Hillman College is staying open. Netflix has renewed A Different World for a second season, and it didn’t waste any time doing it.
The streamer announced the Season 2 order just eight days after the revival premiered on Sept. 24. According to Netflix’s internal data cited by THR, the series pulled in 4.2 million views and 23 million hours of watch time worldwide in its first four days. The show debuted at No. 4 on Netflix’s Global Top 10 English TV list and cracked the Top 10 in 15 countries.
Created by showrunner Felicia Pride, the sequel to the beloved 1980s-90s NBC sitcom follows Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon), the free-spirited and rebellious youngest child of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, played by original stars Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy. Season 1 followed Deborah through her freshman year as she walked in her parents’ footsteps at Hillman, a historically Black college.
According to Deadline, Season 2 picks up after a round of transformative summers, with Deborah and her classmates returning to campus for sophomore year with a “New Year, New Me” attitude. Of course, they quickly run into past decisions, uncertain futures, new romances and friendships, and bigger questions about purpose, along with plenty of fresh messes.
Deborah’s crew includes Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai), a first-generation criminal justice major; star athlete Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV); psych major Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall); church-raised Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece); and Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion entrepreneur Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche).
Longtime fans also got plenty of familiar faces in Season 1. Original series actors Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell are part of the cast, and THR reports that Jada Pinkett Smith, Glynn Turman, Joe Morton, Jenifer Lewis, Karen Malina White, Ajai Sanders and Charnele Brown all made guest appearances reprising their roles from the NBC show.
“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.”
Executive producer and director Debbie Allen was even more fired up. “YAY! HALLELUJAH! The people and Netflix have spoken,” she said, adding that the show “brought something everybody needed: joy, romance, relevance, authenticity, and HEART!”
Tracey Pakosta, Netflix’s vice president of comedy series, said the streamer “believed in this incredible team from day one,” and added that the team “can’t wait to see what unfolds next year at Hillman College.”
Pride told THR that she grew up with the original and wanted to capture its warmth, its sense of community among students, friends, mentors and elders, the culture of HBCUs and the show’s political consciousness. Pride executive produces alongside Allen, Tom Werner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Mandy Summers.
Sophomore year, here we come. Who are you most hoping to see back on campus in Season 2?
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