Key Takeaways
- Netflix’s sequel to A Different World drops all 10 episodes on September 24 and centers on Deborah Wayne, the youngest daughter of Whitley Gilbert-Wayne and Dwayne Wayne, as she reluctantly follows her family legacy to Hillman College.
- The trailer teases Deborah finding her place among a new class of Hillman students while trying to escape her parents’ shadow, with Debbie Allen returning on-screen as Dr. Langhorne and directing the premiere.
- Original cast members, including Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Cree Summer, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Glynn Turman, are back; the show keeps its HBCU focus; and Brandy records a new version of the iconic A Different World theme song.
Hillman College is back in session, and Netflix's first full trailer for A Different World makes one thing clear: Deborah Wayne has some big shoes to fill. The new preview puts Maleah Joi Moon's character—and her famous Hillman family—front and center ahead of the sequel's September 24 premiere, when all 10 half-hour episodes will drop on Netflix.
Deborah is the youngest daughter of Whitley Gilbert-Wayne and Dwayne Wayne, with Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison reprising the roles that helped define the original series. But the trailer quickly establishes that Deborah's road to Hillman wasn't exactly part of some master plan. Debbie Allen, who directed 83 episodes of the original series and helms the sequel's premiere, makes a previously unannounced on-screen return as Dr. Langhorne.
When Dr. Langhorne asks Deborah why she's at Hillman, the freshman launches into an explanation about how deeply her parents instilled the school's importance in her. Dr. Langhorne isn't buying it.
"You didn't get in anywhere else, did you?" she asks. Deborah's sheepish reaction gives her the answer.
The trailer also shows Deborah finding her footing with Hillman's new class. Alijah Kai plays Rashida Duvall, a first-generation criminal justice major, while Cornell Young IV stars as five-star athlete Shaquille Johnson. Jordan Aaron Hall plays psychology major Amir Rodale, Kennedi Reece portrays small-town student Hazel Henry, and Chibuikem Uche plays Kojo Achebe, a Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion entrepreneur. Summer Walker also appears as herself.
Deborah may be trying to escape her parents' shadow, but Whitley and Dwayne aren't disappearing. Guy and Hardison appear in the trailer alongside several returning A Different World favorites, including Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson, Cree Summer as Freddie Brooks, Charnele Brown as Dr. Kimberly Reese Boyer, Jenifer Lewis as Professor Davenport, Jada Pinkett Smith as Lena James, Dawnn Lewis as Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor, and Glynn Turman as Col. Bradford Taylor.
The trailer also shows that some things haven't changed about Whitley. Guy's character turns up in a classic Chanel suit, while her daughter is establishing a fashion identity of her own with looks from Balmain and Chanel.
The sequel comes from writer and showrunner Felicia Pride, with Allen also serving as an executive producer. Allen previously explained that when she took creative control of the original A Different World after its first season, her mission was to "make it relevant, make it cultural and just go deeper with the characters."
There's another connection to the past waiting in the opening credits. Brandy recorded a new rendition of the A Different World theme, following previous versions performed by Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin, and Boyz II Men.
"Singing this iconic theme song for A Different World means everything to me," Brandy previously said.
