Originally airing in 1987, A Different World was created as a spin-off from The Cosby Show and followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) as she attended the fictional HBCU, Hillman College. Although Bonet left after the first season, the show continued to run on NBC for five more seasons, until 1993, shifting focus to the lives of other key characters, including Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). The show, which resonated with a multigenerational audience and earned a lasting legacy, followed a diverse group of Black students at Hillman as they navigated a wide range of issues, including police brutality, gun violence, domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS.
Now, just over three decades since the final episode aired, Netflix has given the green light to a pilot episode for a sequel to A Different World. This marks only the second time that Netflix has ordered a pilot, as the streaming platform has typically ordered projects directly to series.
The sequel is expected to center around Dwayne and Whitley’s youngest daughter, Deborah Wayne, as she embarks on her own journey at an HBCU. According to Variety, filming for the project is set to begin this summer, allowing the team to gauge the chemistry between cast members and get a sense of the show’s tone. The project has been in the works since last year, with the pilot episode being part of the overall process. Debbie Allen, a producer of the original series, is expected to return to produce the pilot for the sequel.
