‘A Different World’ Sets Series Premiere Date On Netflix

Thirty-nine years to the day that the original A Different World premiered in 1987, its Netflix sequel series of the same name will also premiere in 2026: September 24. The single-camera comedy will have 10 half-hour episodes.

The streamer released key art and a video teaser for the show featuring star Maleah Joi Moon, who plays Deborah Wayne, the daughter of Hillman College royalty, Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). What makes the assets extra special is that the youngest Wayne is wearing a pair of flip-up glasses, just like her daddy made famous in the OG series.

You can see the key art in full below and the video clip above.

Moon is currently in Miami alongside showrunner/executive producer Felicia Pride and executive producer/director Debbie Allen as part of the Black Television at the American Black Film Festival, where they are publicly speaking about the series for the first time.

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 (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.

There’s also a slew of original series actors returning to reprise their roles, including Guy, Hardison, Cree Summer, and Darryl M. Bell.

The new key art can be found below.