Review: A Different World – Netflix’s Hillman College reboot is a solid weekend watch

Sequel series A Different World is not the kind of gripping television that pulls you in from the beginning (like HBO’s Lanterns), but if you put your phone down long enough to get into it, the reboot on Netflix makes for some solid weekend viewing.

Back to Hillman

The new series follows Deborah Wayne (played by Maleah Joi Moon), the youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, as she starts her freshman year at her parents’ alma mater.

Along the journey, viewers see her try to step out of their very long shadow.

With all ten half-hour episodes dropping at once, it’s built for a binge, though it’s more of a Saturday-afternoon-on-the-couch binge than a cancel-your-plans one.

A Different World strikes a good balance between new and established talent.

Its young cast is also very easy on the eye, in the way of the CW dramas that South African viewers grew up on through channels like DStv’s Vuzu.

If you remember clearing your evening for those, you’ll know the vibe.

Big issues, gentle touch

The writers take on politics, federal funding in education, neurodivergence, racism and reproductive health.

It’s a solid take on the issues of the day, but nothing too revolutionary.

That isn’t a criticism so much as a heads-up: if you’re hoping for a radical, boundary-pushing look at these topics, this isn’t it.

The callbacks to the original version of A Different World are the show’s most fun feature.

Fans of the 1987 sitcom will enjoy spotting the nods and the returning faces (or, at the very least, mentions of them).

And where the original was thought to lean more towards sitcom territory, this version is a proper dramedy, with a better balance between the heavy and the light.

A good intro to HBCU culture

For South African viewers who may never have actively sought out media that unpacks HBCU culture, A Different World is a welcoming, illuminating way in.

If you go into the show with an open enough mind, there is a lot to learn and a lot of similarities to spot between their experiences and our own time at universities across South Africa.

Verdict: Not a must-see, but a very watchable one. Pour something, put the phone face down, and give it a couple of episodes.

Especially since Netflix announced on Friday that A Different World has been renewed for Season 2.

Details:

Show: A Different World (2026)
Where to watch: Netflix
Rating: 3/5
Synopsis: A Different World returns to Hillman College with a new class stepping onto campus – and beloved faces coming home. At the center is Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), Whitley and Dwayne’s lovingly sheltered youngest daughter, a free spirit with a flair for the spotlight and a big heart who’s still figuring out her own path at Hillman.

Along the way, she’s joined by a new generation that reflects the breadth of Black life on campus: Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai), a first‑gen criminal justice major; Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV), a five‑star athlete choosing legacy; Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall), a sharp psych major better at fixing everyone else’s problems than facing his own; Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece), a church‑raised small‑town girl defining her own values; and Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche), a Ghanaian‑Nigerian fashion entrepreneur finding the courage to follow his vision.

Legacy favorites also return, including Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy), Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer), and Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell).

Set against the rituals, humor, and contradictions of an HBCU, A Different World is a hopeful dramedy, full of heart and unapologetically centered on the richness and complexity of the Black experience.

The series is from showrunner, writer, and executive producer Felicia Pride, executive producer and director Debbie Allen, and executive producers Tom Werner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Mandy Summers.