Nearly 40 years later, ‘A Different World’ still has something to say

For nearly 40 years, “A Different World” has meant something bigger than television to generations of viewers.

It introduced millions to Hillman College, helped shape perceptions of HBCU life and created characters who still feel familiar decades later.

This week, as Netflix returned viewers to Hillman, UATL explored that legacy from nearly every angle: the show’s impact on HBCUs, the issues it tackled, its sometimes-rocky first season and what it meant to those who watched it in real time.

We also looked at what “A Different World” means to a new generation of HBCU students and to those who found their own versions of Hillman on college campuses across the country.

“A Different World” actor Jasmine Guy chats with UATL senior editor Ernie Suggs at AJC Studios in Atlanta on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. A sequel to the series, also titled “A Different World” premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix. (Natrice Miller for the AJC)

Our week of coverage culminated with a rousing conversation Najja Parker and Ernie Suggs had with three people who helped create that legacy: Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer and Darryl M. Bell.

Sitting together in AJC Studios, they talked about surviving Season 1, Debbie Allen’s arrival, the show’s influence on Black culture and college life, and returning to Hillman nearly four decades later.

Stars of sitcom “A Different World” Darryl M. Bell and Cree Summer pose for a photo in Atlanta on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, in Atlanta. A sequel to the series, also titled “A Different World” premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix. (Natrice Miller for the AJC)

Mostly, though, they talked like old friends.

They teased each other, finished each other’s stories and reflected on a show that became something none of them could have fully imagined when it premiered in 1987.