Social media is buzzing over Netflix’s highly anticipated A Different World sequel series currently trending at #2 on the streaming platform while fueling Hillman hysteria nearly 40 years after the culture-shifting original premiered on NBC.
Years in the making, the entertaining revival invites viewers back to Hillman’s storied campus where we follow a new generation of students with beloved legacy characters like Dwayne Wayne and Whitley returning in supporting roles.
At the heart of the series is Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon)–the youngest daughter of Whitley and Dwayne who, to the shock of absolutely no one familiar with her mother, grew up somewhat sheltered.
However, at Hillman, the free-spirited aspiring star begins to find herself and discover she wants for herself.
Joining her on campus is an eclectic group of classmates, including Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai)–a first-generation criminal justice major, Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV)–a 5-star athlete focused on his family legacy, Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall)–a Psychology major who’s great at solving everyone else’s problems but his own, Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece)–a small-town church girl finding her own values, and Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche)–a Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion entrepreneur determined to chase his creative vision.
Check out the trailer below:
As expected, social media erupted with reactions to the 10-episode series that immediately trended across social media with multiple viral clips circulating online.
Guided by creator, showrunner, writer, and executive producer Felicia Pride and executive producer and director Debbie Allen, A Different World is a “hopeful dramedy, full of heart and unapologetically centered on the richness and complexity of the Black experience,” per the press release.
“I don’t have an ego. I begged her. It’s the truth,” said Allen about tapping Pride to revive the series in an interview with the LA Times.
“To get this show back up, we’ve tried for years. But this is the time that’s right … We had inspired all these kids, not just Black kids, all young people to go to college. This was a peep into college that had never happened before, where you saw young people being responsible and living their lives and being crazy, but still dealing with what is happening in this world. If the young people in the country don’t have a voice, that country is dead. And if there’s any voice we need to hear from right now, it’s young people.”
What’s your favorite moment from the season? Are you Team Shaquille or Team Ellington? Tell us down below and peep the social media hysteria over A Different World on the flip.
