Netflix Sends ‘A Different World’ Back to Hillman for Season 2 After Worldwide Top 10 Run

Hillman isn't closing its doors anytime soon. Netflix has renewed A Different World for Season 2, sending Deborah Wayne and the rest of its new class back to campus after the sequel series cracked the streamer's worldwide Top 10.

Variety has confirmed that Season 2 will pick up after the students' summer break, with Deborah and her classmates returning to Hillman for sophomore year armed with a “New Year, New Me” mentality. According to Netflix's logline, that optimism will collide with “past decisions, uncertain futures, new loves and friendships, and deeper questions of purpose”—plus “a whole lot of new mess.”

Series creator and showrunner Felicia Pride credited the show's audience with securing another semester at Hillman.

“It's so validating to be bolstered by our amazing audience,” Pride said in a statement. “We are beyond excited to return to Hillman and continue to tell meaningful and heartfelt stories that resonate across generations. I am thrilled for our brilliant cast and our hard-working crew.”

Debbie Allen was considerably louder about the news.

“YAY! HALLELUJAH! The people and Netflix have spoken,” Allen said. “A Different World brought something everybody needed: joy, romance, relevance, authenticity and HEART! Thank you for getting us into the Top 10 worldwide! And now, gear up! We're coming back at you with Season 2!!”

The renewal comes shortly after A Different World returned on Sept. 24, exactly 39 years after the original sitcom premiered on NBC.

Maleah Joi Moon leads the new series as Deborah, the youngest child of Whitley Gilbert-Wayne and Dwayne Wayne, with Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison reprising the roles that made them one of the original show's defining couples.

Deborah isn't the only connection between Hillman's past and present. Cree Summer returned as Freddie Brooks, Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson, and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lena James, while Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Charnele Brown, Jenifer Lewis, Karen Malina White, and Ajai Sanders were among the other familiar faces who resurfaced during Season 1.

Allen, who directed 83 episodes of the original series, returned as an executive producer and director while also appearing onscreen as Dr. Langhorne.

The revival also spent its first season filling in some sizable blanks from the decades since the original A Different World ended in 1993.

Ron is now the father of Hillman football player Shaquille Johnson, with the show revealing that Shaquille's late mother was Jaclyn, the character Halle Berry played in a 1991 episode.

Denise Huxtable also returned through her son Ellington, played by Vincent Jamal Hooper.

The season ended with Dwayne receiving a phone call from Denise, leaving Lisa Bonet's character firmly connected to the new generation even though Bonet did not appear onscreen.

The core student cast—including Alijah Kai, Cornell Young IV, Jordan Aaron Hall, Kennedi Reece, and Chibuikem Uche—is also expected back alongside Moon.