Ashley Laverne Jackson, daughter of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, is joining the revival of ‘A Different World’ Sequel as a staff writer.
Per ClutchPoints, the opportunity is a full-circle moment for Jackson, the daughter of HBCU parents.
“This is truly my dream job. I watched Denise Huxtable’s journey to Hillman College as a kid glued to ‘The Cosby Show’… by my late teens, when I fell in love with ‘A Different World,’ I was already imagining what the characters were doing after the finale,” said Jackson. “[The show] reinforced everything I was raised to value. With two HBCU graduates as parents, I grew up understanding the pride, purpose, and community that these institutions hold, but Hillman gave me a visual language for it. To work on this sequel and help build the next chapter of the universe is a professional honor. In some ways, I’ve been working toward this my entire life.”
In the Netflix-backed reboot, the life of Deborah Wayne, the youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, will be centerfold. The series follows Deborah as she enters her freshman year at their HBCU alma mater and finds the shadow of her parents difficult to escape.
The popular streaming service has ordered 10 episodes, and production is already underway.
A Different World, originally aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993. The reboot will see familiar faces reappearing throughout the season. Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer, and Darryl M. Bell are set to reprise their roles in recurring capacities, reconnecting longtime viewers with Hillman’s legacy.
While originally a spinoff of The Cosby Show, A Different World went on to air for six seasons and turned into a true ensemble story, chronicling the ups and downs of a group of friends at a historically Black college.
Debbie Allen will return as executive producer and will direct three episodes, including the first.