A Different World (TV Series)

TV Series (1987-1993). 6 Seasons. 145 Episodes. A Different World was a spinoff of the top-rated The Cosby Show. The half-hour, ensemble situation comedy was the first to immerse America in student life at an historically black college. Over the course of its run, the show was also credited with tackling social and political issues rarely explored in television fiction, and opening doors to the television industry for unprecedented numbers of young black actors, writers, producers and directors. Set at Hillman College, a fictitious, historically black college in the South, the series began by focusing on the college experiences of sophomore Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet)--one of the four daughters featured on The Cosby Show. Denise's attempts to adjust to life away from her family's upper-middle-class nest, and her relationship with her roommates, typically fueled the plot of each episode. One of those roommates, Jaleesa Vinson (Dawnn Lewis), was a young divorcee who considered Denise to be somewhat of a spoiled snob. Another roommate, Maggie Lauten (Marisa Tomei), was one of the few white students on the mostly black campus; for her, as it was for much of the show's audience, Hillman was indeed "a different world." Other recurring characters were added throughout the course of the first season: Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) was a rich Southern belle; Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) was a fast-talking, but studious, New Yorker; Ron Johnson (Darryl Bell) was Dwayne's scheming sidekick; and Warren Oates (Sinbad) was the dorm director and gym teacher. Bonet and her character, Denise, left the show after the first season due to her real-life pregnancy.