Many of the original cast of this Cosby Show-spinoff are back (including Jada Pinkett-Smith, briefly). Its look at life on a black college campus has its sights set firmly on comedy
In the golden age of remaking old content and young-adult television, it was only a matter of time before a streamer got its hands on A Different World, the pioneering black sitcom that ran from 1987 to 1993 in the US. Set at a historically black college (one of a discrete group of US higher education institutions known as HBCUs), it covered issues ranging from HIV/Aids to date rape. It was a laughter-track-heavy affair that helped to pave the way for other series about upwardly mobile black Americans, among them The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Living Single. In any case – for reasons that will probably be abundantly clear – A Different World is an easier sell for a 2026 reboot than the programme it was an offshoot of: The Cosby Show.
This new version is still steeped in the world of its predecessor (A Different-ish World?), and even boasts many members of its cast – among them Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M Bell and Cree Summer, with a cameo from Jada Pinkett Smith. The original series ended with Dwayne (Hardison) and a pregnant Whitley (Guy) preparing to move to Tokyo; now their daughter, Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon), is attending their alma mater. (Yes, if we were following real-world time, Deborah would be in her 30s, but – from experience – it would have probably been considerably less exciting to watch a series about Deborah indulging in such thirtysomething pursuits as planning a get-together with your friends eight weeks in advance, or realising your knees have started making a weird noise every time you stand up.)
