Walking through Clark Atlanta University, you can feel the history before you even step inside a building. The band’s music plays, bouncing all around campus. Students walk around in the flyest outfits, talking with their friends.
People kick it around the promenade, the popular outdoor walkway where everyone socializes. Faculty and staff make their rounds, keeping the campus connected. Music spills from passing cars, while campus tours introduce visitors to the place that so many students call home.
Students take pride in how they wear their school colors and represent their school. Everywhere you look, there is a reminder that an HBCU is more than a place to earn a degree. It is a community.
As a proud Clark Atlanta alum, returning to that environment brings back memories of my own experience. Witnessing the campus be selected as a filming location for the new A Different World reboot feels sentimental.
Although Hillman College is fictional, the environment is real. Even as you walk through the Atlanta University Center, including Morris Brown, Morehouse, and Spelman, it is easy to see why a place like this deserves to be at the center of a television show.
The original A Different World did more than entertain audiences. It introduced viewers to Black college life through friendships, relationships, personal struggles, and the process of figuring out who they are. It showed that college was about more than going to class and earning a degree. It was about discovering yourself surrounded by people who understood you without words.
Now, decades later, Hillman is back.
The world has changed and so have the experiences of college students. The dynamic between social media, dating culture, and the pressures young adults face today looks different from what it did back then. This reboot has an opportunity to introduce HBCU life to viewers who may not know how that feels.
After finishing season one, I think one of the show’s strongest points is its casting.
Maleah Joi Moon plays Deborah, the daughter of Dwayne and Whitley. Alijah Kai plays Rashida, Cornell Young IV plays Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall plays Amir, Kennedi Reece plays Hazel, and Chibuikem Uche plays Kojo.
Then you have the iconic Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, and Cree Summer, who all appeared in the original show. Another legend is Tichina Arnold, who is Alijah Kai’s mother. Alijah is amazing. The camera loves her, and the way she resembles her mom on the show is comedy gold. Very spot-on!
It was a true continuation. Everyone had their own storyline, such as Kojo navigating his Nigerian parents’ expectations of what he should do with his life rather than what he actually wants to do, like a career in fashion. I also liked how their hardships didn’t define them. You get to see them as whole people.
The actors bring talent, chemistry and personality to their roles, while the return of the original cast just makes it feel full circle.
It is also exciting to see opportunities created for up-and-coming actors.
We can’t forget the fashion either. The outfits ate down. It brought a real example of how we step when we walk on campus.
But most importantly, the series attempts to address the things that matter to today’s generation.
It revisits familiar parts of the HBCU experience, from being late to convocation and navigating the financial aid office to depicting how the new dating scene looks, students organizing protests and alumni giving back to preserve and pour back into the universities.
The one that I connect with the most is student-led protests. What I saw during both years I was there, which happened to be during the 2024 election, was students standing up for what they believed in.
I witnessed students organize buses to take people to the polls and march from Robert R. Woodruff Library to the Georgia State Capitol in opposition to ICE. More recently, there was a justice movement in honor of Nolan Wells, with thousands of AUC students carrying posters. It reminded me of how powerful we are together and how our generation can make significant progress.
However, the reboot cannot rely on nostalgia alone. It will never feel exactly like the original, and it doesn’t have to.
On the flip side, the writing and pacing are where the show could improve. The storylines felt tangled together, and it was hard to see some character development or lack thereof. At times, it is difficult to tell whether the series wants to be a sitcom or a drama.
Abbott Elementary demonstrates how strong comedic timing, dialogue, and memorable one-liners can make a comedy work. However, All American: Homecoming offers an example of how college life, relationships and personal challenges can drive a drama series. The reboot could find a balance between the two.
To be fair, it was only 10 episodes, each 30 minutes long, so I’ll cut it some slack.
At the end of the day, we need more shows like A Different World. Not just remakes, but also original shows that celebrate Black culture, HBCU life, love, and friendship in ways that make audiences want to be part of that world.
The series highlights Black history and the Black college experience, showing why positive TV representation matters, especially during today’s political climate and ongoing debates over HBCU funding. Each episode demonstrates our intelligence, talent and impact, showing that student-led movements can shift the room and create meaningful results.
In episode nine,students even held the president accountable for how the money is handled. The students used their voices to advocate for their peers. It shows the importance of showing up as a collective.
The student discussion focused on the struggles within the school and how administration pretends those problems do not exist. The characters expressed concerns about how money is being mismanaged, especially when funding goes toward events rather than more important needs.
The conversation also highlighted the importance of being the change you want to see instead of waiting for someone else to take action. Although standing up for what you believe in can be difficult and sometimes frightening, the discussion showed that making a difference is not always about being fearless, but about being relentless.
These 1990s and 2000s sitcoms really helped shape how we viewed life growing up. Maybe that is why we still talk about how it seemed better back then, or joke that we were born in the wrong era. I miss the feeling those shows gave us.
As someone who has experienced HBCU life firsthand, I know that feeling can never be fully recreated alone. But it can be brought to life in a way that makes people want to experience it for themselves. With the reboot renewed for a second season, there is another opportunity to build on its foundation.
Hillman has officially returned. Now, it is time to remind us why we fell in love with it in the first place.
Edited By Robert Hill