The thirteenth season of Degrassi premiered July 11, 2013, in Canada and the United States, and consists of 40 episodes. Degrassi, previously known as Degrassi: The Next Generation, is a Canadian serial teen drama television series. Although only four school years have passed in the story timeline since season six, season thirteen is set in the summer and first semester in the years it aired. Writers have been able to use a semi-floating timeline, so that the issues depicted are modern for their viewers. This season depicts the lives of a group of high school sophomores and seniors as they deal with some of the issues that young adults face such as cancer, texting while driving, death, and relationships. This season departs from the telenovela/soap opera format used in the previous three seasons. The thirteenth season was announced November 30, 2012, however MuchMusic and TeenNick did not announce picking up the season until a month before the first episode was scheduled to air. The show will move to MTV Canada part way through the season. MuchMusic had aired the series in Canada since 2010, and TeenNick has aired the series in the United States since 2002. Production for the season began in April 2013 at Epitome Pictures' studios in Toronto, Ontario.