‘A Different World’ Earns Fast Season 2 Renewal at Netflix

Netflix‘s report card on A Different World is a good one: The streamer has renewed the show for a second season.

The renewal for the show, a sequel to the 1980s-90s NBC sitcom, was a quick one. Netflix announced the season two order just eight days after A Different World’s Sept. 24 debut. The second season will follow Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon) and her Hillman College classmates into their sophomore years.

“It’s so validating to be bolstered by our amazing audience. We are beyond excited to return to Hillman and continue to tell meaningful and heartfelt stories that resonate across generations,” creator and showrunner Felicia Pride said in a statement. “I am thrilled for our brilliant cast and our hard-working crew.”

A Different World collected 4.2 million views and 23 million hours of watch time worldwide in its first four days of release, according to Netflix’s internal data. The series centers on Moon’s Deborah, the youngest child of Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne (original series stars Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison), as she follows in her parents’ footsteps at Hillman, a historically Black college.

“Halleluja! The people and Netflix have spoken,” said director and executive producer Debbie Allen. “A Different World brought something everybody needed: joy, romance, relevance, authenticity, and heart.”

Added Tracey Pakosta, vp comedy series at Netflix, “We are so excited to see how audiences around the world have embraced the next chapter of this beloved series. We believed in this incredible team from day one, and can’t wait to see what unfolds next year at Hillman College.”

Pride told The Hollywood Reporter that she grew up with the original series and wanted to “capture and imbue the spirit” of it in the Netflix show. “The feeling that it gave you, which for me, was warmth,” she said. “The feeling of having this community of students and friends and mentors and elders, also the texture and the culture of HBCUs, and then the political consciousness of the show. Those were the sides of the square.”

Along with Moon, Guy and Hardison, the show’s cast includes Alijah Kai, Cornell Young IV, Jordan Aaron Hall, Kennedi Reece, Chibuikem Uche and original series actors Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell. Jada Pinkett Smith, Glynn Turman, Joe Morton, Jenifer Lewis, Karen Malina White, Ajai Sanders and Charnele Brown had guest appearances in season one, reprising their roles from the NBC show.

Pride executive produces A Different World with Allen, Tom Werner, Reggie Rock Bythewood, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Mandy Summers.