Nearly four decades after A Different World first introduced viewers to Hillman College, the beloved series has returned with a new generation, some very familiar faces and a whole lot of conversation on social media.
Netflix’s new A Different World centers on Deborah Wayne, the youngest daughter of Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne, played by Tony Award winner Maleah Joi Moon. She is following in her parents’ footsteps as a freshman at the fictional HBCU Hillman College.
For fans of the original, there is plenty of nostalgia.
Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison are back as Whitley and Dwayne, along with several familiar faces from the original series. The show gives fans a chance to see where some of their favorite Hillman characters are today while introducing a new generation of students.
The new series also tackles today’s college experience while keeping the HBCU culture, relationships, humor and social issues that helped make the original so memorable.
HBCU Pride Takes Over Social Media
The return to Hillman has sparked a wave of HBCU pride online.
Across social media, people are creating and sharing AI generated images celebrating their own colleges and universities. The images feature school colors, campus inspired backgrounds and A Different World themes, giving HBCU alumni and supporters another way to represent their schools while celebrating the return of a show that helped introduce generations of television viewers to HBCU life.
But not all of the online conversation has been positive.
Why Is Everybody Coming for Whitley?
Jasmine Guy has found herself at the center of a much different conversation as some viewers have criticized her appearance and compared how she has aged with costar Kadeem Hardison.
Guy, who played the unforgettable Whitley Gilbert, and Hardison, who played Dwayne Wayne, are only a few years apart in age. Still, some social media users have been picking apart Guy’s appearance, with comments about everything from aging to her biracial background.
Others have pushed back with a pretty simple question. Why are we dragging somebody for getting older?
More than 30 years have passed since we watched Whitley and Dwayne walking around Hillman as college students. They are supposed to look older. We all do.
Maybe the bigger conversation is whether we can enjoy seeing these beloved characters again without grading how well everybody aged.
As E.J. Greig put it during Trending Topics on 101.5 The Vibe, “Y’all get off Whitley!”
Have you watched the new A Different World? Does it capture the feeling of the original? And what do you think about the social media conversation surrounding Jasmine Guy?