Hillman College will enroll a new class of students with Netflix’s pickup of a sequel series to A Different World.
The streamer has given a series order to the comedy, which has been in the works for more than a year (and included a very rare pilot order from Netflix). The show will star Tony Award winner Maleah Joi Moon (Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway) as Deborah, the youngest daughter of original series leads Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), who enrolls at the HBCU her parents attended.
Felicia Pride (Bel-Air, Grey’s Anatomy) is the showrunner on A Different World. Several alumni of the 1987-93 NBC series join Pride as executive producers, including Debbie Allen, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Tom Werner; Mandy Summers also exec produces. Allen, who directed the majority of the original show’s episodes, will helm the series premiere and two more episodes in the sequel’s first season.
“It is such an honor to be a part of bringing back this iconic show, one that I grew up on and which had a profound impact on my life,” Pride said in a statement. “I am so proud of the work we’re doing to reimagine A Different World for beloved fans and new generations alike.”
A Different World was a spinoff of The Cosby Show that followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) to college. Bonet left the show after its first season, and the show retooled around a larger ensemble that featured Guy, Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, Charnele Brown, Glynn Turman, Sinbad and Lou Myers. Bill Cosby is credited as the creator of the original series, but he is not involved in the sequel.
The logline for the sequel reads, “The series follows Deborah as she enters her freshman year at her parents’ HBCU alma mater and finds their shadow difficult to escape. She sets out to build her own legacy — while having the time of her life — alongside a whole new generation of Hillman’s best and brightest.
Alijah Kai, Chibuikem Uche, Cornell Young IV, Jordan Aaron Hall and Kennedi Reece will star alongside Moon in the new series.
“A Different World changed everything for us,” said the Bythewoods in a statement. “It was where we got our start as writers and where we found each other. This show has always been a part of our love story. To return to Hillman now and help reimagine this world for a new generation feels like a continuation of that legacy — one rooted in love, purpose, and possibility.”
