Television
Five Reasons I Can’t Wait for the ‘Another World’ Sequel
I’m a fan of the whole era of reboots, and in some cases reimaginings, of television — especially in relation to black shows. I loved “Bel-Air,” the reimagining of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and I cannot wait for the third season to premiere on August 15. I loved “Boomerang,” the BET show that was a sequel to the 1992 romantic comedy “Boomerang,” about the post-college lives of the daughter of Marcus and Angela Graham (who apparently married) and the son of Jacqueline Broyer. “Boomerang” only had two seasons, but it surely was pretty good television while it lasted.
In that very same vein, we recently got word that Netflix is working on a sequel to A Different World . The series will reportedly follow Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert-Wayne’s daughter as she attends Hillman College, her parents’ alma mater. I don’t learn about you, but I’m over the moon about these possibilities. The series is being written by Felicia Pride, who’s a author/producer/filmmaker who has worked on shows that the community knows and loves, like Queen Sugar , Bel-Air , and Grey’s Anatomy . I hope the series survives and makes it to our TV screens. Let me share five the reason why.
1. Who hasn’t wondered about Dwayne and Whitley’s lives since they left Hillman and moved to Tokyo?
One of the saddest parts of any show that ends shouldn’t be learning more about their story. Over the years, we have grow to be invested and in love with the characters on A Different World. When Dwayne yells “Baby please!!!” all of us feel his pain. And then they move to Tokyo and, well, life goes on. How cool would it not be to learn what their lives were like? Is Dwayne the principal at Kineshewa? Is Whitley an art dealer? So many questions. If they’ve a daughter at Hillman College, it’s definitely not the child Whitley was pregnant with when the show ended, unless the latest show is ready in the early 2010s. Maybe Dwayne and Whitley had a bunch of children and that is the baby. See, the considered who that baby is likely to be and when this show takes place is hilarious.
2. How cool would it not be to see HBCU motion in a show everyone knows?
So many movies have created iconic historically black colleges and universities on screen. There’s Mission College in “School Daze,” Atlanta A&T University in “Drumline,” and others, but Hillman College from “A Different World” stands out above all of them. We spent years on a campus somewhere in Virginia that looked quite a bit like Spelman College in Atlanta with a mixture of Howard University or Hampton University students. Either way, attending to see Hillman College during the years this show is ready has me curious to see what it looks like now. Will they use the same facade? Inquiring minds would love to know. Is “The Pit” still there, or has it been modernized to incorporate chain restaurants like many school cafeterias do nowadays?
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3. I’m very curious what type of baby Dwayne and Whitley have.
Will she be a super-intelligent math whiz like her father, or will she wear the latest clothes like her mother? Will she be like her parents on campus, popular and famous, or will she be more laid-back and have Hillman help her blossom? How does being the child of Dwayne and Whitley affect her time there? Are they famous alumni who donate to the school? When the original series began, Denise Huxtable moved into Gilbert Hall, which was named (if memory serves) after Whitley’s relative. Is it now the Wayne Library? How does returning “home” to a spot where your loved ones is known affect your college experience? We’ve seen a little bit of that with Whitley, but it surely could possibly be much more so with the newest student at Hillman College.
4. I wonder who from the old days will still be present at Hillman College.
I could be surprised if none of the former forged members appeared or were still around Hillman, perhaps as professors. Maybe Freddie Brooks (or perhaps Johnson) is a professor at Hillman Law School and/or perhaps someone we all know and love is the school president. The thought exercise itself is fun. Or perhaps we’re meeting a complete latest crew of individuals.
5. Hillman College could possibly be introduced to a brand new generation of individuals.
The better part of what could occur is that Hillman College could possibly be reintroduced into black popular culture. For a lot of us who were adults or grew up in the late 80s and early 90s, Hillman College is a major a part of the popular culture experience. Even though it was a fictional college, it was real in our hearts, and I know that sounds cheesy. It’s also true. I like the concept that Hillman College is relevant to this generation; the memes and TikToks could be out of this world. I’m all for that.