More familiar faces are returning to Hillman College for Netflix’s A Different World sequel series.
Dawnn Lewis and Glynn Turman are the latest original cast members to sign on for guest roles, the streamer announced Wednesday, March 25.
Lewis played divorced student “Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor” on 119 episodes of the comedy, according to the show’s IMDb page. She is also credited with co-writing the show’s theme song.
Turman portrayed “Colonel Brad Taylor,” a military man turned professor and ROTC instructor, over the show’s entire six-season run. The two characters tied the knot in season 5.
Also joining the cast in guest roles are Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood) as “Darlene Duvall,” Joshua Suiter (All’s Fair) as “Andre,” and Raven Goodwin (Grotesquerie) as “Dr. Brooklyn Boyer.”
A Different World was a spinoff of The Cosby Show and aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993.
Netflix greenlit the sequel from executive producers Felicia Pride (Grey’s Anatomy and Queen Sugar) and Debbie Allen (Grey’s Anatomy and A Different World) back in November.
The streamer later signed original stars Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, and Cree Summer for the sequel.
Charnele Brown, Jenifer Lewis, and Jada Pinkett Smith are also reprising their roles on the series, as previously reported.
Filming is taking place in Atlanta. Urban Hollywood 411 spoke with Jenifer Lewis over the weekend at a red carpet event and asked if she had filmed her scenes.
“I have been on set and it’s fabulous, Debbie Allen is everything. It’s like no time has passed,” she said. “Everybody is still young, healthy and beautiful, and the scripts are great.”
The new series centers on Deborah Wayne, youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne (Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Guy). Maleah Joi Moon (Hell’s Kitchen) leads the cast as Deborah.
Deborah is now a student at Hillman, the fictitional HBCU from the original series.
“She finds the shadow of her parents difficult to escape as she sets out to build her own legacy, while having the time of her life, alongside a whole new generation of Hillman’s best and brightest,” according to the official description.
The new generation of cast members includes Alijah Kai Haggins (Everybody Hates Chris), Cornell Young (Doing Life), Jordan Aaron Hall (The Idea of You), Chibuikem Uche (One Of Us Is Lying), and Kennedi Reece.
Original series writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood are back as executive producers alongside Mandy Summers and Tom Werner.
A premiere date for the 10-episode series will be announced later.
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