Netflix’s ‘A Different World’ Spinoff Pilot Cast 6 Leading Roles

Netflix’s A Different World spinoff pilot has cast 6 in leading roles. They are Chibuikem Uche as Kojo, Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Cornell Young IV as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Alijah Kai as Rashida, and Kennedi McClure as Hazel, the streamer will shoot a pilot for A Different World, a sequel to the 1987 sitcom, which will chronicle Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter’s time at an HBCU. The project had been in development at the streamer since last year, and the commissioning of the pilot is part of that process.

The pilot is a one-off and not part of a strategy shift, sources said. The pilot model in general is more often employed in comedy as a proof of concept for tone, chemistry among the ensemble cast, comedic timing and other key ingredients of a successful series.

The Different World sequel comes from writer/executive producer Felicia Pride and executive producers Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood. Allen, Werner, Prince-Bythewood and Bythewood all worked on the original multi-camera series, a spinoff of The Cosby Show, which ran on NBC for six seasons with Carsey-Werner producing.

As Deadline reported, the sequel was originally envisioned as a single-camera. It is unclear whether that has changed. Allen, who is slated to direct the pilot from a script by Pride, is well-versed in both formats. The pilot is eying a June shoot in Atlanta, sources said.

A Different World followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and her new classmates at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college. Though Bonet exited after one season, the show continued with the leading cast of Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Dawnn Lewis, Darryl M. Bell, Sinbad, Charnele Brown, Cree Summer and Glynn Turman.

The retooled second season continued to follow the students’ lives, with the love story between Guy’s Whitley Gilbert and Hardison’s Dwayne Wayne at the center. The sequel will center on the couple’s youngest daughter, Deborah Wayne, who is now also attending an HBCU (It is unclear whether it will be Hillman, which was the initial idea).

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