Netflix is going back to the 1980s. The streamer confirmed that it has ordered a pilot episode for a sequel series to the hit NBC sitcom A Different World.
This makes it only the second show to get a pilot order from the streaming service, the first being Little Sky in April of last year. Historically, Netflix has only ordered projects directly to series, rather than testing out a pilot before fully committing to a show.
The A Different World spin-off is set to begin filming as soon as the start of summer, according to Variety.
The 1987 sitcom was itself created as a spin-off of Bill Cosby’s mega-hit sitcom The Cosby Show. It followed the character Denise Huxtable, played by Lisa Bonet, as she attended Hillman College, a fictional HBCU.
Cosby is the creator of the original series, but Variety’s Joe Otterson writes, “The extent of Cosby’s connection to the sequel series is unclear. Cosby was released from prison in 2021 after serving three years when his sexual assault conviction was overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.”
Despite Bonet leaving the show after its first season, it continued to run for five more seasons, shifting its focus to other members of the leading cast. Two such cast members were Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy, who played Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, respectively.
This pilot will focus on the now-married Dwayne and Whitley’s youngest daughter, Deborah Wayne, as she too begins school at an HBCU, though it is not yet clear if that institution will be Hillman.
The project comes after Netflix’s recent success with comedy shows over the past few months, like Nobody Wants This and A Man on the Inside, both of which were renewed for second seasons.
According to a Deadline report, the A Different World sequel series had been in the talks since August of last year. Writer and executive producer Felicia Pride, who is best known for her work on Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar, will be spearheading the show.
Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Reggie Rock Bythewood, and Tom Werner will also serve as executive producers on the pilot. Allen produced many of the original show’s episodes, and Werner was its executive producer.
Werner was also the executive producer on Netflix’s That ‘90s Show, the 2023 sequel of That ‘70s Show.
The roles of Deborah and other students are still being cast.
