The fifth season of Clearwater premiered on January 3, 2016 on the Degrassi Wiki. The new season was announced on August 1, 2015 and brainstorming for the new season took place in the later months of that year. It was originally to be comprised of 40 episodes and 2 blocks.
The season followed the first half of the 2014-2015 school year and featured 24 regular characters, with all characters from the previous block returning in some capacity and two recurring characters being bumped to regular status.
On August 12, the original order of 40 episodes was increased to 45. The first block of episodes titled Clearwater: TRAPPED will consist of 20 episodes including a Christmas special and will follow the theme of the characters being in situations they cannot get out of. A major change in promotion this season shows the usual beach backdrop gone and replaced with a dark forest. This represents how the characters will be completely changed from the original season and in darker and more serious situations than ever.
On January 18, the decision was made to split the season in half, instead of one very large season, two smaller seasons. This decision makes the episode total of Season 5 down to 21 with the following season having 24.
Topics included in this season include leaving for college, cancer, major injury, living in a dorm, domestic violence, unfair dress codes, reunion with a parent, underage drinking, family secrets, statutory rape, alcoholism, mental illness, leaving for the army, slut-shaming, incessant lying, parents disapproving of a relationship, and drunk driving.
Caylee is days away from going to Rhode Island for college, yet still has so much unsettled business left in Clearwater. Along with her father's sickness, she hasn't spoken to Liam since prom night. Ethan is humiliated when a secret he's been trying to keep hidden for years comes out in the most embarrassing of ways. Scott is insecure about his relationship after finding out that Dex considers himself straight. With things finally going good for him, will he screw up everything because of his pride?
As the first day of school arrives, Candace returns after being away all summer with an intense secret she plans to stay hidden and many of her former friends still not speaking with her. Will she able to fix this the way she always does or has she really screwed up? Meanwhile, Eliza struggles with adapting to home school life and is given a tempting offer from Keith. And Danielle is confident and ready to dominate the school presidential election, but her plan is quickly squashed when she sees her competition.
Following being struck by a car during the earthquake, Micah lost the use of his legs. Finally being able to walk again, Micah starts getting his hopes up about his skating career. Jamie is torn when Jeremy moves back into town to work on construction following the earthquake and tells her he wants to be with her. And Peyton sees a drastic difference in money the school spends on the school's art program compared to the sports program while helping Danielle with her campaign and comes up with a plan to change it.
Julia returns to start school at St. Petersberg and realizes that even though she's not the same person she was in high school and is focusing on her future, she still can't escape her past. Meanwhile, Angel is feeling insecure about her friendship with Danielle which causes her to bring a toxic person back into her life. And Keith dabbles in online dating, but it might be more trouble than it's worth.
Zak becomes the center of a major controversy in Clearwater that makes it dangerous for him to stay in town. What will become of him and Wendy? Meanwhile, Moon finally meets with a specialist in endometriosis and realizes that she might be in much more trouble than she ever thought. And Alicia meets a mysterious guy in her group therapy that might challenge her ideals, but are his intentions as pure as he makes them out to be?
After getting kicked out of Danielle's house, Peyton conveniently runs into someone very toxic from her past asking if she needs a place to stay. Meanwhile, due to his involvement in recent controversy, Matt finds Wendy cutting off all contact with him and straining his newfound friendship with Nicole. Can he come back from this? And Liam hashes out his long-term hatred for Jeremy after he tries to get Liam to do something with his life.
A late September heat wave courses through Clearwater, firing up the drama. When Brittany is sent home for wearing a revealing outfit, yet notices guys wearing ripped shirts and tank tops, she takes a stand and forges a protest. But is anyone willing to listen? Meanwhile, Olivia faces reality as she notices all of her friends are too busy for her when she needs them most and goes back down a dark path. And Wendy is dropped yet another bomb when she learns that her parents are getting a divorce.
Sophie is shocked when her mother announces she's getting back together with Sophie's father. Knowing him only as a drug-addicted monster, Sophie sets out to break them up at whatever cost. And the cost might be huge. Meanwhile, Dex finds himself being pulled in a ton of different directions as his parents plead for him to come back home and Scott needs him more than ever. Can he really have both his parents and Scott in his life or will he have to choose one? And Ethan finds himself in major trouble in the upcoming election and looks for a way to gain popularity among voters.
It's Halloween in Clearwater and Matt decides to take Micah's advice about changing so that girls will like him and takes up Nicole on her idea to throw a mega Halloween party. Hoping he can find someone new at his party, will old flames distract his efforts? Meanwhile, it's nonstop partying at Julia's college, but she has her mind distracted by other things like the baby Liam wants her to adopt. Will she really go along with it? And Eric is shocked when his brother returns home with some shocking news.
Lana has been enjoying Clearwater finally now that she has friends and is ruling the presidential election, but when she discovers a family secret, it might ruin everything. Meanwhile, Tripp starts catching feelings for Peyton, but doesn't want to ruin the friends with benefits relationship, so he looks for something to keep himself occupied. And Ethan is conflicted when he catches his father cheating on Mr. Stein, but worries about his part in the election if they break up.
As Keith prepares for his upcoming fashion show, his personal life blows up as his parents and he come to a disagreement and things heat up with Greg. Will his show suffer due to his drama? Meanwhile, Candace is ready to finish chemotherapy, but when the doctors find something suspicious in her MRI, will she have to go through everything once again? And Sophie considers whether or not getting back together with Lindsay is the best decision or not. Can they finally make it work?
Jamie starts to feel envy and anger towards Jeremy as his club opens in town and ventures back to party at Julia's school, much to Julia's chagrin. Is her drinking problem returning or is Julia worrying for nothing? Meanwhile, the presidential election at Clearwater High has approached and Danielle is willing to do whatever it takes to win despite her vice's lack of enthusiasm and her opponent's tricks. And Alicia finds her life completely in the control of her boyfriend and wonders if any of the decisions she's making she even agrees with.
Eliza is out for blood against her parents, Keith, and Scott and is willing to do whatever she can to make all 3 miserable. Will she end up going to far in her plans? Meanwhile, Micah realizes his legs aren't going to get any better and looks for ulterior ways to get them back to normal, but are these ways detrimental to his health at the end of the day? And Moon has been missing more school due to her endometriosis and doubts her decision as her hysterectomy approaches. Will she go through with it or back out?
Eliza has gone completely mental and destroyed everything in her path. Now the police, her parents, and her friends are trying to find her. Has she caused too much pain to ever go back to Clearwater again? Meanwhile, Micah realizes the steroids are helping his legs and successfully skates for the first time since the accident, but when the other side effects start to overttake his life, will he be in control enough to stop? And Moon is in grave danger when something goes wrong during her hysterectomy. Will she live through the procedure or will Clearwater be hit with yet another tragedy?
Danielle wants to bring her mom and dad back together for Thanksgiving and is hellbent on making her plan work, but when details she didn't know about come to fruition, is it a lost cause? Meanwhile, Olivia misses her father and is willing to do whatever it takes to be with him over the holiday. Are her tactics too drastic? And Liam decides to throw a Thanksgiving banquet to say goodbye to his friends and family before shipping out, but can he really leave his life behind?
Brittany is stuck between a rock and a hard place when her father comes back from war and doesn't approve of the girl she's become. Is she willing to change for someone who is now a stranger to her? Meanwhile, Peyton has been staying with Maverick and is starting to believe he's changed, but when something happens to change her mind, where can she go? And Wendy realizes how messed up her school's sex ed is and looks to change it.
Adrianna finds herself in a bad place after Micah discovers a secret she's been trying to keep hidden. Will this secret be the thing that breaks them up? Meanwhile, Lana starts stirring up drama by telling people she's having sex with Eric, which isn't true. Is she just trying to cause chaos again or does she have ulterior motives? And Tripp finds himself getting closer to Candace, but senses she's pulling away from him. Is he about to find out something he's not ready for?
Angel has been secretly hanging out with Felicity despite her mother's wishes and when they see Candace and Tripp together at a party, Angel is brought back into a manic episode. Will she cause further destruction in this state? Meanwhile, Keith has secretly been working at a clothes store to pay for Hank's car and is shocked when Scott is also hired there. And Jamie finds herself circling the drain yet again when she re-connects with a surprising person.
Having hurt many of her friends yet again, Angel falls into a depression and worries those close to her. Is there something actually wrong with her? Meanwhile, Keith finds his actions have immediate consequences when Scott files a restraining order against him and he's not sure which way it'll go. Will he actually learn from his mistake this time? And Jamie puts both herself and Jeremy in danger after the stunt she pulled at his club. Can she fix the mess she has caused or has her alcoholism caused more irreversible problems?
'Tis the season for happiness, family, and community. But all 3 are in question this Christmas season in Clearwater. His first Christmas since being kicked out of his house, Scott is looking to make his favorite holiday memorable, but Dex struggles when his own family's values don't match up with Scott's. Meanwhile, Eric is struggling during his first Christmas since Abby's death and as suspicions against his brother arise, he realizes maybe the truth is more important than keeping the peace. And Lana is worried when her father doesn't return for the holiday like he promised and starts to do some investigating to see what's really going on.
As her lawsuit against her rapist gets more complicated, Alicia is turned against a former friend by Adam and causes chaos at Lana's New Year's Bash. Meanwhile, Moon is anxious to get out into the world again and attends a gala thrown by the local museum in order to expand her horizons, but when she meets a guy who she feels sparks with immediately, will she lose sight of her goals? And Ethan is caught in the crossroads when Mr. Stein proposes to his father. Knowing that his father has been cheating on him this whole time, will he finally reveal the truth?
