“When we saw them as a group, it was like, ‘Yes,’” says Felicia Pride, creator, showrunner and executive producer of Netflix’s A Different World sequel. After a marathon of solo auditions, she and Debbie Allen, who produced and directed more than 80 episodes of the original and executive-produces the new show, held group chemistry reads. “I think even they knew they were the six,” Pride says. “They went out together after the reads and have been inseparable since.”
Over six seasons (1987–93), A Different World followed bright, idealistic students at fictional Hillman College, modeled after historically Black schools like Howard and Hampton Universities. A Different World captured the culture and traditions at America’s 100 or so HBCUs, and the vastness of Black culture at large as its characters addressed issues like HIV/AIDS, police brutality and sexual assault. Roughly 20 million viewers tuned in weekly at ADW’s height, and countless people say the show inspired them to go to college, including some of the new cast members’ own parents. HBCUs saw a 26% surge in enrollments during ADW’s initial run. Hillman wasn’t real, but its impact most certainly was.
No wonder the new ADW stars instantly bonded; they were united by heritage, purpose and, having grown up watching reruns, perhaps a bit of nostalgia, too. “It was a beautiful collaboration,” says Pride (Queen Sugar, Bel-Air). “They are very thoughtful artists — thoughtful about character, thoughtful about craft. I try to not [get emotional] about them, because they are adults. But I do have six hearts.”
The 10-episode season focuses on Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon) — the free-spirited progeny of Hillman’s earlier It Couple, Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne (Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison) — as she finds her way at school. Like their predecessors, Deborah’s classmates challenge and nurture each other as they matriculate into adulthood. Maybe they’ll change the culture again, too. “If ever there was a time to hear from young Black America,” Allen says, “it’s right now.”
To read the rest of the story, pick up a copy of emmy magazine here.
This article originally appeared in its entirety in emmy magazine, issue #11, 2026, under the title “Heir Force.”
