A Different World Gets Rebooted on Netflix
It’s a new world, a different world, but still set in the same world. Get it? A Different World is getting a sequel series from Netflix, focused on Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy)’s daughter, Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon). She’ll be attending Hillman College and trying to break out of her parents’ shadow there. It really will be a different world as the show is making the big move from NBC, where it originally ran from 1987 to 1993, to Netflix. Grey’s Anatomy writer Felicia Pride will be the showrunner for the series. “It is such an honor to be a part of bringing back this iconic show, one that I grew up on and which had a profound impact on my life,” Pride shared in a press release. “I am so proud of the work we’re doing to reimagine A Different World for beloved fans and new generations alike.” Cast includes Alijah Kai (Everybody Hates Chris) as Rashida, Chibuikem Uche (One Of Us Is Lying) as Kojo, Cornell Young IV (Doing Life) as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall (The Idea of You) as Amir, and Kennedi Reece as Hazel.
It’s not only the new faces coming to Hillman; some of the minds behind the original series are going back to school, too. Debbie Allen, who directed 83 episodes of the original, will direct the first three episodes of the Netflix version and will be an executive producer. Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood, writers from the original and who fell in love while working on the show, join as executive producers with Mandy Summers and Tom Werner. There’s no word yet if the original cast will be returning in any capacity, but like any good reboot, someone will hopefully be making a fun, nostalgic cameo.
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