Higher Ground
Genre	Drama
Created by	Michael Braverman Matthew Hastings
Starring	Hayden Christensen Anne Marie Loder Joe Lando A. J. Cook Kandyse McClure Jorgito Vargas, Jr. Meghan Ory Kyle Downes Jewel Staite Deborah Odell
Theme music composer	Jim Guttridge and Daryl Bennett
Composer	Ferocious Fish
Country of origin	Canada United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	22
Production
Executive producers	Frank Girusta Harold Tichenor Michael Braverman Matthew Hastings Joe Lando Douglas Schwartz
Producer	George Horie
Running time	Approximately 43 minutes (per episode)
Production companies	Crescent Entertainment Paramount Network Television Lions Gate Television WIC Entertainment
Original release
Network	Fox Family
Release	January 14 (2000-01-14) – June 16, 2000 (2000-06-16)

Higher Ground is adrama television series created by Michael Braverman and Matthew Hastings. The series follows a group of troubled and abused high school students at atherapeutic boarding school in the Pacific Northwest as they navigate adolescence in the aftermath of their home troubles.

Higher Ground first premiered in the United States on theFox Family network on January 14, 2000. Although praised for its themes and performances (particularly Christensen's) and well-rated, the series was cancelled after its first season due to the sale of its broadcast network the following year. The show was part of a production company that did not make it to the new network.

Located high in the mountains of theNorthwestern United States and 25 miles from the nearest town, Mount Horizon High School is a harbor for at-risk teenagers from their troubled pasts. The series focuses on one group of teens, the "Cliffhangers," who, with the aid of school counselors and each other, navigate adolescence as they learn to overcome their fears and face their inner demons. Providing them with not only a standard high school education, but also a rigorous schedule of outdoor activities, counseling, and the tools they need in the aftermath of their abuse, the students work towards gaining confidence to face their personal struggles. While navigating demanding physical challenges, friendships, and romantic entanglements, the students (and some teachers) find Mount Horizon's world much safer than their turbulent home lives have been.

The students tackle issues such assubstance abuse,depression,neglect,sexual,physical andverbal abuse,self-harm,eating disorders,gang violence,learning disabilities, andsuicide.

• Scott Barringer (portrayed byHayden Christensen)

Scott is a 16-year-oldfootball star who plays the piano and excels in athletics. Scott is the only child of divorced parents. When Scott was 15, his father married a young woman who was closer to Scott's age. This newstepmother began sexually abusing Scott. Afraid of his father's reaction if the abuse was revealed, Scott started abusing drugs and his life fell into a downward spiral. His school work suffered and he was thrown off the football team, endangering his future as a college athlete. As a last resort, his father decided to send him to Horizon. As the "new kid" at Horizon, Scott begins to discover the stories of his classmates, as well as learn how to deal with his past.

• Shelby Merrick (portrayed byA. J. Cook)

The daughter of a neglectful and indifferent mother and sexually abusive step-father, Shelby began running away from home at the age of 15. Living on the streets and always on the run, Shelby turned toprostitution as means of survival, and began abusing drugs. Her mother eventually located her and took her home. Upon finding that she could no longer control Shelby, nor help her with her emotional problems, Shelby's mother sent her to Mount Horizon. At Horizon, Shelby has a bitter and sarcastic attitude, taking her pain out on others and creating several negative relationships with many students. As the series progresses, Shelby slowly starts opening up to Scott, Daisy, and the counselors.

• Katherine Ann "Kat" Cabot (portrayed byKandyse McClure)

Katherine is anadoptedAfrican American child ofwhite parents. Even though she was always aware of her adoption, a sense of alienation set in as she grew older, and Katherine felt she didn't fit in or belong. That confusion caused her grades to slip and for her to withdraw from her talents as a gifted athlete. The accidental death of Katherine's sister, Shannon, the biological daughter of her adoptive parents, traumatized her and contributed to her lapse into depression. Sent by her parents to Horizon, Katherine is the oldest of the Cliffhangers, often acting as a mother-figure and form of guidance to her younger classmates. Katherine learns that she cannot always have the Cliffhangers leaning on her for support, and that she sometimes needs to rely on others for help.

• Augusto "Auggie" Ciceros (portrayed by Jorgito Vargas Jr.)

Auggie came to Horizon to avoid a Youth Authority lockup. The youngest of five children, Auggie grew up in a middle-class home on the fringe of thebarrio. Although not a gang member, he was atagger and had gained an impressive reputation. Eventually he was busted, but the court took mercy on Auggie who, at 16, could barely read or write. All through school, he was placed in educable mentally handicapped classes despite being very intelligent. Adjudicated to Horizon, Auggie's teachers there realized the real problem: severedyslexia. Although good-natured, Auggie often has bouts of anger and feels conflict with both himself and other students at Horizon. Auggie struggles with self-confidence, regularly believing himself to be stupid and a lost cause, and must begin to understand that his educational difficulties do not have to define who he is.

• Juliette Waybourne (portrayed byMeghan Ory)

Hiding her depression behind a cheerful façade, Juliette is often referred to as "Princess" and "Queenie" by Shelby, which is derived from her appearance and behavior, and "Twig" by the rest of the Cliffhangers, due to her weight. Juliette suffers frombulimia andanorexia and engages inself-harm, a result of the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered as a child from hernarcissistic mother. After she was sent to the hospital emergency room twice, Juliette was brought to Mount Horizon. Juliette struggles to understand that her mother's demands of "Why couldn't you be the perfect daughter?" are not her own fault.

• Ezra Friedkin (portrayed byKyle Downes)

Ezra wasadopted at birth by parents who were looking more for a solution to their marital difficulties than for a child to love. When the marriage ended in divorce, Ezra was caught in the middle of his parents' arguments. As a result, he is apeople pleaser, mediator, peacemaker, and a rule-follower. To deal with the stress, Ezra began abusingketamine, on which he nearlyoverdosed. After Ezra was revived in theER and spent 10 days recovering, he was sent to Horizon. Although witty and charming, Ezra struggles with his self-confidence and emotional stability in the shadow of his parents' constant fighting.

• Daisy Lipenowski (portrayed byJewel Staite)

Disguising herself beneath a mask ofGoth makeup, dark clothing, and body piercings, and finding an interest intarot cards and death, Daisy refers to herself as Daisy Graves. The only child of wealthy alcoholics, Daisy suffered from years of emotional abuse in her home and believed herself to be an inconvenience to her parents' addiction. When her father's abuse turned physical, Daisy assaulted him with a seven-irongolf club, and was quickly sent to Horizon. Insightful and harshly honest, Daisy hides her own inner pain, despair and rage behind arrogance and a morbid sense of humor.

• Peter Scarbrow (portrayed byJoe Lando)

Peter has been theheadmaster andchief administrator of Mt. Horizon High School for the past three years. In cooperation with the school's owner and founder, Frank Markasian, he has built Horizon to one of the finest, most progressive and most successful "emotional growth" schools in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to meeting Frank, Peter had bottomed-out. To keep up with the incredible physical demands of the business after a success at one of the biggest brokerages onWall Street, at 28 years old he turned tococaine and then toheroin. Drugs ultimately led to divorce and when, after his first overdose and a stint at a rehabilitation clinic, he began using drugs again, Peter ended up on the streets. Recovering at a Washington hospital after another near-fatal overdose, he met Frank, whose counsel and philosophy struck a chord with Peter. The two men bonded and Frank invited him to Mount Horizon for recovery. Frank became Peter's mentor, best friend andsurrogate father. Except for an occasional trip back to New York, he has remained at Mount Horizon ever since.

• Sophie Becker (portrayed byAnne Marie Loder)

Sophie met Peter Scarbrow in the hospital during one of hisdrug rehabilitations and the two became friends—at least one of the reasons being their interest foradrenaline sports. Sophie departed abroad seeking adventure as a way of dealing with her own unrest while Mount Horizon was established. When she returned, Peter, eager for her not to leave his life again, eventually coaxes her to become more involved at the school as teacher and counselor. Sophie agrees, taking over the position leader of the Cliffhangers, and their mutual affinity continues to deepen. During her time at Horizon, Sophie's personal struggles slowly become apparent to not only Peter, but some of the students as well.

• Hannah Bower-Barnes (portrayed byDeborah Odell)

The original leader of the Cliffhangers, Hannah loved her students dearly and became very close with them, especially Kat and Auggie. However, Hannah struggled to balance her disintegrating marriage with the emotional toll the demands of Horizon made upon her. Despite her many successes in aiding the teens, Hannah departs Horizon to mend her marriage after a devastating occurrence at the school.

• Dmitry Chepovetsky as Jeff (6 episodes)
• Brittney Irvin as Jess Merrick, Shelby's younger sister (2 episodes)
• Lynda Boyd as Alice Blaine, Jess and Shelby's mother (2 episodes)
• Jim Byrnes as Frank Markasian, who founded Horizon after his son committed suicide (5 episodes)
• Sean Campbell as Sheriff Curtis Swann (7 episodes)
• Kyle Alisharan as Hank, Kat's boyfriend (5 episodes)
• Benita Ha as Annie, who owns the local restaurant and lives with her 5-year-old daughter Gracie (7 episodes)
• Garwin Sanford as Martin Barringer, Scott's father (5 episodes)
• Emmanuelle Vaugier as Elaine Barringer, Scott's sexually abusive stepmother (4 episodes)
• Terence Kelly as Don Scarbrow, Peter's father (3 episodes)
• Suzy Joachim as Juliette's abusive mother (3 episodes)
• Kett Turton as D. David Ruxton, a new member of the Cliffhangers (3 episodes)
• Ingrid Torrance as Chloë, Peter's ex-wife (4 episodes)
• Jessica Marte as Gracie (3 episodes)
• Roger Cross as Roger Claypool, a worker at Horizon who retrieves children (4 episodes)

Higher Ground consists of 22 episodes, each of which features a quotation at the beginning. These quotes come from famous writers, politicians and other significant persons.

In 2015,Higher Ground was released through bothAmazon andiTunes for purchase via digital download.^[1][2]

The series was shot inVancouver,British Columbia.^[3] Production on at the series began in July 1999.^[4] The original name of the series wasCliffhangers.^[4][5] By November, the film crew had only 5–6 hours of daylight each day^{[citation needed]}, shifting much of the dramatic action indoors during the middle episodes.

Fox Family andLions Gate Films took advantage of tax incentive programs offered by the Canadian andBritish Columbia governments to reduce costs.^[6] The programs required that the bulk of production expenses, including salaries, be spent in Canada. Because of this, though American writers wrote all 22 of the episodes, Canadians directed all the episodes, and almost all the cast and crew were Canadian.

Producers received support from other Canadian artists over the course of the series. Canadian songwriterSarah McLachlan licensed her 1998 song “Angel” in its entirety for only C$10,000, the minimum allowable under her record company contract^{[citation needed]} (the song plays at the end of Episode 2).

On May 4, 2000, producers received word thatHayden Christensen had been cast in the then-upcomingStar Wars film,Attack of the Clones (Lucasfilm made the official announcement on May 7).^[7][8]George Lucas became aware of Christensen when Christensen's agent sent him the pilot episode fromHigher Ground.^[9]HigherGround was cancelled after its first season due to the sale of its broadcast network the following year; the series was part of a production company that did not move to the new network.^[10]

In 2003,WAM!, the family channel of theStarz Encore network, acquired all 22 episodes of season 1 for re-airing.^[11]

Ramin Zahed fromVariety gaveHigher Ground a positive review, praising its engaging drama and appealing cast. He compared the show toDawson’s Creek, highlighting emotionally charged storytelling as young characters navigate personal struggles. Thepicturesque wilderness school setting adds a striking backdrop that enhances the narrative, balancing serious themes with the cast's charisma.^[12] Steve Johnson from theChicago Tribune was more critical, describing the show as predictable and overly reliant onclichés. He calls the storytelling "creaky and obvious," and criticizes the stereotypical portrayal of an instructor who struggles with outdoor activities, suggesting that such tropes diminish the drama's impact.^[13] David Kronke from theSouth Florida Sun-Sentinel echoed this sentiment by focusing on the show's casting and presentation. He argued thatHigher Ground relies too much on "pretty yet moody" actors, implying that the series prioritized style over substance, with the young cast appearing more suited for magazine covers than for delivering nuanced performances.^[14]

• Higher Ground atIMDb

• Boarding school television series
• Fox Family Channel original programming
• American English-language television shows
• Canadian English-language television shows
• American television series about teenagers
• Canadian television series about teenagers
• Television series by CBS Studios
• Television series by Lionsgate Television
• Television shows filmed in Vancouver
• Fiction about self-harm
• Coming-of-age television shows

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