'A Different World' Sequel Series Drops First Look at Hillman Students

Netflix has released first-look images from their followup to “A Different World.”

As previously announced, the series will premiere on Sept. 24. As with the original show, it will take place at the fictional HBCU Hillman College.

Check out the pictures below.

The show was first reported to be in development at the streamer in 2024, while a rare Netflix pilot order for the show was announced in March 2025. It was formally picked up to series in November.

Maleah Joi Moon (“Hell’s Kitchen”) will star in the series as Deborah Wayne, the daughter of original series characters Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitney Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) as she enters her freshman year at Hillman. The official description of the series states:

“Along the way, she’s joined by a new generation that reflects the breadth of Black life on campus: Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai), a first‑gen criminal justice major; Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV), a five‑star athlete choosing legacy; Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall), a sharp psych major better at fixing everyone else’s problems than facing his own; Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece), a church‑raised small‑town girl defining her own values; and Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche), a Ghanaian‑Nigerian fashion entrepreneur finding the courage to follow his vision.”

In addition to the above mentioned cast, Hardison, Guy, Cree Summer, and Darryl M. Bell will also reprise their roles from the original series.

Felicia Pride serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the series. Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood also serve as executive producers, with Allen also set to direct three episodes, including the first.

“A Different World” began as a spinoff of “The Cosby Show” and followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) as she attends Hillman. But after Bonet departed the series following its first season, the focus shifted to characters played by Guy, Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Cory Tyler, Lou Myers, Bell, Summer, and Charnele Brown. It aired for six seasons on NBC.