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Netflix’s Iconic ’80s Sitcom Reboot Gets Official First Look

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Netflix has a bit of a mixed track record with sitcoms, but the streamer has a fair few comedic hits under its belt, from the more traditional shows like The Upshaws and Big Mouth to the more tragi-comic like BoJack Horseman, which plays with the format. They’ve also tried their hand at revisiting a fair few classics over the years. The reboot of Arrested Development in 2013 represented one of the platform’s first big splashes, paving the way for other attempts at recapturing the magic of beloved series with Fuller House, One Day at a Time, and the short-lived but well-received That ’90s Show, among others. Now, the streaming giant is about to return to the grounds of Hillman College for the first time in over 30 years.

September 24 will mark the return of A Different World with a new generation of students stepping onto the campus of the historically Black college where Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kareem Hardison) once roamed. The series will now focus on the couple’s daughter, Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), a big-hearted free spirit looking to figure out her path out of her lovingly sheltered life with her parents. Hillman represents the perfect chance for her to grab the spotlight among a diverse class including criminal justice majors, athletes, psych students, and others shaping their own values away from home. Of course, her family is still around to support her too, with both Guy and Hardison returning alongside Cree Summer as Freddie Brooks, and Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson.

Ahead of the premiere, Netflix today unveiled a proper first look at the series, primarily showcasing all the new students at Hillman for the fresh semester. Among them is what looks to be a new central couple, as Deborah cozies up with five-star athlete Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV), who is leaning on legacy at the college. The two make for a sweet pair, but they’re also joined by plenty of new friends, from first-gen student Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai) to Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall), who is much more suited to solving others’ problems than addressing his own, the church-raised Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece), and last but not least, Ghanaian‑Nigerian fashion entrepreneur Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche), who is building up the courage to chase his dreams. As the images show, this is a group that will be followed through highs, lows, a lot of laughs, and all the rituals of college in a light-hearted, layered showcase of Black experience. However, a few shots also spotlight Whitley, Dwayne, and their friends as they find new ways to enjoy life beyond Hillman.

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Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz
Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most?
Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek

Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.

🚀Star Wars

💍Lord of the Rings

🧙Harry Potter

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👑Game of Thrones

🖖Star Trek

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01

What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning?
Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.





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02

Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit?
The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.





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03

How do you prefer your conflicts resolved?
The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.





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04

Who do you want beside you when things get difficult?
Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.





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05

What is your relationship with power?
How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.





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06

How does your universe treat good and evil?
A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.





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07

What role would you naturally fall into?
Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?





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08

What do you ultimately believe about the future?
The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.





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Your Universe Has Been Chosen
You Belong In…

Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.

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A Galaxy Far, Far Away

Star Wars

You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.

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  • You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
  • You’d find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
  • Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
  • The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.


Middle-earth

Lord of the Rings

You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.

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  • Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
  • You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
  • Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
  • Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.


The Wizarding World

Harry Potter

You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.

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  • The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
  • You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
  • Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
  • That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.


Westeros · The Known World

Game of Thrones

You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.

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  • Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
  • You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
  • Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
  • Winter always comes. You are already prepared.


The United Federation of Planets

Star Trek

You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.

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  • Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
  • You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
  • The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
  • You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.

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Who Is Behind the ‘A Different World’ Reboot?

Felicia Pride will get her chance to shine as a creator and showrunner for the first time with the A Different World sequel. She’s built up a strong resume as a writer on television, penning episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Bel-Air, and Queen Sugar. In addition to her duties bringing the next chapter of Hillman College to life, she’s also an executive producer, joining returning director and six-time Emmy winner Debbie Allen and her fellow A Different World veterans Tom Werner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, and Gina Prince-Bythewood. Rounding out the team is Mandy Summers.

A Different World premieres on Netflix on September 24. Check out the first images in the gallery above.


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Release Date

1987 – 1993-00-00

Directors
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Henry Chan, Glynn Turman, Kadeem Hardison, David Blackwell, Kim Friedman, Michael Peters, Peter Werner, Christopher Hibler, Jasmine Guy, Jay Sandrich, John Whitesell, Matthew Diamond

Writers

Yvette Lee Bowser, Thad Mumford, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Judi Ann Mason, Adriana Trigiani, Scott S. Gorden, Jeffrey Duteil, Orlando Jones, Bill Cosby, Matt Williams, Steven Peterman, Karen Kennedy, Joe Gannon, Gary Dontzig, Carmen Finestra, Susan Fales-Hill

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  • Jasmine Guy

    Whitley Gilbert

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