On the last day of Black History Month, the cast “A Different World” made their way to the Atlanta University Center on their HBCU tour. They made stops at each of Atlanta’s HBCUs – Spelman, Morehouse, and Clark Atlanta. Darryl M. Bell, Charnele Brown, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Cree Summer, and Glynn Turman all showed up in person, while Sinbad and show producer Debbie Allen signed in virtually. The crew talked about their experience on the show, as well as the importance of HBCUs and HBCU culture.
“I felt like the more real our show was, the funnier we could be,” Guy said. “As opposed to going for the gag or the joke, we were going for the truth. I love that we were able to marry the humor, the drama, the tears, the laughter – all in 25 episodes of our lives… From the second season through the rest of the series, we always had input in what happened.”
Bell spoke about the perpetuity of the show’s messages, considering that a lot of college students today still deal with the same things the show broached in the 90s.
“One of the reasons we can show up in 2024 and have a conversation with current students, in multigenerational audiences, about the impact our show had and why it’s evergreen, is because these are issues that are aspirational,” he said.
The cast did not speak the entire time, allowing students to pose their own questions and letting their heroes know how much they inspired them.
“‘A Different World’ was part of the reason why I came to an HBCU,” said Nathaniel Whitaker, a Morehouse student and aspiring filmmaker. “Personally, that was a show I bonded over with my family.”
At the end of the session, Bell publicly toyed with the idea of a potential reboot of the show.
“I cannot confirm or deny that anything might happen soon, but never say never,” he said.
