A Different World (1987) Cast: Then and Now [35 Years After] by HollywoodNuts
The Cosby Show spinoff A Different World is an American sitcom television program. In six seasons, from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993, it broadcast on NBC.[1] Lisa Bonet’s character Denise Huxtable and the students at Hillman College, a made-up historically black college in Virginia, were the series’ primary focus. The atmosphere on campus at historically black schools and institutions served as inspiration.[2][3][4]
The remainder of the series mostly concentrated on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert-Wayne (Jasmine Guy) and math prodigy Dwayne Cleophus Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) after Bonet’s departure in the first season.
Although A Different World was a spin-off of The Cosby Show, it frequently addressed topics that the authors of The Cosby Show ignored, such as racial and class relations, sexual assault, or the Equal Rights Amendment. One of the earliest American network television programmes to discuss the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS was one that aired in 1990.[5]
In the original plot, a white student at a historically black university would be the main character, with Lena Horne serving as the acting professor. However, during production, the focus shifted to a black student (Denise Huxtable) attending a historically black university with a white friend.[6][7] In order to portray the dynamics of a white girl in a largely black environment, it was ultimately agreed that Denise, who was of college age, would be spun off and have a white roommate.[8]
When Meg Ryan opted to pursue a career in movies, Marisa Tomei was cast in Meg Ryan’s place.[9] Black and white students were equally represented in Hillman’s student population during the first season, but this reversed at the start of the second and remained that way until the end of the show.