Teenagers initially attracted media attention because its cast included former
Degrassi stars
Chloe Rose and
Raymond Ablack. Louis Chunovic of
Playback published a piece on the series, writing that "the young creators of
Teenagers had to have plenty of luck, pluck, talent, and grit to get this far. And that portends a Hollywood ending". When interviewed about his inspirations for
Teenagers, Bone said: Speaking to
IndieWire, Bone claimed that he created the series as a response to "white-washed" teen-driven television series that he watched while growing up, such as
One Tree Hill; he also criticized what he perceived as a lack of
people of color and
LGBTQ characters on television that weren't "evil, damaged, or hyper-sexualized". All three seasons of the series were filmed in and around
Mississauga on a shoe-string budget. The first two seasons of the series were funded "out of pocket". Bone approached actor
Emmanuel Kabongo with the scripts and asked him to help produce the series, and they subsequently cast the rest of the characters together using actors from
Toronto. For the second and third seasons of the series,
Orphan Black director
T.J. Scott served as executive producer. Garrett Hnatiuk, who portrays Porky in the series, co-wrote the second season with Bone. Bone wrote the third season by himself. == Plot ==