Degrassi Next Class Spoilers - Season 2 starts July 22, 2016

Reposted from the other board. I'll update as I find out more.



Season 2 (or Season 16)

Release Date: July 22, 2016
This does not include Canada. It's expected to start airing on Family Channel (and become available on Family's website) on July 11th, but it hasn't been confirmed. Though it will definitely air there before it's released on Netflix.
There is no set date for France.
Australia is still on Season 14 of TNG, and NC is expected to become available on Australian Netflix in May.


Episode Titles and Synopsis

02-11 #SquadGoals

02-12 #HowAboutNo

~

02-15 #BlackLivesMatter - Special Alumni Episode. This episode will touch upon the social and racial dynamics of discrimination, mainly white privilege and the now-famous hashtag #blacklivesmatter. The entire school is in chaos when, after a serious incident involving Frankie and Tiny, Frankie is excused while Tiny is punished severely by the school's administration. A group of students, led by Lola, protest the harsh decision and insist that it's such because Frankie is white and Tiny is black. While Principle Simpson is sympathetic towards Tiny and allows Lola to express her stand, police officers will attempt to end the protest. Throughout the protests, previous students of Degrassi will attend the alumni event. Noted guests include Emma, Marco, Craig and Liberty. Liberty and Emma will join the protesting. (The episode title may change. This could be a 2-parter, split between episodes 15 and 16).



Other

Small spoiler regarding Hunter, from the showrunner:
"We see that, ultimately, he brings a gun to school … so going into the next season, we really explore that character and what brought him to that and we talk about mental illness and I’m pretty excited about that because I think mental illness is a huge issue today and it’s really stigmatized and to make people feel okay with that, especially as a young boy, is really important."

Regarding Zoe:
There's a theory that she's pregnant with Zig's kid, and if so, she will keep the baby (which will mark only the second time in Degrassi's history that a student got pregnant, gave birth, and kept the baby). This will obviously cause an even bigger rift between Maya and Zig. No word yet on if this is true, but there are some hints in already-aired episodes that would fit with the theory.





New Characters for Season 3
Rasha, female, 15 years old, Middle Eastern
Saad, male, 15 years old, Middle Eastern

These may change slightly, depending on who ends up getting cast.

Degrassi has also been renewed for Season 4