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Decades after A Different World ended, the Cosby Show spinoff is gearing up for a sequel, and it finally has a cast. The original A Different World show ran from 1987 to 1993 and followed Lisa Bonet's Denise Huxtable and Marisa Tomei's Maggie Lauten as they attended an Hbcu (Historically Black College or University). After the second season, however, Bonet and Tomei both left the show due to Bonet's pregnancy. Tragically, several A Different World cast members have died since the show's conclusion, including Lou Myers (Vernon Gaines), Diahann Carroll (Marion Gilbert), and Rosalind Cash (Dean Hughes).

According to a report by Variety, Netflix is already planning an updated cast for its sequel show. While there is no word about what will happen to the late actors' characters, the pilot has cast six series regulars already. Chibuikem Uche will be playing Kojo, Maleah Joi Moon will be Deborah, Cornell Young will be Shaquille,...

Netflix’s followup to “A Different World” has added six cast members to the pilot, Variety has learned from sources.

Chibuikem Uche has been cast as Kojo along with Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Cornell Young as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Alijah Kai Haggins as Rashida, and Kennedi McClure as Hazel.

Netflix declined to comment.

The followup to “A Different World” was first reported to be in development in August 2024, with the pilot being announced in March. As reported at that time, the new series would return to Hillman College, a fictional historically Black university, and follow the daughter of original series characters Whitley and Dwayne.

Felicia Pride serves as writer, executive producer, and showrunner on the project. Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood also serve as executive producers. Werner produced the original show via The Carsey-Werner Company, while Allen also produced and...

The sequel series to “A Different World” is moving forward at Netflix, with the streamer giving out one of the only pilot orders in its history for the comedy project.

According to sources, the plan is shoot the pilot at the beginning of the summer to get a better sense of the show’s tone and of the chemistry among the ensemble cast. No cast members have been locked in at the time of this publishing.

An individual with knowledge of the situation says that Netflix does not plan to engage in a traditional pilot season like the broadcast networks, in which shows are competing for a limited number of slots.

Reps for Netflix declined to comment.

Netflix has eschewed a traditional pilot process for most of its history, only announcing their first ever pilot order in 2023. The streamer has instead focused on straight-to-series orders or script-to-series deals for their shows.

All six seasons of the beloved TV series, A Different World, are now streaming on Netflix. The show debuted in 1987 and was a spin-off of the immensely popular The Cosby Show and season one starred Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable as she attended the fictional Hillman College, a Historically Black College (Hbcu) in Virginia. The show was willing to tackle issues such as HIV / AIDS, apartheid, domestic violence, and more.

Bonet left the show after the first season due to a pregnancy with Lenny Kravitz, and the focus turned to Dwayne Wayne, a math genius played by Kadeem Hardison, and Whitley Gilbert, played by Jasmine Guy. Despite the main character departing, A Different World grew in popularity and lasted six seasons until the show ended in 1993. Also, in the second season, Debbie Allen,producer and director and Howard University alumni, focused on making the show more authentic to an Hbcu experience.

There are several members of the A Different World cast who have died - and the actors who have passed away after appearing on the NBC sitcom shows how high the caliber of talent in the show truly was. Airing between 1987 and 1993, A Different World was a spin-off of The Cosby Show that went on to gain a solid following in its own right. Jasmine Guy led the cast as Whitley Gilbert-Wayne, and the show followed her life at the fictional Hillman College.

In the years following the cancelation of the 1990s sitcom A Different World in 1993, several former cast members have passed away. Some were recurring presences on the show, whereas others were guest stars who only appeared in single episodes. However, each member of the A Different World cast who has died left with an incredible career behind them, highlighting how important the performances of the actors in...

A Different World is the latest classic sitcom to get the revival treatment. According to an exclusive report by Deadline, Netflix is in early development on a sequel series to The Cosby Show spinoff, which would focus on the daughter of original series characters Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert attending their alma mater, Hillman College. The revival is headed by Grey's Anatomy writer and producer Felicia Pride, as well as original series producers, including Debbie Allen and Tom Werner.

Netflix hasn't yet commented on the report, which says the series is still in the very early stages of development, and no casting has begun. It is not known if any original series actors will reprise their roles, although it is likely Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne) and Jasmine Guy (Whitley) would return in some capacity. The original series debuted in September 1987 and ran for six seasons and 144 episodes, ending its run in...

Relax, relate, release. According to Variety, Netflix is developing a sequel series for the seminal sitcom A Different World. Details are scarce, but Variety says the project focuses on Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitney’s (Jasmine Guy) daughter. On the project’s ground floor is writer and executive producer Felicia Pride, whose impressive list of work includes Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar. Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Reggie Bythewood join the effort as executive producers. Netflix will neither confirm nor deny the project’s status.

A Different World ran for six seasons from 1987 to 1993 and revolved around a group of students at a historically Black university. The show focuses on their struggles and up-and-coming youths in a world trying to keep pace with their radical ideas and worldview. The show is a spinoff of The Cosby Show, with Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable leading the cast.

A sequel series to “A Different World” centered on Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter is in early development at Netflix, Variety hears from sources.

The project hails from writer and executive producer Felicia Pride, whose credits include “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Queen Sugar.” Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood also serve as executive producers. Werner produced the original show via The Carsey-Werner Company.

Netflix declined to comment.

“A Different World,” itself a spinoff of “The Cosby Show” and created by Bill Cosby, ran for six seasons on NBC starting in 1987, and it followed Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and her new classmates at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black university. After Bonet exited the series after one season, “A Different World” shifted its focus to the other students, played by Dawnn Lewis, Glynn Turman, Cory Tyler, Kadeem Hardison, Lou Myers, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, Jasmine Guy,...

Netflix is eyeing a return to Hillman College.

The streamer is in the early stages of development on a sequel series to A Different World, the 1987-93 NBC sitcom that was set at a historically Black university. The new project would center on the youngest daughter of Whitley (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), now a student at Hillman.

Netflix declined to comment.

The potential sequel comes from writer Felicia Pride (Grey’s Anatomy, Queen Sugar) and includes several members of the original show’s creative team, among them producer and director Debbie Allen, Tom Werner (whose Carsey-Werner produced A Different World), and writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood. They’ll all serve as executive producers on the project, along with Pride and Mandy Summers.

A Different World was a spinoff of The Cosby Show, following Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) to college at Hillman. Bill Cosby (who is not...

Exclusive: An A Different World sequel series chronicling Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter’s time at Hillman College, is in early development at Netflix, sources tell Deadline. The single-cam, half-hour comedy comes from writer/executive producer Felicia Pride and executive producers Debbie Allen, Mandy Summers, Tom Werner, Gina Prince-Bythewood and Reggie Bythewood.

Netflix declined to comment for this story.

Allen, Werner, Prince-Bythewood and Bythewood all worked on the original hit NBC series, a spinoff of The Cosby Show, which ran for six seasons. Allen was director-producer, Prince-Bythewood and Bythewood were writers, and Werner executive produced for The Carsey-Werner Company.

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 talented lead singer of the bands Magnolia Electric Co. and Songs: Ohia was found dead in his Indianapolis home on March 16 of reported organ failure after his long battle with alcoholism. So sad.

Folk singer Jason Molina died on March 16 in his Indianapolis home following a long battle with alcoholism. He as 39 years old at the time of his death. Even though he had a long career, which spanned more than 15 years, the alternative singer/songwriter stopped touring in 2009 to deal with his alcoholism, his record label Secretly Canadian revealed.

His death was caused by liver failure, according to Rolling Stone – which was a result of his struggle against alcoholism, which his record label called “severe,” and which he battled for more than a decade. Jason was the lead in the bands Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.

Jason Molina’s Band Magnolia Electric Co. Releases Statement

In a statement posted to their website,...

So sad. Another music legend has died. The Ten Years After guitarist will surely be missed.

Alvin Lee, who performed a monumental 11-minute version of his song “I’m Going Home” at Woodstock, died on March 6, according to his website.

“With great sadness, we have to announce that Alvin unexpectedly passed away early this morning after unforeseen complications following a routine surgical procedure,” the message read on alvinlee.com, signed by Lee’s daughter, Jasmin, wife, Evi, and former companion Suzanne. “We have lost a wonderful, much loved father and companion. The world has lost a great and truly gifted musician.”

Alvin, who was born in Nottingham, England, in 1944, and later became the lead guitarist of Ten Years After, died on March 6.

Alvin’s 1969 Woodstock Performance

Though Ten Years After never had a top 10 album in America, Alvin earned his status as a musician after his infamous Woodstock performance.

In...

After the sad passing of WWE legend William Moody, better known to wrestling fans as Paul Bearer, on Mar. 5, news has come out on a potential cause of death. A new report claims he had dealing with blood clots. So sad!

After the sad Mar. 5 passing of William Moody, aka Paul Bearer, TMZ has reported that the former WWE manager had been treated for a blood clot days before his death. Could this be the reason for his untimely demise?

Paul Bearer’s Death: WWE Legend’s Declining Health

Sources close to Paul, who has had a host of health issues in the past, claim that the WWE legend was suffering from a blood clot. TMZ reports that “Cowboy” Bob Kelly, the president of the Cauliflower Alley Club, told the outlet he last saw Paul on Mar. 2 at a Club reunion where he witnessed Paul in declining health and dealing with a serious breathing issue.

The WWE manager, who was best known as being the creepy funeral director and manager for wrestlers The Undertaker and Kane, died on March 5 at the age of 58. So sad.

William Moody, better known as his stage name Paul Bearer, died on March 5, according to an official statement by the WWE. The animated WWE star made a name for himself in 1991 as the spooky manager and “funeral director” for the wrestler The Undertaker.

“Moody made his WWE debut in 1991 as the manager of The Undertaker and went on to become a memorable part of WWE over the course of the next 20 years. Our deepest condolences go out to Moody’s family, friends and fans,” the official statement from the WWE read.

No details were immediately available surrounding his death, but the 58-year-old had suffered from health problems over the past 10 years. He was battling complications from morbid obesity, and had galbladder issues.

The beloved musician, who was hailed a hero at the age of 23 when he won the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow at the height of the cold war, died on Feb. 28 after battling bone cancer.

Van Cilburn, a beloved American pianist, died at the age of 78 after losing his battle with bone cancer. The musician gained worldwide recognition after winning first place in the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in 1958 when he was just 23 years old.

Van, who won the competition in Moscow at the height of the Cold War, became a symbol of defeat over the Soviet Union during the war. His performance at the competition was received by an eight-minute standing ovation. At the event, the judges had to reportedly ask Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev if they could give the first place prize to an American.

“Is he the best?” Khrushchev reportedly said, according to the Washington Post.

Character actor Lou Myers, best known for his role as the feisty Mr. Gaines on the NBC sitcom A Different World, has died. A spokesperson for Myers’ nonprofit Global Business Incubation tells The Associated Press Myers died Tuesday night at a hospital in West Virginia. He was 76. Myers appeared in several TV shows including NYPD Blue, ER, Touched By An Angel and The Cosby Show, but it was his role on The Cosby Show-spinoff A Different World that he is best remembered. He appeared on the show for five seasons, until it ended in 1993. Myers also had supporting roles in several films including, Tin Cup, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Wedding Planner. He also appeared on Broadway in Oprah Winfrey’s production of The Color Purple and won an NAACP Image award for best actor for his role in August Wilson’s play King Hedley II.

TV, film and stage actor Lou Myers, best known for playing Mr. Gaines on the sitcom A Different World in the '80s and early '90s, has died at 77. Myers passed away at the Charleston Area Medical Center in his native state of West Virginia after battling pneumonia for several months, TMZ.com reported. Myers was born in Chesapeake, W.V., the son of a Cabin Creek coal miner, according to the Charleston Gazette. After attending West Virginia State University, he got his first acting break as an understudy in the Broadway play The First Breeze of Summer. He...

Actor/singer Lou Myers, best known as the restaurant owner Mr Gaines on A Different World, passed away today after a short illness at the age of 76. A native of Chesapeake, West Virginia, Myers had returned to the state and lived in the Charleston, W. Va area. Though, of course, best known for his role as Mr Gaines on World from 1988-1993, Myers appeared in some 44 film and TV roles. He also appeared on the stage in August Wilson's The Piano Lesson and King Hedley IV, for which he won the NAACP Best Actor award in a stage production. Among his other stage roles were Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Color Purple on Broadway. As a singer and performer he performed in his...

Lou, who starred in the ’80s ‘Cosby Show’ spin-off on NBC, passed away on Feb. 19 after a series of health scares. So sad.

Lou Myers, the actor famous for playing Mr. Vernon Gaines on A Different World, the successful spin-off of The Cosby Show that ran for six seasons in the late ’80s on NBC, passed away in West Virginia following a heart-related emergency on Feb. 19.

The President of the actor’s non-profit organization spoke with TMZ, telling the website that Lou was in the care of the Charleston Medical Center at the time of his passing. It’s reported that his heart stopped earlier on the 19th. Doctors revived him, but he fell into a coma and died just hours later.

Lou Myers’ Health Woes

Lou’s health troubles began when he was hospitalized in December for pneumonia, but was released after New Year’s. He collapsed in his home a few weeks later,...

"A Different World" Star Lou Myers -- famous for playing Mr. Vernon Gaines on the 80s show -- has died, TMZ has learned.The President of Lou's non-profit tells TMZ, Lou passed away last night in West Virginia at the Charleston Medical Center following a heart-related emergency.Lou was hospitalized in December for pneumonia but released after New Year's. He collapsed at home a few weeks later and was hospitalized again.Lou's heart stopped yesterday.

Lou Myers, who played Mr. Vernon Gaines on the 1980s TV series A Different World, has died, TMZ reports. He was 77 years old. The president of the late actor's nonprofit told TMZ that Myers passed away at the Charleston Medical Center in West Virginia, where he was being treated for a heart-related emergency. He had previously been hospitalized in December for pneumonia and again in January after he collapsed at home. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Myers' heart stopped and he fell into a coma. According to TMZ, [...]...

Chicago – In our latest comedy/drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” with Zach Galifianakis and Jim Gaffigan!

The film also stars Lauren Graham, Emma Roberts, Keir Gilchrist, Dana DeVestern, Viola Davis, Karen Chilton, Aasif Mandvi, Jared Goldstein, Alan Aisenberg, Zoë Kravitz, Thomas Mann, Jeremy Davies, Lou Myers and Rosalyn Coleman from writers and directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

To win your free pass to the advance Chicago screening of “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just answer our question below. That’s it! This screening is on Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in downtown Chicago. Directions to enter this Hookup and immediately win can be found beneath the graphic below.

The movie poster for “It’s Kind of a...