What an absolute joy to head to a different world once again.
The real world of 2026 is full of aggressively middling TV shows, from cringe-worthy reality TV to dull comedies to blatant nostalgia-baiting reboots designed to be watched while you're actively scrolling on your phone. So how delightful it is to see something, well, different.
Enter "A Different World" (now streaming, ★★★½ out of four), a reboot (well, really a sequel) to the classic 1987-1993 sitcom about students at a historically Black college working through the trials, tribulations and parties of college life in this underrepresented setting. Although the show is deeply familiar − still set at the fictional Hillman College, still about a group of young and fumbling whippersnappers
and with appearances and regular roles for select members of the original cast − it shines on its own. Any kid currently in college could stumble upon it on the Netflix homepage and become instantly immersed in the world of Hillman, the easy humor of its jokes and the deep portraits of its characters.
It shouldn't be so rare and so exciting, but the best part of "World" is that it feels so fresh and new, in spite of being inspired by something old. There is a light and airy tone to the show, yet it is able to veer into moments of real drama and serious issues (just like the original.) It is genuinely funny but not try-hard. Its cast is shiny and young and hopeful, each sliding into their roles and slang without coming off as a parody of "kids these days."
"World" is effortless good TV. You don't see the work behind the filmmaking. You just see the great end product.
Fans of the original series, a spinoff of "The Cosby Show" that really came into its own after it lost its original Huxtable connections, will be happy to see that the new "World" focuses on Deborah, the youngest and most aimless child of Whitley and Dwayne (Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison, who both happily return). (As a stickler for timelines, I appreciate that the show specifically mentions Whitley and Dwayne had Deborah in their 40s, to make the ages of all characters make sense.)
Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon) is an overconfident, underprepared freshman at Hillman College, her parents' alma mater, desperate to step outside their very large shadows. She attended Hillman under duress after a mysterious "incident" foiled her original college plans, and so is resistant to the traditions, culture and rigor of Hillman, much to the chagrin of her rule-following friends Rashida (Alijah Kai) and Hazel (Kennedi Reece). Oh and her "situationship" and longtime childhood friend Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV) is a star football recruit at Hillman. He just happens to be the son of Ron Johnson, another returning character played by Darryl M. Bell.
"World" takes its young and old (in the least offensive sense of the word) casts and throws them in the unique atmosphere of an HBCU. The series, created by Felicia Pride ("Bel-Air" and "Grey's Anatomy") brings the campus to life, as the '80s and '90s series was able to. They even share a creative force: Debbie Allen, so influential on the original, directs the first episode of the sequel. The kids deal with financial woes, the unfair criminal justice system, the pressure on Black athletes and on Black students in general, social media reputation and more. Its setting feels real and modern without resorting to shoehorning in 2026 buzzwords. The characters feel like kids you might meet at any college right now.
As a culture, we are so obsessed with nostalgia, comfort, familiarity and, worst of all, unchallenging material in our entertainment. It's lazy and offensive to the viewers at home who crave originality and wonder. And we miss what the magic of the original stories really was in the first place.
So you can happily step into this "World," the rare series that satisfies the corporate hunger for reboots and the audience thirst for good TV. A toast to many more shows like it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Netflix's 'A Different World' is a reboot done right (finally!)
