Nearly 40 years after A Different World first introduced television audiences to life at the fictional Hillman College, the franchise is returning with a new generation of students and some familiar faces.
Darryl M. Bell and Cornell Young IV joined us to discuss Netflix’s new A Different World, which premieres Sept. 24. The conversation explored the responsibility of revisiting the celebrated series, Bell’s return as Ron Johnson and Young’s experience joining a franchise with deep ties to HBCU culture.
The new series aims to honor the original while reflecting the experiences of a new generation. Young said one way the production accomplished that was by bringing the fictional world of Hillman onto real HBCU campuses in Atlanta.
“We actually on, you know, HBCU soil, on ground shooting at Morehouse, Clark Atlanta, and Spelman,” Young said.
The shift also brings a different visual approach. Young explained that the production moved from the multicamera format associated with the original series to a single-camera production filmed on location, giving viewers a more immersive look at the college environment.
For Bell, returning to Ron Johnson after decades away from the character proved surprisingly natural.
“It was like putting on a comfortable pair of shoes or your favorite pair of jeans. You put them on, you were ready to go,” Bell said.
However, the Ron viewers meet today has experienced considerably more life than the character audiences last saw in the original series. Bell described Ron as now being a father and widower, adding new experiences and emotions to a character he first portrayed as a young college student.
Young, meanwhile, steps into the new series as Shaquille Johnson, Ron’s son. For him, joining A Different World also meant working alongside performers responsible for establishing the franchise decades earlier.
During the interview, Young recalled filming an episode alongside several members of the original cast, including Bell, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and Charnele Brown. The experience provided a moment for him to recognize the history surrounding the production while becoming part of its next chapter.
The original A Different World premiered in 1987 and became closely associated with its portrayal of Black college life. The new series arrives at a time when a generation of viewers who grew up with the original can now experience Hillman alongside younger audiences encountering the franchise for the first time.
That connection between generations was central to the conversation with Bell and Young. Rather than simply recreating what audiences remember, the new series is positioning Hillman within a contemporary setting while maintaining connections to the characters and culture that established its legacy.
A Different World premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix.
To listen to the full interview, click the link above.
Darryl M. Bell and Cornell Young IV discuss returning to Hillman, bridging generations and bringing the HBCU experience to a new era.
Darryl M. Bell and Cornell Young IV discuss returning to Hillman, bridging generations and bringing the HBCU experience to a new era.
