Key Takeaways
- Netflix’s A Different World sequel makes Denise Huxtable central to its story by revealing Ellington as her son and ending with Dwayne Wayne taking her call.
- Cree Summer doubts Lisa Bonet will reprise the role, saying, “Even if I begged, I don’t think she would come back,” while Darryl M. Bell says Bonet has chosen “a different path in life.”
- The sequel also follows Whitley and Dwayne’s daughter Deborah and brings back original stars including Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer, Bell, and Debbie Allen.
Lisa Bonet hasn't returned to Hillman College yet, but Netflix’s A Different World has made Denise Huxtable central to its new story. The sequel's first season introduces Denise's son, Ellington, then ends with Dwayne Wayne receiving a phone call from Denise herself—a deliberate cliffhanger that immediately raises the possibility of Bonet finally reprising the character who started the franchise.
Her former castmates aren't giving away the answer. When People asked Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell about a potential Bonet appearance, Guy called it “a cliffhanger,” prompting Summer to agree: “That's a real cliffhanger.”
But Summer, who remains close with Bonet, sounded considerably less optimistic about actually getting her back onscreen.
“That's my sister,” Summer said. “But I can tell you, even if I begged, I don't think she would come back.”
Bell offered a similar assessment, saying, “I think she... has decided there's a different path in life.”
That makes the Netflix finale particularly notable. Vincent Jamal Hooper's Ellington is revealed to be Denise's son, extending the Huxtable connection to Hillman nearly 40 years after A Different World was created specifically as a vehicle for Bonet.
Then comes Dwayne's call with Denise, keeping the character present even without Bonet appearing onscreen.
Denise was the original reason audiences arrived at Hillman in 1987. A Different World spun off from The Cosby Show with Bonet's character leaving home for her parents' alma mater. But Bonet departed after Season 1 while pregnant with daughter Zoë Kravitz.
Bonet later returned to The Cosby Show, while A Different World underwent a creative overhaul that ultimately placed characters including Whitley, Dwayne, Freddie, and Ron at its center.
Bonet hasn't completely stayed away from Hillman since then. She reunited with her former castmates for Nick at Nite's 2006 “Hillman College Reunion Week,” appearing in newly filmed segments that updated viewers on the characters' lives. Denise revealed at the time, “After Hillman, I got married, had a baby, traveled some.”
Twenty years later, the Netflix series has now given Denise another son—and it's hardly the only piece of old A Different World history being woven into the new class.
Maleah Joi Moon leads the sequel as Deborah Wayne, daughter of Guy's Whitley and Kadeem Hardison's Dwayne. Bell's Ron is now the father of football standout Shaquille Johnson, whose late mother is revealed to be Jaclyn, Halle Berry's one-off character from a 1991 episode.
Summer, Charnele Brown, Jenifer Lewis, Jada Pinkett Smith, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, and other original stars have also returned, while Allen directed the premiere, executive produced, and appears as Dr. Langhorne.
