ATLANTA — A reboot of the popular 1980s series “A Different World” has wrapped up its production here in Atlanta.
“The show — like the original — will explore student life at the fictional HBCU Hillman College,” Netflix said in its article about the show on the streaming service’s news website.
Last July, Signs that read “Hillman College” started to pop up around Clark Atlanta University.
“I was ecstatic because I was raised during that period, getting ready to go to college,” Clark Atlanta University President George T. French Jr. told Channel 2 Action News at the time. “To now be on the campus of Clark Atlanta University and to see these Hillman signs, it’s beautiful.”
“It stars Maleah Joi Moon (Hell’s Kitchen) as Deborah, the rebellious offspring of legacy characters Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne, played by the original actors Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison. Across 10 half-hour episodes, Deborah and her friends will navigate new challenges and adventures on a 21st-century campus,” Netflix said.
Debbie Allen — who directed 83 episodes of the original series and served as primary director from 1989 to 1993 — is back as a director and executive producer.
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Statistics show that from 1986 to 1994, “A Different World” contributed to a 26% increase in HBCU admissions.
French said he hopes the possible reboot will only continue to make HBCU enrollment spike.
“We are growing, busting at the seams, and it really all goes back to intentional efforts like ‘A Different World,’” French explained.
“I felt like Hillman was home, so I wanted to find an HBCU that was similar to that,” said CAU alumna Lillian Monroe.
Monroe said she is a huge fan of the show and believes it was so groundbreaking because, for many Black people, it was the first time they saw themselves on screen studying engineering, medicine,, and art history.
“It’s still relevant, and it’s going to be relevant forever,” Monroe said.
“I grew up on ‘A Different World,’ which prompted me to go to Grambling State University, a HBCU,” said Cardellia Hunter, the director of the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Film and Entertainment.
There is no word on when the sequel series will air. CLICK HERE to read more about the cast. ,
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