‘A Different World’ Sequel Series Gets Order at Netflix
The new show will focus on the daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert as she enters her freshman year at Hillman College.
Felicia Pride at the EBONY Power 100 Gala held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on November 04, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo by Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty Images.
Netflix is heading back to Hillman College. According to Deadline, the streaming giant has officially ordered a new A Different World continuation series. Former Grey’s Anatomy writer Felicia Pride is serving as showrunner and executive producer, with original executive producer Debbie Allen on board to direct the premiere and two other episodes of the sequel series. It will be a single-camera comedy consisting of ten half-hour episodes.
Felicia Pride (Grey’s Anatomy, Bel-Air) will serve as showrunner and executive producer. Debbie Allen, who produced, directed, and acted in the OG series, will direct three episodes of the continuation, including the premiere.
Deadline reports that the show will feature Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), who is the youngest daughter of Hillman College alums Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy), as she enters her freshman year at their alma mater. Over the course of the season, she struggles to escape her parents’ legacy on campus. So she sets out to build her own alongside a new generation of Hillman students.
A spinoff of The Cosby Show, A Different World originally aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993 with an ensemble cast that included Lisa Bonet, as well as Hardison, Guy, Cree Summer, Sinbad, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Charnel Brown, the late Lou Myers and Daryl M. Bell. Over the course of its run, Marisa Tomei, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Patrick Malone, Karen Malina White, Cory Tyler, Bumper Robinson and Ajai Sanders were also among the cast as Hillman students.
The original A Different World initially revolved around the college life of Denise Huxtable (Bonet), daughter of The Cosby Show’s Cliff and Claire Huxtable. After Bonet’s departure following Season 1, the series was reworked with star-crossed lovers Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert’s at the show's center. It became a critical and ratings favorite, tackling issues such as racism, gang violence, the AIDS epidemic, domestic abuse, colorism, apartheid, sexual harassment and more.
As of right now, it is unclear if any original cast members will be appearing on the show as regular or recurring characters.
