Key Takeaways
- Kadeem Hardison and Darryl M. Bell will launch A Different World View with Darryl & Kadeem on October 15, turning an idea they have discussed for more than 25 years into a weekly rewatch podcast.
- The longtime friends will revisit the sitcom episode by episode, share behind-the-scenes stories, welcome original cast members, and introduce stars from Netflix’s sequel.
- The podcast arrives as Hardison and Bell return to Hillman in Netflix’s sequel, which premiered 39 years after the original series and has already earned a second season.
Kadeem Hardison and Darryl M. Bell have spent nearly 40 years talking, both on and off set. Now, after more than two decades of trying to turn those conversations into a podcast, the A Different World stars are finally letting everyone else listen in.
The actors, best known for playing Dwayne Wayne and Ron Johnson on the NBC sitcom, are launching A Different World View with Darryl & Kadeem on Thursday, October 15. According to Variety, the weekly rewatch podcast, produced through iHeartMedia and Charlamagne Tha God's Black Effect Podcast Network, will take listeners back to Hillman College one episode at a time.
But don't expect the pair to simply recap what happened onscreen. Hardison and Bell plan to revisit the original show's biggest moments, share behind-the-scenes stories, and explain how A Different World became a cultural touchstone.
They'll also bring in familiar faces from the original cast, introduce listeners to the Netflix sequel's new stars and weigh in on everything from entertainment to sports and pop culture.
And Bell says the idea has been sitting on the table for a remarkably long time.
“Kadeem and I have only wanted to do this for over 25 years, and the time is now!” Bell said in a statement. “I also could not be happier or think of better partners than Charlamagne Tha God, his team at The Black Effect and iHeartMedia.”
Hardison, meanwhile, couldn't resist taking a shot at his longtime friend.
“I've been talking to this guy for 40 years,” he joked. “I'm so glad you all get to see what I've been dealing with.”
Hardison and Bell also appeared together in Spike Lee's School Daze and have since toured HBCUs as part of an A Different World cast reunion.
Their timing comes as A Different World reaches another major milestone. Netflix premiered its sequel on September 24, exactly 39 years after the original sitcom debuted, bringing both actors back to the fictional HBCU alongside Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and several other original cast members.
The new series centers on Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), the daughter of Dwayne and Whitley Gilbert-Wayne, played once again by Guy. Bell's Ron Johnson has also returned, though his life has changed significantly since viewers last saw him in 1993.
Among the sequel's biggest revelations? Ron has a son, Hillman football player Shaquille Johnson, whose late mother was Jaclyn, the character Halle Berry portrayed during a 1991 guest appearance.
Those developments give Hardison and Bell nearly four decades of television history to unpack, including the original show's evolution under Debbie Allen, who helped transform A Different World into a sitcom that addressed racism, HIV/AIDS, politics and life at historically Black colleges.
Netflix has already renewed the sequel for Season 2 after it ranked in the Top 10 worldwide.
