shooting. Mackey offered his home, 98 De Grassi Street, as a filming location. Ida Makes A Movie premiered on CBC Television on December 8, 1979. Over the next couple of years, the network ordered two more short films. By 1982, they ordered five more episodes, developing the series of short films into a television series named The Kids Of Degrassi Street. In 1985, the episode Griff Gets A Hand (which starred future "Wheels" actor Neil Hope as Griff) received an International Emmy for Best Program for Children and Young People. Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, and international success (1986–1990) A new Degrassi series began development in 1986, this time with new characters and centered around the fictional eponymous school near the same street. The first actor to audition for the new Degrassi series was Pat Mastroianni, who would later win the role of Joey Jeremiah. Several of the actors from The Kids Of Degrassi Street would return with new roles, including Neil Hope, Stacie Mistysyn, Anais Granofsky, and Sarah Charlesworth. It was at this time that Playing With Time Inc. started a repertory company, with fifty children selected from auditions. The workshops would be repeated at the beginning of production for each season, as new cast members joined, and existing cast members underwent more advanced workshops. The repertory company also meant that even major characters could be relegated to the background if not the main focus of the episode, which according to Kathryn Ellis, was "nearly unheard-of on other television shows". Conversely, a background character could later be given more lines or a full role. The cast would have significant input into the writing of their characters, with Schuyler seeking opinions during every read-through, and cast members often talking about their experiences to writer Yan Moore, who would eventually adapt said experiences to their characters. The resulting series, Degrassi Junior High, premiered on CBC on January 18, 1987. The series marked the beginning of the franchise's canon, as characters from this series would appear as adults in later installments. The show also aired on PBS in the United States starting from September 1987. The show would feature one of the franchise's most well-known and influential storylines, in which 14 year old Christine "Spike" Nelson, portrayed by Amanda Stepto, becomes pregnant. The episode in which she discovers her pregnancy, "It's Late", the eleventh episode of the show's first season, would win