It was April 29, 1992. And the country was transfixed during the reading of the verdict.
An all-white jury found four Los Angeles police officers not guilty in the brutal beating of motorist Rodney King.
The response was instant. Some called it a riot. Others called it an uprising.
And for series creator Susan Fales-Hill, the moment needed to be addressed on one of TV’s most popular shows, A Different World.
From 1987 to 1993, A Different World, a spinoff from The Cosby Show, showed the lives of students at fictional HBCU Hillman College.
According to Fales-Hill in an interview with Vanity Fair, NBC executives were not happy about the storylines she and Debbie Allen pitched to kick off the series’ sixth season. They took issue with the show’s stars Whitley and Dwayne getting caught up in the mayhem of the verdict’s aftermath, the appearance of rapper Sister Souljah, and the inclusion of white rioters.
Despite the network pushback, the episodes went on to air in the fall of 1992 to strong ratings. And while Fales-Hill and the other creators felt proud of their work, that season would turn out to be their last.
“We won the battle and lost the war,” Fales-Hill said. “I think that was the moment they decided, ‘Okay, we’re done with these people.’” The episode “felt urgent and necessary at the time,” she added, “but as I look back, I don’t think it was our strongest. It was a bad hill to die on. It was all too raw and too new. We were poking a bear we didn’t need to poke.”
The series was cancelled in 1993.
Now, three decades later, as the country still grapples with many of the same racial issues tackled in that iconic episode, Fales-Hill and other vets are bringing the beloved sitcom back with a modern take on Black college life.
Premiering Sept. 24, Netflix’s 10-episode reboot of A Different World aims to continue the franchise’s legacy by bringing back beloved characters from the original series and showcasing a new generation of Black excellence.
Starring Hell’s Kitchen musical star Maleah Joi Moon as Dwayne and Whitley Wayne’s daughter, the show follows the rebellious Deborah Wayne and her eccentric friend group as she figures out her own path at Hillman College.
Debbie Allen, who also held the line with Fales-Hill against NBC executives, also returns as director and executive producer.
And the new show will follow in the original’s footsteps by not shying away from provocative topics. Storylines in season one include a campus bomb threat, an ICE raid, the suppression of Black history, STDs, homophobia, and Black mental health.
Series showrunner Felicia Pride said the team, which shot on the campuses of Morehouse, Spelman, and Clark, was intentional with releasing a compelling dramedy showcasing Black youth in higher education because it’s needed now more than ever.
“If you think about it, we’re not even supposed to be here,” Pride said. “The fact that we have HBCUs across the country that continue to thrive and educate despite everything we have experienced and continue to experience. My hope is to give and take that trial and continue this action to reflect the fact that we have come a long way.”
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Additional reporting by Najee Rutherford.
