Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison in 'A Different World.' Carsey-Werner Co./Courtesy Everett Collection Logo text Netflix‘s A Different World sequel series has set a very not-different premiere date.
The new version, which serves as a follow-up to the 1987-93 NBC sitcom centered on students at an HBCU, will premiere on Sept. 24, 2026, exactly 39 years to the day of the OG series’ debut. The streamer announced the news on Friday at the American Black Film Festival (ABFF). The date, Netflix says, underscores its “commitment to honoring the show’s legacy while reintroducing Hillman to a new generation.”
Several members of the original cast will reprise their roles alongside a new group of actors playing Hillman students, and the show’s creative team also includes alumni of the original. On hand for the date announcement were showrunner/executive producer Felicia Pride, executive producer/director Debbie Allen and star Maleah Joi Moon, the leader of the new class.
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The new A Different World centers on Deborah (Moon), the youngest child of Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), who is beginning her first year at Hillman, her parents’ alma mater.
Deborah “finds the shadow of her parents difficult to escape as she sets out to build her own legacy, while having the time of her life, alongside a whole new generation of Hillman’s best and brightest,” the show’s logline reads.
Alijah Kai, Cornell Young IV, Jordan Aaron Hall, Kennedi Reece and Chibuikem Uche also star, along with original series alums Guy, Hardison, Darryl M. Bell and Cree Summer. The new cast also includes Vincent Jamal Hooper, Elijah J. Roberts, Renee Harrison, Famecia Ward, Dasan Frazier, Tichina Arnold, Joshua Suiter, Raven Goodwin, Cliff “Method Man” Smith, Norman Nixon Jr. Also reprising their prior roles are Karen Malina White, Ajai Sanders, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Charnele Brown, Jenifer Lewis and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Netflix picked up the series in 2025 and wrapped filming on the 10-episode season in April. Pride (Bel-Air, Grey’s Anatomy) serves as showrunner and executive produces with A Different World alums Allen (who directed most of the original series and helmed three episodes of the new season), Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Tom Werner. Mandy Summers also exec produces.
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