Netflix Orders Pilot for ‘A Different World’ Sequel Series

The Different World sequel project is getting a different deal at Netflix: one of the streamer’s only pilot orders.

Netflix has given the green light to a pilot episode for the project, with a plan to start shooting this summer, Variety reports. The publication adds Netflix wants to get a sense of the show’s tone and the chemistry between the cast members before committing to a series order.

Here’s everything we know about the in-development production.

When will the ‘A Different World’ sequel series premiere?

No premiere date has been announces for the Different World sequel series — all we know is that Netflix is going forward with a pilot.

It’s a rare move for the streaming giant, which only ordered its first pilot just two years ago. These developments notwithstanding, a source tells Variety that Netflix won’t be engaging in a pilot season like that of the broadcast TV industry.

What’s the sequel series about?

The new project will continue the story of A Different World, a spinoff of The Cosby Show that aired six seasons on NBC between 1987 and 1993.

Set at the historically Black institution Hillman College, A Different World initially focused on Lisa Bonet’s Denise Huxtable. But after Bonet left the show after Season 1 — she was pregnant with Zoë Kravitz at the time — the focus turned to the on-off relationship between Jasmine Guy’s Whitley Gilbert and Kadeem Hardison’s Dwayne Wayne.

The sequel series, which first made headlines in August 2024, would return to Hillman and follow the story of Whitley and Dwayne’s daughter, according to Variety.