A Different World Cast: Then and Now 2026 and 1987
1 October 2026, 11:02
Netflix has just dropped a brand-new reboot of A Different World, the sitcom that introduced the world to Jasmine Guy, Lisa Bonet, and Jada Pinkett Smith. New cast members Chibuikem Uche, Cornell Young IV are stealing the spotlight. So who is in the 2026 cast? & How are all the characters related?
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A Different World has been reimagined with a brand-new cast in Netflix’s 2026 sequel, with new cast members Cornell Young IV and Alijah Kai getting people's attention, but alongside Lisa Bonet and Jasmine Guy – who was in the original A Different World cast? & Who is in the 2026 cast?
The show is a cult classic, originally being released in 1987, becoming one of the most prominent TV depictions of Black College life in the US.
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It tackles everything from romance and comedy to covering deeper topics like racism.
The sequel to A Different World features some of the OG cast members reprising their original roles, as well as the new cast members being introduced as relatives of the old characters.
The new series has been going viral on social media, so who are the cast members of the 2026 version? & How do they connect with the old cast?
Here is the full cast.
The family relations in A Different World cast & characters
1987 - Kadeem Kardison as Dwayne Wayne, Jasmine Guy as Whitley Gilbert > Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah Wayne (daughter)
1987 – Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson > Cornell Young IV as Shaquille Johnson (Son)
1987 – Lou Myers as Vernon Gaines > Famedica Ward as Nellie Gaines (Granddaughter)
1987 Charnele Brown as Dr. Kimberly Resse > Raven Goodwin as Dr. Brooklyn Boyer (Daughter)
1987 – Lisa Bonet as Denise Kendall > Vincent Jamal Hooper as Ellington (Son)
New cast/characters of A Different World
Alijah Kai →Rashida Duvall
Jordan Aaron Hall > Amir Rodale
Kennedi Reece > Hazel Henry
Chibuikem Uche > Kojo Achebe
OG Returning cast members of A Different World
Cree Summer → Freddie Brooks
Dawnn Lewis → Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor
Glynn Turman → Colonel Bradford Taylor
Jada Pinkett Smith → Lena James
