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Set at the fictional Hillman College, A Different World was originally conceived as a vehicle for Lisa Bonet's Denise Huxtable. (The exteriors were filmed at Spelman.) Positioned between The Cosby Show and Cheers, the top-rated sitcom quickly became a group effort as the "ordinary" Denise was frequently upstaged by self-obsessed Southern belle Whitley (six-time Image Award winner Jasmine Guy), lovelorn smarty-pants Dwayne Wayne (two-time winner Kadeem Hardison), and his sharp-dressed pal, Ron (Darryl M. Bell). During the first episode ("Reconcilable Differences"), sophomore student Denise meets resident director Stevie (Loretta Devine), a single mother, and roommate Jaleesa, a 26-year-old divorcée (Dawnn Lewis, who co-wrote the show’s Phoebe Snow-sung theme). She and Jaleesa don't hit it off initially, but eventually find common ground--like their aversion to the "Mouth of the South," i.e. Whitley. In the pilot, which aired next, they meet their third roommate, Midwestern motor mouth Maggie (future Oscar winner Marisa Tomei), and the Gilbert Hall triumvirate was complete. Stevie, meanwhile, would leave midway through the season to be replaced by the more imposing Lettie (Tony winner Mary Alice), who is introduced in "The Prime of Miss Lettie Bostic."
Several Cosby Show actors dropped in during the first season to show their support, including Keisha Knight Pulliam ("Rudy and the Snow Queen"), Malcolm Jamal-Warner ("My Dinner With Theo"), Phylicia Rashad ("Clair's Last Stand"), and Cosby himself ("If Chosen, I May Not Run"). (Knight Pulliam and Cosby also appear in the pilot). Other guest stars include Keenen Ivory Wayans ("War of the Words") and various In Living Color cast mates, like David Allen Grier ("Romancing Mr. Stone"). Although Bonet and Tomei would leave at the end of the season, A Different World recovered from the loss and aired on NBC for another five seasons. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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