Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘A Different World’ presents a new spin on the 1987 series, following the lives of a group of young people at Hillman College. The main characters from the parent series are now the parents of the characters in the present show, overseeing their children’s lives while dealing with complex dynamics of their own. The story begins with Deborah Wayne’s arrival at Hillman and her evolution over a particularly turbulent year. Additionally, we follow Rashida, Hazel, Shaquille, and Amir, who are also trying to navigate terrain entirely new to them. As the characters embark on paths that push them to their limits and test them in unexpected ways, the college becomes a safe space where they can be vulnerable and evolve. Much like in the original series, the college remains an important part of the narrative. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Fictional Hillman College is Brought to Life by Real HBCUs
Hillman College in ‘A Different World’ is a fictional college that serves as the main setting of the series. In real life, there was a women’s college with the same name in Chilton, Mississippi, that existed until 1942, when it was taken over by Mississippi College. Apart from the similar names, it has no connection to the college in the Netflix series, which is set somewhere in another fictional location called Hillman in Virginia. It is revealed to be an HBCU (Historically Black College or University). To keep that spirit, the fictional college was modeled on the real HBCUs. In the original series, the college was built on sets with the entire show being filmed on soundstages.
However, for the Netflix series, the production turned to real-life HBCUs to give the story and characters a more realistic touch. While some scenes were filmed on soundstages, a good chunk of ‘A Different World’ was filmed in and around the Atlanta University Center Consortium at 660 Atlanta Student Movement Boulevard in Atlanta. The pilot episode, in particular, was filmed at Clark Atlanta University, located at 223 James P. Brawley Drive South West, Atlanta. The production also used Morehouse College at 830 Westview Drive South West, Spelman College at 350 Spelman Lane South West, and Morris Brown College at 643 M.L.K. Jr. Drive North West.
Some scenes were also filmed at the Interdenominational Theological Center, at 700 M.L.K. Jr. Drive Southwest. The cast and crew employed the beautiful facades of the spacious halls and the beautiful campus of these colleges to present an expansive look at Hillman. For the show’s creators, the idea had always been to make things seem as real as possible, while also keeping it connected to the original series. Despite the differences in production values and locations, they wanted to present the new version of Hillman as something that has changed and evolved over the years, rather than presenting the new building as a completely new structure.
The production designers were directed to follow the original layout of Hillman, as presented in the 1987 series. Thus, the facade represents the college’s past, while the interiors, modernized to keep up with the times, reflect its present. To keep the portrayal rooted in reality, former and current HBCU students were brought on board as consultants and background actors, among other things. They helped the show’s creators not only make the location feel authentic but also capture the nuances of college life for young Black students. All of these details infused an otherwise fictional Hillman College with life.
Read More: A Different World Ending Explained: Who Does Deborah End Up With?
