Stephen while returning from our honeymoon. Stephen encouraged me to meet with Yan to see if he might share my enthusiasm for the project. Over lunch, I began to tell Yan about my early connection with soaps. “Stop,” he said. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. My father was a diplomat, and when he was stationed in The Hague for a few years, we always had access to the BBC. We would listen to The Archers at 6:45 p.m. every night. I loved that show. It gave me a sense of community, something I was lacking as an itinerant dip kid.”

“All right then — we need to start giving Canadian audiences their own community. Let’s develop unique characters and storylines for a hometown crowd,” I said.

There was nothing else like this in the English-language Canadian television landscape. Even though there was no immediate business plan evident for this domestic production, I knew that the success of the show would depend on loyal audience engagement. We would need the support of a domestic broadcaster as well as an innovative financing plan. As I discussed our challenges with Stephen, I also explained, “I want to develop a show that we can produce quickly and efficiently, keeping the costs low and the melodrama high. I’d like it to become a training ground for first-time writers, actors and others.” Stephen nodded in agreement.

“And,” I added, “most importantly for our audience, I want to capture the romance of everyday life.

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