For Black History Month I Watched All of A Different World

The Black sitcom surge in the ‘80s and ‘90s helped craft the future of sitcoms as we know them. 227, Martin!, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Living Single and several others employed black writers and producers who put black culture on the forefront, giving black audiences something to relate to. Among these is the revolutionary HBCU sitcom, A Different World, which follows a group of college students attending the historically black, Hillman College. Despite the ups and downs of the show (both behind the scenes and on screen), this show goes down in history as one of the most educated and instrumental sitcoms ever aired and continues to influence black audiences to this day.

The premise of A Different World was originally to follow a white student as she attended an HBCU and to have Lena Horne play a prominent role as an instructor. With this premise, the title makes a lot more sense. However, things were switched around during production. Lisa Bonet was chosen to be the lead, continuing her role as Denise Huxtable, and she was intended to have a white roommate, in order to show the reciprocal dynamics of a white student at black school. Originally, Meg Ryan was cast as this roommate, but Marisa Tomei was cast in the role when Ryan dropped out.

Like most shows, the first season was incredibly rocky for A Different World. Anne Beatts, who had previously produced Square Pegs, was brought in as the executive producer, but did not know how to appeal to the show's target audience. In season two, Debbie Allen became the show's executive producer and the entire series did a complete 180. The fashion, topics and language of the show changed completely and reflected HBCU reality.

Through its six season run, the show covered important issues like domestic violence, racism, HIV/Aids, and sexual assault. Not only did it touch on these issues, but it did so with a certain care that held up well over time.

The show also acted as the jumping off point for a number of incredibly notable names such as Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Dawnn Lewis. Since the show was so successful in its prime, a number of actors that had already made a name or themselves were featured on the show as well. These actors included Diahann Carol, Lena Horne, Marla Gibbs, Ron O’Neal, Patti LaBelle, and Gladys Knight.

However, like many shows of this time period, A Different World was not without its issues. Throughout the entire season, the women in the cast endure ridiculous comments about their looks and sexuality, which often come in the form of cat calls from the male characters. Though the script itself comments on this several times, which we have discussed, there is nothing that truly changes about it. Most of my issues are with Ron’s character, he just does too much. In “Tales from the Exam Zone,” Ron makes sure that Whitley sits on his hand so that he can cop a feel. In “The Apple Doesn’t Fall” he tries to watch a woman undress and bathe from his window. While entertaining, continuing to harass women in this way sends a bad message and voids some of the redeemable qualities of Ron’s character in my opinion.

The sixth season seems like it was meant to rebirth A Different World for the second time. The theme was redone by Boyz II Men and five new names were added to the main cast. It seemed like they were moving into an entirely new realm. However, the show was cancelled in the middle of production for the season.