When TeenNick announced last month that “Degrassi: The Next Generation” would be ending after 14 seasons, the reaction was swift and not unlike the teenage angst that the series captured so well.

There were cry face emoji. Impassioned YouTube videos. Twitter appeals to rapper Drake. And then joy when Netflix announced it would resurrect the show in 2016 with a new iteration: “Degrassi: Next Class.”

Netflix is a fitting arc in the “Degrassi” narrative, which spans decades and includes award-winning shows such as “The Kids of Degrassi Street,” “Degrassi Junior High” and “Degrassi High.” Thanks to its 35-year history, the franchise boasts a quality that makes it perfect for the Internet: nostalgia.

As show insiders tell it, the Internet has been central to “Degrassi: The Next Generation” since it debuted in 2001, nearly a decade after the end of “Degrassi High.” The very first episode featured a web-centric plotline — the show’s protagonist arranged to meet a boy with whom she had been chatting online, only to discover that her love interest was an adult predator. Off the air, the show kept its audience engaged with a website that allowed fans to enroll as students at a virtual Degrassi.

Stephen Stohn, the show’s executive producer, saw that website, and the show’s overall digital presence, as integral to the audience experience. Users could send emails (branded as dmails) to other fans and interact with characters on the show. A character might, say, post to a community board, asking for suggestions for the school’s upcoming dance.

“The word blog didn’t exist back then, but they were effectively posting blogs. You could create surveys and you could post pictures,” Stohn recalled, noting that “it was primitive; it’s not like posting pictures today.” In retrospect, the site, which Stohn estimates had 900,000 “students” enrolled at the height of its popularity, evokes social networks that would come years later. Stohn likens it to “MySpace before MySpace was invented.”

Stohn is married to “Degrassi’s” co-creator, Linda Schuyler. They met when Schuyler, a former schoolteacher, was trying to buy the film rights to a book called “Ida Makes a Movie” (which gave way to “The Kids of Degrassi Street”) and sought legal advice from Stohn, an entertainment lawyer. They’ve co-produced a number of shows beyond “Degrassi,” including the late ’90s Canadian soap opera “Riverdale” and “Instant Star,” which aired in the United States from 2004 to 2008 on TeenNick.

“I like to consider myself to be the guardian of the core principles and values of the show and the storytelling,” Schuyler explained. “Stephen is the guardian of making sure we keep technically and digitally as much ahead of the curve as we possibly can.”

Schuyler said that integrating digital culture went hand-in-hand with the show’s core themes, at the center of which is a desire to “reassure young people that they are not alone.” “Also, to be very bold about issues,” Schuyler added. “I don’t mean sensational or trivial, I just mean bold. If the kids are talking about it, we should talk about it in our show.”

Nothing has been off limits for the franchise, known for tackling topics affecting teens, including LGBT issues, school violence, teen pregnancy, abortion, drug use, sexual assault, self-harm and suicide. While the values of the show remained the same, “Degrassi: The Next Generation” had to acknowledge that the way in which teenagers communicated had changed and has continued to do so as technology has evolved.

“I feel we’re doing two things at the same time,” Schuyler said. “We have the consistency of our messaging, which is trying to be very authentic and true to current teenage emotion, but at the same time keeping very on topic and respecting the fact that how (teenagers) communicate with one another changes. And we have to keep our show very relevant and very fresh to keep up with those changes.”

It’s not uncommon for members of the show’s writing staff to go into local schools and talk to students about the issues they’re facing and how they’re communicating with each other. More recent episodes have been fueled by a scandal unfolding on a social app called Oomfchat. In that regard, “Degrassi” is not unlike other shows geared toward teenagers. But it’s worth taking a look at the franchise’s larger digital universe, which predated even social media pioneering shows like “Gossip Girl.”

Stohn started his own blog in season three, sharing behind-the-scenes tidbits with fans. During the show’s fifth season, the production team launched a series of webisodes called “Degrassi Minis.”

In part, Stohn said, the inspiration behind the show’s short-form web content came from a somewhat unlikely source: the spy thriller “24,” which had produced short webisodes based around minor characters. “Degrassi’s” production team took it a step further, using the show’s own set and actors to film alternate reality scenarios, often reimagining story lines or swapping character identities.

To date, “Degrassi” has produced more than 100 original scripted webisodes, according to the franchise’s recently relaunched website, which chronicles its 35-year history. For Stohn and Schuyler, a home on Netflix brings that history full circle.

“Now that we look back and we go ‘oh my gosh, this year we’re going to be doing the 500th episode of the series. We’re into our 35th year of production. We’re on Netflix.’ It’s quite astonishing,” said Schuyler, who says she “couldn’t be more excited” about the move.