Made in Georgia: How HBCUs Helped Bring ‘A Different World’ From Script to Screen

School is back in session at Hillman College.

A Different World , the sequel series to the seminal 1987 college-set comedy, debuted Thursday on Netflix - exactly 39 years to the day after the original half-hour premiered. The new iteration , which debuted on the Global Top 10 English TV list and ranked #2 in the US, follows Deborah, Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert's free-spirited, well-intentioned, yet rebellious youngest child, as she enters her freshman year at her parents' famed alma mater.

Welcome to Atlanta

In addition to bringing back familiar faces on screen (Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, Ajai Sanders, Karen Malina White, Charnele Brown, Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman and Jada Pinkett Smith, just to name a few) and off (executive producer and director Debbie Allen, writers-turned-executive producers Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Rock Bythewood), the half-hour comedy hired 290 cast and crew and 1,800 daily hires and extras .

Filmed entirely in Atlanta, Georgia over 57 days , A Different World rolled cameras at 11 locations across the city, including Atlanta Metro State College, Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Spelman College and the Wimbish House. "We couldn't have picked a better place," said Hardison. "We're doing a show about HBCUs at an actual HBCU."

HBCU Alumni and Current Students Pitch In Behind the Scenes

But the series didn't just use local HBCUs as backdrops - it hired alumni and current students in key roles to authentically capture the HBCU experience. Forty members of the cast and crew were graduates of HBCUs, ranging from the writer's room to casting to post-production.

The writer's room also assembled an HBCU council of current students from across the country who consulted on various issues and events happening on campuses today. When production kicked off in Atlanta, an on-set HBCU council was formed for current students at HBCUs in the Atlanta University Center (AUC). In addition to providing invaluable feedback to the production, these students were able to learn from and shadow different departments on set, from producers and props to costumes and set PAs.

"It means so much to me to be filming at these prestigious HBCUs," said cast member Kennedi Reece, a recent graduate of Howard University. "Coming from one myself… it's just amazing to be able to experience the different types of culture that each HBCU brings."

To create more access for local HBCU students and invest in the next generation of entertainment talent, production partnered with Netflix to form the ADW HBCU Student Engagement Initiative. The initiative hired 33 students as paid, non-union production assistants, shadowing professionals across departments, including accounting, art, costumes, grip, electric, locations, and the writer's room, with scheduling crafted to accommodate their academic schedules.

A Different World continued to enlist HBCU students and alumni throughout production. In total, roughly 59% of background performers hailed from HBCUs and about 32% were current students.

"We've tried to pour as much reality and authenticity into every part of the show as we can," said co-executive producer/writer Lisa McQuillan. "Behind the camera, it's just been a beautiful Black experience... to work with a crew and a cast and writers in every aspect really feels like a big family reunion or a big HBCU."

Amplifying Black-Owned Businesses

Behind the scenes, A Different World worked with over 275 vendors and businesses. The series' props department also worked with the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), Atlanta's home for entrepreneurs, to highlight products from Black-owned businesses across every episode of our season. "It really added to the authenticity," said creator and showrunner Felicia Pride. "Also, you think about the impact that the show continues to have offscreen."

Girl Well , a non-profit that serves under-sheltered teenage girls by providing self-care kits that promote self-love, also got a shoutout. Founded by Spelman College student Kayli-Joy Cooper, a member of the show's on-set HBCU Council, Girl Well was featured in Episode 7, where students could be seen constructing kits.

On top of the highly anticipated return of Dwayne Wade's iconic flip sunglasses, costume designer Provi Fulp (a Clark Atlanta alumna) and her team featured more than 15 Black designers over the course of the season. This list includes Atlanta-based A Ma Maniѐre and Caribbean-American fashion designer Fe Noel . "We're ready to inspire you to go to an HBCU, to dress like Rasheeda, Shaquille, Hazel, Amir and Kojo," said Fulp, pointing to the new crop of Hillman students.

Enrolling Current and Future HBCU Students Across the Country

In the weeks leading up to the show's debut, we brought A Different World to the very communities we celebrate on screen through our "Road to Hillman" tour . We stopped at four HBCUs and predominantly Black institutions, including Prairie View A&M in Texas, Chicago State University in Illinois, Hampton University in Virginia and Howard University in Washington D.C. Each stop included photo ops, meet and greets, music and merch giveaways as well as clips and conversations and Q&As with various members of the cast and creative team.

The tour culminated with a return to the AUC to celebrate the premiere on September 21, which kicked off Morehouse College's 8th Annual Human Rights Film Festival. In addition to talent and VIPs, we opened the doors of Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel to students, faculty and staff from Spelman College, Morris Brown College, and Clark Atlanta University, allowing us to honor the culture, elevate the legacy and show out for an iconic moment in Black storytelling.

On September 15, we also hosted a special Clips & Conversation event at the Motion Picture Association in Washington, D.C. to share an advanced look at the series. Representative Alma Adams (D-NC), Representative Nikema Williams (D-GA) and Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) offered welcome remarks to celebrate the series and its impact.

On premiere day, we partnered with Principal for the Day to surprise students at Unity Prep Charter High School in Brooklyn. The cast joined classes, spent time with students, and sat down with juniors and seniors for a college prep conversation. Students shared their aspirations and asked the cast questions about HBCUs and preparing for college- bringing the spirit of Hillman into their own classrooms.

A Different World is just our latest series to film in Atlanta, joining fan-favorites like Stranger Things , Sweet Magnolias , Beauty in Black , Cobra Kai and Ozark , as well as highly anticipated upcoming shows like All the Sinners Bleed and Scooby Doo: Origins .

A Different World is now streaming - only on Netflix.