Netflix just dropped the first trailer for its A Different World sequel series. The series premieres globally on September 24, and from the look of the trailer, Hillman College hasn’t lost a single step.
At the center of the revival is Deborah Wayne, played by Maleah Joi Moon, the daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, two of the most beloved characters in Black television history. Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy are back in those roles, and watching their daughter walk the same Hillman halls they once called home hits exactly the way you’d expect it to.
“My parents have been pushing Hillman since before they knew my name,” Deborah says in the trailer. “I want to prove to them I can crush it.”
Her journey starts the way most freshman years do, messy, exciting, and full of pressure she didn’t entirely see coming. Debbie Allen, who served as director and producer during the original run and returns as executive producer and director for the premiere, shows up as academic advisor Dr. Langhorne, and the full-circle energy of that moment is not lost.
Showrunner and executive producer Felicia Pride was deliberate about making sure Deborah felt real. “It was important to craft a character who’s trying to figure it out, who’s a little messy, who’s a little all over the place,” Pride said to Todum, “because this is a character that a lot of young people can relate to.”
Deborah’s circle includes her roommate Rashida, played by Alijah Kai, alongside new classmates Hazel, Amir, and Kojo — and an old flame in Shaquille, played by Cornell Young IV, a rising football star and son of Ron Johnson, the former Hillman classmate played by Darryl M. Bell. The history between Deborah and Shaquille resurfaces fast, because of course it does.
The returning cast is the other reason this trailer has people talking. Hardison, Guy, Allen, and Bell are all back, joined by Cree Summer, Jenifer Lewis, and Jada Pinkett Smith, all reprising their original roles. The trailer also hints at cameos from Summer Walker and Method Man. Hillman didn’t come back halfway.
A Different World premieres September 24 on Netflix. Check out the trailer.
