A Different World is one of the most iconic and impactful Black sitcoms, and its Netflix sequel series is staying true to the original.

Known for its portrayal of self-discovery in young Black adulthood, while spotlighting the importance of friendship, sociopolitical issues, and everything in between, A Different World was a spinoff of The Cosby Show, and ran from 1987 to 1993. Set at Hillman College, a fictional HBCU in Virginia, the show was the first of its kind, starring a majority-Black cast that reflected students navigating college life.

The new series picks up at Hillman with several original stars returning, as it is led by a new young cast, with the lead being Maleah Joi Moon, who plays Deborah, the daughter of OG characters Whitley and Dwayne.

The Black sitcom effect

During its television run, A Different World helped spark a major rise in enrollment at HBCUs. According to the EDU Ledger, overall American higher education grew by 16.8 percent during the show’s time on-air. HBCU enrollment grew at a faster rate of 24.3 to 26 percent.

“The impact is tremendous,” Felicia Pride, the creator and showrunner for the new series, told AfroTech Culture in an interview. “Someone asked me recently, like, people have reboot fatigue, and my answer to that was, ‘I don’t know how many Black reboots we’ve actually had. It’s not been that many, but two, you know, Hollywood is wildly unoriginal, and they’ve been wildly unoriginal for a long time. And what intellectual property (IP) does, is one, this has been vetted through a process, and two, hopefully, has a built-in audience.”

She added, “A lot of times when Black creatives are, and anybody, but Black creatives in particular, are working on shows based on IP or working on films based on IP, it’s also a way to strategically get a Black show on the air or to get a Black film made. It’s a strategy. So that’s one part from the business. The other part is the impact is tremendous, right? You have a Black woman creator, showrunner. You had an all-Black writers’ room. You had an all-Black directing team who were all women and queer. You had a Black DP (director of photography), which is kind of unheard of. You had a Black production designer, a Black costume designer, a Black gaffer, which is also kind of unheard of.”

HBCU alumni and students made up 59 percent of the reboot’s background cast, and the team worked with Netflix’s Next Up program to have nearby HBCU students work in production assistant positions, which typically lead to union positions.

This installment of A Different World was primarily shot at Clark Atlanta and Morehouse within Atlanta’s AUC (Atlanta University Center), and they also had a Black transportation coordinator and Black drivers. Pride almost didn’t say yes to the opportunity.

A nudge from Debbie Allen to get on board

“Having grown up on the show and watched it in real time on Thursday nights, it was such an important show to me, and I have such a reverence for it, and I didn’t want to be absolutely, in your words, responsible for messing that up,” Pride admitted. “Also, I knew, creatively, it was going to be a lot. There are a lot of people involved. I tend to like my peace, and I knew that this show was going to require a lot of me. I was wondering if I had it and if I wanted to give it. Debbie [Allen] was so adamant about this being the time now to hear from young Black America in particular, and if there’s anybody who should know when the time is right to bring back this show, it’s Debbie Allen, so that I trusted in for sure.”

Everything is intentional down to the theme song

While Pride didn’t give too much away on some of the Easter eggs and callbacks to the original that viewers can expect to see throughout the first season of A Different World, she did take a moment to fangirl about singer and sitcom royalty in her own right, Brandy, stepping up to the plate to deliver for the series’ theme song.

“When we were thinking about it, I kept thinking about who Aretha Franklin was in that moment to the culture, and then from an age perspective and everything, she was definitely older than what the show was. So I’m like, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the hot, new R&B singer,” said Pride, reflecting on Franklin’s rendition of the A Different World theme song from seasons 2 to 5.

“We want to feel that legacy, that experience, that wisdom, and we also want a voice that, when we hear it, we know who it is, because we never saw Aretha, and then, you know, Boyz II Men, also did it, and [Phoebe Snow] did it in season one, too. But we never saw Aretha. We just knew it was her, and we needed that same voice. When you think about the list, Brandy’s at the top. And then, her connection to ’90s sitcoms, her connection to YA shows, is just unmatched, and so when she was down to do it, I was over the moon, and not even just down to do it, but showed up and showed out, chileeeeeeee! Like, woo! I got chills just now thinking about it, and I cannot wait for y’all to hear the full version.”

For Pride, success in this A Different World reboot is people sitting down across generations to watch the show together again.

“I feel very strongly, like we pulled off an amazing feat, and I’m really proud of the work,” she concluded. “But I will say one thing that would make me really happy to hear, in addition to us running up the numbers, because let’s prove to the networks what we want to see more of. In addition to that, it’s watching it over and over again and watching it together. Being able to watch with your auntie, your niece, your nephew, hearing that will make me very happy. And for young people to also feel seen or inspired.”

A Different World is now streaming on Netflix.