Netflix has released the first teaser for A Different World, a revival of the beloved The Cosby Show spinoff returning to Hillman College with a new class of students and legacy favorites coming home. Debbie Allen returns as executive producer and director, with Felicia Pride serving as showrunner.
What is the Netflix ‘A Different World’ about?
According to the official logline, the series follows “Deborah, Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert’s free-spirited, well-intentioned, yet rebellious youngest child” as she enters her freshman year at Hillman College, finding “the shadow of her parents difficult to escape as 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.”
Who are the new students of ‘A Different World’?
According to Netflix’s character descriptions, the new class includes:
Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), Whitley and Dwayne’s youngest daughter, “a charming work in progress with her mother’s flair for the spotlight and her father’s big heart,” who is still exploring her path rather than locking into one.
Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai), Deborah’s new roommate, described as “the next Stacey Abrams with lashes” — a first-generation criminal justice student who initially clashes with the free-spirited Deborah before the two form an unlikely bond.
Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV), a five-star quarterback who shocks everyone by choosing an HBCU, “honoring a promise to his late mother.” Managed by an ambitious father, he carries “a quiet grief just beneath the bravado” while pursuing “a fiery, will-they-won’t-they relationship with Deborah.”
Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall), a psychology major who is “way better at doling out advice than he is at taking it,” navigating campus life after arriving to find no housing due to a dorm shortage.
Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece), a church-raised small-town girl who “arrives at Hillman College and treats it like her personal promised land,” with a mission to make her parents proud — though campus life begins to challenge everything she thought she knew about herself.
Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche), a Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion merchandising student who is “an entrepreneur at heart” and must find the courage to follow his passion for fashion despite his parents’ disappointment.
Who returns from the original series?
Legacy cast returning includes Jasmine Guy as Whitley Gilbert, Kadeem Hardison as Dwayne Wayne, Cree Summer as Freddie Brooks and Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson.
According to Netflix, post-Hillman Whitley launched her own skincare line, Glitter by Gilbert, building it into a multimillion-dollar empire before selling the company, and is now questioning who she is beyond being a wife and mother. Dwayne, meanwhile, has returned to academia and now serves in a prominent role in Hillman’s administration, fighting to rescue the school from a major funding scandal. Freddie is now a distinguished law professor at Hillman who also runs her own practice, while Ron is Shaquille’s father and manager, the two having grown especially close since the death of Shaquille’s mother two years prior.
Felicia Pride, Debbie Allen, Tom Werner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Mandy Summers executive produce. The 10-episode series is directed by Allen, Tiffany Johnson, Angela Barnes, Nefertite Nguvu and Bille Woodruff.
When does ‘A Different World’ premiere on Netflix?
A Different World premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix.
Watch the annoucement teaser below:
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