A Different World (TV Series)

[DramatistDreamer]

Something similar could be said of Loretta Divine’s character Stevie. Stevie was a single mother who was in charge of the dorm. I can see why Debbie Allen wanted to experiment with the idea of Denise continuing her education while pregnant, think of how encouraging that would have been at that time, in terms of curbing the dropout rates among pregnant students and single moms.

Debbie Allen also mentioned that she wanted to keep Marisa Tomei, as she thought it would have been interesting to have Maggie Lawton as a white student continuing at a black college that truly functioned the way a HBCU genuinely functioned, rather than what we saw in Season 1. 

The head honchos torpedoed Allen’s ideas to being back both Bonet and Tomei.

In a recent interview Debbie Allen still expressed the desire to bring the show back, while exploring themes current to today’s society, believing that the show would be more relevant than ever, but I think certain forces would have to sign off on that, which seems to present some difficulties.

[Vee]

It sounds like Mary Alice may have left in a mutual decision. She didn't give many interviews about it that I can find, but there's a 1990 piece in the NYT about her theater work where she says she'd felt like she'd sold out when she took the job, 'even though I hadn't,' but then basically said it wasn't all it was cracked up to be and that 'the first shows' were good, implying the rest of the experience was less satisfying for her. Which is too bad, because I enjoyed her on the show. But one way or another they did phase her role out in Season 3, which I'm bingeing now where the dorms go coed and Jaleesa and Walter take those elder roles. (They also break Jaleesa and Walter up around this time, I believe, which Dawnn Lewis says they did because she and Sinbad felt their romance had seriously limited their stories and fought to get out of it.)

I do think keeping Denise and Maggie in the ways Allen's always talked about would've been fascinating for the show, but also would've left it extremely altered from the quiet hit it became. I'm not sure how characters like Kim or Freddie or others could've found real estate and airtime to exist, let alone how Whitley evolved.

[BetterForgotten]

Kadeem Hardison said a few years back when the Roseanne drama happened that Carsey-Werner (or just Tom Werner now as I don’t believe Marcy Carsey is active anymore) are not interested in reviving the show, or in the same way they were with Roseanne (despite her issues). Perhaps that’s attributed to keeping a distance from anything associated with Cosby as ADW was produced in association with him.

 

Which backfired IMO as Jaleesa never had any agency or any real story again after Walter left. There was that unfortunate quick marriage with Colonel Taylor, and then Dawnn Lewis abruptly left at the end of season 5 and Jaleesa wasn’t mentioned again.

Edited October 7, 2022 by BetterForgotten

[DRW50]

I feel like Jaleesa would have been on the way out anyway, as the show was shifting toward a younger and younger focus (which is also why even Dwayne and Whitley end up feeling oddly out of place in season 6 at times, why Kim got less and less to do, etc.), but that marriage was just odd. Maybe one of the most random marriages I can remember on a TV show, especially one that wasn't meant to be random. I never believed Jaleesa would be interested in him. 

Edited October 7, 2022 by DRW50

[Vee]

I believe she's said she was bored with the role and wanted the option to try to get another show. They allowed her to go out for a pilot, and she instantly got Hangin' with Mr. Cooper (which didn't last for her either, unfortunately).

I've always loved Glynn Turman but Jaleesa and the Colonel was really odd.

[Taoboi]

And that just sucks. Because so much has happened in the world...like just over the last few years...that there are plenty of things, ideas, and themes to touch on. SO MUCH. And if ADW inspired so many people of my generation and younger to head off to college and how important it could be...could you imagine how it could inspire people now who could use some inspiration...to know anything is possible...if only they dare to dream?

[DramatistDreamer]

I’ve been debating whether to mention this because it is, in essence, a rumor but years ago, there was a rumor that drinking may have been the reason for Guy’s abrupt departure from a play called The Violet Hour that ran on Broadway in the early ‘00s. I remember hearing it but hoping it wasn’t true.

[Forever8]

The Hillman Files posted clips of the episode in which Kimberly was letting the limelight get to her as the lead singer of Ron's band.

 

Edited January 5, 2023 by Forever8

[Paul Raven]

Billboard 10/27/90

NEW YORK- Jasmine Guy shares only two personality traits with the Southern belle character Whitley Gilbert she plays on NBC-TV's "A Different World ": She was born for the spotlight and she loves to talk. And with a new, eponymously titled album on Warner Bros. Records, the refreshingly down to earth Guy has plenty to talk about. "Try Me," her uptempo first single, written and produced by Full Force, is rocketing up the Hot R &B Singles chart. Apparently, the public- already familiar with Guy as a TV personality -has been pleasantly surprised by her vocal ability.

And so were the many producers- Raymond Jones, Rex Salas, Full Force, Oliver Leiber, Donald Robinson, Mic Murphy of the System, Timmy Gatling, and the Untouchables with DJ Eddie F and Nevelle -who worked on the project with Leonard Richardson, executive producer and Warner Bros. director of A &R. "She's already coming into a recording career with a built in audience of people who know her as Whitley. But she is totally different from Whitley," says Richardson, who also notes that Guy is among the most professional artists he has worked with in the studio.

The various producers had certain expectations of her based on that character, says Richardson, but "when they went into the studio, they were like- Wow!" The resultant album is a mix of musical styles and moods, from the slammin' first single to hip-hop beats, smooth ballads, and the jazzy "More Love," which features Marcus Miller on bass and Branford Marsalis on saxophone. "I thought it was a beautiful song and it was different from the other songs on the album," says Guy. "But I said, So what? I have diverse tastes and I'm sure other people do. I'm sure they would like to take a jazz break. And it came out so nice, I felt like a grown up when I came home with it. I thought, 'Yeeaahh -now I sound like a woman!' "

Singing is just one more facet of a multidimensional performing career for Guy, who attended a performing -arts high school in Atlanta. After graduation, Guy concentrated on dance and received a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey Dance Center in New York, where she later became a regular member of its junior company. She was also cast as a principal dancer on the television show "Fame" for one season before returning to Ailey. Her vocal training came in handy as she was cast in such on- and off -Broadway shows as "Leader Of The Pack," "Beehive," the Motown revue "Dancin' In The Streets," and the revivals of "The Wiz" and "Bubblin' Brown Sugar" in the mid '80s.

Wanting to get more screen time,Guy did some soap operas and episodic TV dramas, such as "The Equalizer." "I was Miss Prostitute," says Guy, who has also been seen in Eddie Murphy's "Harlem Nights," of her TV roles. "And I said, 'OK, can I go for a regular role now, please ?' I never went up for comedic roles, which is the irony of Whitley." And Guy didn't snap up the role of Whitley in a flash, either -there were several auditions and callbacks before the producers decided that she could be an effective neme sis to the Denise Huxtable character on "A Different World."

In the meantime, Guy appeared in Spike Lee's "School Daze," as one of the Wannabes, and performed on "I Don't Want To Be Alone Tonight," the slinky single from the film soundtrack. Guy had long wanted to record an album, however. A showcase she performed in Los Angeles in 1987 netted her more label interest than she was prepared to handle at the time, she admits. She finally put together a demo last year and got her Warner Bros. deal. Says Guy: "I didn't want to go into this big company like I was a know -it -all. The first album was very much a give and take situation. I took a lot of advice from Leonard Richardson and I respect his opinion a lot about music. And he gave me respect as well."

Touring will have to wait until next summer, when she has finished taping "A Different World" for the season, says Guy, who is currently doing radio and retail promotional appearances. She adds that though "Jasmine Guy" is her first album length reçording project, she found she enjoyed it much more than she had anticipated. "Being in the studio, I felt more myself than ever," she says. "Going back to the show for the fourth season was a shock to my system this year. I said, 'Oh right -that accent, that thing.' I was really in a different, 'Different World.' "

[GLATWT88]

I'm surprised this hasn't been reboot or a re-imagined like Bel Air. 

Edited May 21, 2023 by GLATWT88

[DRW50]

I think the rights issues and the Bill Cosby issues are a big factor.

[GLATWT88]

I imagine that being quite difficult.

I don't know if I would want it to move into a more serious drama and tone like Bel Air, but I feel like Bel Air has done such a great job of maintaining the integrity of the original but making it its own. 

It would also be easy to integrate veteran cast into the college setting while blending in a new cast. 

[j swift]

Agreed.

While I think a contemporary drama set on a HBCU would be very interesting in 2023, I would also find it very distasteful to watch anything that could potentially fund Bill Cosby's legal defense. 

From Deadline -2019

In 2004, Carsey-Werner shut down its production operations. Carsey-Werner became a sales/distribution company, with Jim Kraus, President of Carsey-Werner TV Distribution, and his team, mining the company’s library for off-network sales in broadcast and cable syndication.

But two of the shows in the Carsey-Werner library have Bill Cosby's fingerprints all over them and raise ethical questions about whether it's appropriate to benefit the imprisoned star. Any deals for those shows would likely add to Cosby's wealth, ranging from a percentage of the rights fees to residuals for his acting work.  Earlier, Forbes estimated that Cosby earns $4 million per month from syndicated reruns of the show. He also composed the theme music for both sitcoms, which could add another revenue stream.   All six seasons of A Different World are currently part of Amazon's Prime Video catalog but the rights are up for renewal in 2020.

Also, I had forgotten about Grown-ish which Kenya Barris cited “A Different World” as an influence.

Edited May 22, 2023 by j swift

[slick jones]

ALL AMERICAN HOMECOMING is a contemporary drama/soap set in an HBCU. There have been two seasons and it's currently in limbo for renewal.  It's a decent show for anyone that wants to check it out. It also has the CW's first non-binary BiPOC character, Nate.

It doesn't compare to A DIFFERENT WORLD (in it's time), but it also doesn't shy away from social issues.

[dragonflies]