Allen

It’s never too late to go back to school. But after years of deferred admission, can a new generation of students at Hillman College score high at delivering a compelling, modern take on the groundbreaking sitcom “A Different World”?

The foundation for an updated version of the popular sitcom set at a historically Black college was set three decades ago. In the 1993 series finale, the show’s central couple — smart, bespeckled math whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and high-maintenance Southern belle Whitley Gilbert-Wayne (Jasmine Guy) — were embarking on their next chapter as newlyweds, relocating to Japan and expecting their first child. Before their departure, a professor jokingly quips to Dwayne: “I can’t wait to have your child in my class in the year 2014.”

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But plans for a revival — the original series itself was a spinoff of “The Cosby Show,” centered on the Huxtables’ free-spirited daughter Denise (Lisa Bonet) — to suit that time frame were in limbo for years. Producer and director Debbie Allen, who joined the original series in its second season to help it better reflect the HBCU experience, actively pitched and tried to relaunch “A Different World” in the early 2010s, but those efforts were derailed by the highly publicized sexual assault allegations against the show’s creator, Bill Cosby.

“It’s very difficult,” Allen told The Times. “The biggest difficulty, just being totally transparent, was people’s hesitation to work with Mr. Cosby; to have anything to do with him. [But] we were so independent. He kind of put us on a boat and said, ‘Go.’ And that’s what we did. And he was happy to know that we were going on our way.”

In early 2023, another push began to revive the series while also distancing itself from Cosby. Now, its decades-long gap year finally complete, a new incarnation of “A Different World” is starting up classes this fall at Netflix. And it hopes to carry on the legacy of its predecessor, which was celebrated for its depiction of Black culture and life in a higher education setting during its six-season run on NBC, from 1987 to 1993, bringing HBCUs into the mainstream.

Rashida (Alijah Kai), left, Deborah (Maleah Joi Moon) and Hazel (Kennedi Reece) in Netflix’s “A Different World.” After years of trying to tell the story of a new class at fictional Hillman College, Debbie Allen, who returns as an executive producer and director, says the sequel arrives at the right moment: “If there’s any voice we need to hear from right now, it’s young people.”

(Daniel Delgado Jr. / Netflix)

Billed as a sequel series premiering Sept. 24, a Wayne offspring is our anchor for the freshman class at Hillman College, the show’s fictional historically Black college based in Virginia. Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon) is an aspiring artist forced to attend her parents’ alma mater on academic probation after her NYU acceptance is rescinded. As the youngest Wayne child, she continues the family’s legacy at the school: her older sister — the child Whitley was pregnant with at the end of the original series — and an older brother are both alums.

She’s joined by a mix of first-gen and legacy students: star quarterback Shaquille Johnson (Cornell Young IV), who is the only child of original character Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell); criminal justice major Rashida Duvall (Alijah Kai); psych major Amir Rodale (Jordan Aaron Hall); Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion merchandising student Kojo Achebe (Chibuikem Uche); and small-town pastor’s daughter Hazel Henry (Kennedi Reece).

Some of the show’s original creative team join Allen as executive producers, including Tom Werner, and original series writers Reggie Rock Bythewood and Gina Prince-Bythewood. (Mandy Summers of “That ’90s Show” is also an executive producer.) To shepherd this reimagined version of the sitcom, Allen enlisted her former “Grey’s Anatomy” colleague Felicia Pride, who was most recently part of the writing staff on “Bel-Air,” the dramatic reboot of ’90s comedy “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” It was a dream call for Pride, who as a kid living in Baltimore recorded and rewatched episodes — namely, the one involving a step competition that she obsessively watched after school to learn the routine. But she was reluctant.

“I love the show so much,” Pride said, seated next to Allen inside a Netflix conference room in Los Angeles on a recent day. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to be the one to mess it up.’ But she [Debbie] was so adamant that the time was now to hear from young Black America — and that, I could get with.”

Allen remembers it this way: “I don’t have an ego. I begged her. It’s the truth. To get this show back up, we’ve tried for years. But this is the time that’s right … We had inspired all these kids, not just Black kids, all young people to go to college. This was a peep into college that had never happened before, where you saw young people being responsible and living their lives and being crazy, but still dealing with what is happening in this world. If the young people in the country don’t have a voice, that country is dead. And if there’s any voice we need to hear from right now, it’s young people.”

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1. The original “A Different World”: Dwayne (Kadeem Hardison), left, and Ron (Darryl M. Bell). 2. Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis), left, Freddie (Cree Summer) and Whitley (Jasmine Guy). With Netflix’s modern take, showrunner Felicia Pride wanted the series to be intergenerational: “That’s why I’m so glad that we were able to have the legacy cast in the show — I wanted it to have the heart.” (NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

The show has been credited with boosting enrollment at HBCUs. While overall HBCU enrollment rose by 26% between 1976 and 1994, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, much of that increase occurred during the stretch of the show’s run.

Pride said she rewatched the original series, paying particular attention to the shift that materialized in Season 2 when Allen was brought on to overhaul it, as a starting point. Allen had a document of ideas detailing the types of characters she wanted to see depicted, including a star athlete, the first out queer character in the show’s universe and an African student. One major detail was a nonnegotiable: Allen wanted the show to revolve around Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter. (How they arrived at the character’s name — Deborah (pronounced Deb-OR-ah), which also happens to be Allen’s first name — is fuzzy. Pride remembers the name already being set by Allen; Allen recalls being amused upon seeing it on the page, thinking Pride had chosen the name.)

And just as in college, legacy matters on TV.

“I wanted the show to feel of now,” Pride said. “I also wanted it to be intergenerational. That was important to me, and that’s why I’m so glad that we were able to have the legacy cast in the show — I wanted it to have the heart … These [characters] were like my friends. I felt comfort in them. I felt like I could be them. It was also culture in a way that I hadn’t seen before, represented by people who look like me.”

Several familiar faces from the original make their way into the sequel, some taking on the mentor role of the older characters from the original, others representing how one gives back to the community that shaped them. Hardison and Guy lead the cast from the original series who reprise their characters, along with Bell, Cree Summer as Freddie Brooks, Charnele Brown as Kimberly Reese Boyer, Ajai Sanders as Gina Deveaux, Karen Malina White as Charmaine Brown, Jada Pinkett Smith as Lena James, Jenifer Lewis as Dorothy Dandridge Davenport and Allen as Dr. Langhorne.

Several original “A Different World” cast members reprise their roles in the new version of the series, including Charnele Brown, left, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell and Cree Summer.

(Quantrell Colbert / Netflix)

“They were so happy to be back,” Allen said. “There was a day they were all together —”

“That was the day where I felt like, ‘Oh, this is history,’” Pride added.

“In between takes, it was just chaos,” Allen continued. “They just laughed and acted up. It was just wonderful.”

To make the new characters and their stories resonate in a deeper, more contemporary way required as large a commitment to reflecting HBCU life as the original had under Allen’s guidance. The creative team assembled two paid student councils from various HBCUs — one to advise the writers’ room on storylines and campus issues; the other worked on the show’s Atlanta set, with students hired as production assistants that had working schedules tailored to their classes. The background performers filling up scenes in the quads, classrooms and parties feature 59% HBCU students and grads. And some key characters are portrayed by HBCU alumni who bring their lived experience to the screen, including Reece, who went to Howard University.

The freshman season will explore issues that Gen Z is grappling with such as financial insecurity, learning struggles, activism in the age of social media and matters of mental health, as well as bigger systemic issues like uncertainty around funding for HBCUs and immigration enforcement. The series also doesn’t shy away from its real-world backdrop — while it doesn’t explicitly mention President Trump by name, there is reference to the state of affairs under his administration.

Actors Jordan Aaron Hall, left, Cornell Young IV, Chibuikem Uche and Dasan Frazier are part of the new class of students at Hillman College in “A Different World.”

(Eli Joshua Ade / Netflix)

But this version of “A Different World” departs from its source material in its narrative format and tone. The original series was a multi-camera sitcom taped in front of a studio audience — and Allen initially thought any sequel of it would follow that same blueprint. But when the new series found its home at Netflix, it became a 10-episode single-camera dramedy. (Allen directed three episodes in the season, including the premiere, which set the cinematic style of the series.) As if to signal this iteration hasn’t completely deviated from its roots, in the show’s opening moments, Deborah Wayne coolly flicks the iconic flip-up frames made famous by Hardison’s Dwayne. And its memorable theme song that had versions from Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin and Boyz II Men hasn’t gone anywhere: Brandy was tapped to give a fresh spin on it that helps straddle the line between generations.

Now, Allen and Pride are on the cusp of seeing how this long-gestating idea will fare in the streaming world.

“You play the cards you’re dealt,” Allen said. “It took a while, but it was right for it not to happen until now. Right now is when we need it. Young people are struggling to find hope and inspiration and guidance, connection …”

Allen’s hope is that the show will have enough seasons to let the characters evolve: “On Netflix, not too many shows go past three, maybe four [seasons],” Allen said. What’s the goal? “At least three.”

Pride isn’t thinking ahead to graduation just yet. She’s still thinking about surviving the first day of school with this different (but familiar) show made for a different world.

“I came to understand we can never re-create the original show, and … even trying to pursue that is just not the thing to do,” Pride said. “It was a different time. It was a different everything, and it should stand on its own. What I wanted to do, personally, was just [focus on]: How can we capture that spirit and hopefully have a show that young people today can see themselves in, and that people [who watched the original] can also enjoy and be proud of?”

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers passed laws that would ensure insurance companies provide better coverage for smoke-damaged homes and financing for upgrades protecting residences from future fire damage.

The measures were among a slew of bills approved during the 2026 legislative session to deal with the continuing aftermath of the devastating 2025 Los Angeles area fires.

The Eaton and Palisades fires, which destroyed more than 16,000 structures and killed 31, were two of the deadliest and most destructive fires in state history. Like with catastrophic fires before them, tragedy spurred action.

Much of the focus on wildfire issues by Gov. Gavin Newsom and California lawmakers in the waning days of the legislative session focused on a proposal to shift liability away from utilities whose equipment ignites wildfires.

The complex, high-stakes policy debate attempted to address the needs and financial risks faced by the utilities, their customers and insurance companies following the catastrophic wildfires that have plagued California in recent years, but a proposed compromise recently pieced together by lawmakers and the governor fell through Tuesday.

However, lawmakers did pass several bills this year to help fire victims navigate burdensome insurance requirements in the aftermath of a disaster and increase prevention efforts. All head to Newsom for his consideration.

Two complementary bills approved Monday ensure homes that survive a wildfire but are contaminated by the onslaught of smoke are properly remediated before residents move back in.

The bills were prompted by the 2025 Eaton fire, which left thousands of homes contaminated with lead, some at levels hundreds of times what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe. Homeowners routinely reported that their insurance companies refused or delayed claims, advocated for cleaning methods that experts deemed insufficient and pushed residents to move back before testing showed their homes were safe.

The first bill, AB 1642, would direct the Department of Toxic Substances Control to create scientific standards for what constitutes a safe home and provide guidance on how to properly remediate homes. The second, AB 1795, would require insurers to abide by those standards in the claims process and do so in a timely manner.

The companion laws only take effect if Newsom signs both.

The two bills originally conflicted with one another. The scientific standards bill was supported by many Eaton fire survivors from the get-go. However, the insurance bill — born out of a Department of Insurance task force — was widely criticized by survivors for leaving insurance companies wiggle room to deny claims and placing a burden on homeowners to prove their home was in fact contaminated by a fire.

In an eleventh-hour sprint of “sleepless nights,” “five-hour Zooms” and intervention from the governor’s office, advocates won additional protections for fire survivors in the insurance bill and brought the two into harmony, said Dawn Fanning, managing director at the smoke-damaged home advocacy group Eaton Fire Residents United.

“It took a lot of work to get here, and we’re really happy where we landed,” Fanning said.

After the Eaton fire, “it was the Wild West, trying to scramble to find answers,” she said. “If these laws were in place, so many thousands of people would be back home by now.”

Separate legislation by Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica), who is in a hotly contested race for California Insurance Commissioner, seeks to give homeowners more notice and options before being dropped by their insurer, a problem homeowners increasingly face as wildfires have become more frequent and destructive.

Many nonrenewal notices sent by insurance companies include vague reasoning, Allen said during a May hearing on the bill, SB 1301. His legislation would require specific information so property owners can have a chance to mitigate problems and keep their insurance.

Another bill from Allen, who represents the Palisades area that burned in 2025, would create a new loan program to help property owners mitigate fire risks through home hardening, or installing fire-resistant materials on the outside of a structure.

“It can sometimes cost tens of thousands of dollars for homeowners and there’s simply not a lot of financing for this kind of work. There’s not a market for that,” Allen said during an April hearing.

The program is expected to help fund 1,000 projects in its first year and up to 2,400 within five years, according to a bill analysis.

A budget bill approved Tuesday morning also includes $25 million for home hardening grants, rebates or loans to be distributed through a separate program to be created by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. It would cap assistance at $25,000 per homeowner or property.

But other proposals to provide financial incentives for home hardening did not pass, including bills by Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura) to exclude home hardening upgrades from property tax reassessment and to require insurance companies to provide two quotes to inquiring homeowners: one for the property as is, and another for if it met full home-hardening certification by the state.

Another bill on Newsom’s desk seeks to get restitution for victims of utility-caused wildfires who in some cases have waited more than a decade, said Assemblymember Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin).

In 2019, the state established a wildfire fund paid by utility companies that reimburses claims stemming from wildfires caused by the companies’ equipment. But the fund was not retroactive, and some people who suffered losses before its creation are still waiting to be paid.

Patterson’s bill requires the California Public Utilities Commission to determine how much is still owed to those victims, including for losses from the deadly Camp fire that was sparked by a PG&E power line and destroyed the town of Paradise in 2018.

“For years, wildfire survivors have been forced to wait for answers while restitution shortfalls remain unresolved,” Patterson said in a statement after the bill passed. “AB 2700 is about doing what is right for wildfire survivors who have waited far too long to be made whole.”

Anyone wondering what look fashion-forward tennis star Naomi Osaka would sport at the U.S. Open this year received “The Answer” on Monday night at Flushing Meadows in New York.

That is, her look was very much inspired by basketball icon Allen Iverson, complete with cornrows, a headband and arm sleeves.

After her 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) first-round victory over Anastasia Zakharova, Osaka said she decided to pay homage to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer and his signature style after her apparel sponsor chose basketball as its U.S. Open theme.

“It’s my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot,” Osaka said during an on-court interview. “I mean, Nike said basketball, so I said, ‘OK, you want basketball, I’ll give you basketball.’”

Osaka took the court wearing a long, hooded gown — possibly inspired by Iverson’s hoodies and baggy clothes from back in the day — with newspaper clippings about her attached to it. She first took off the hood to reveal her hair and headband, then removed the gown to play in a black tank top and metallic tennis skirt.

Naomi Osaka arrives to compete against Anastasia Zakharova during the first round of the U.S. Open on Monday in New York.

(Adam Hunger / Ap Photo/adam Hunger)

Naomi Osaka reacts to winning the first set against Anastasia Zakharova on Monday at the U.S. Open.

(Adam Hunger / Associated Press)

The two-time U.S. Open champion also gave a nod to the 11-time NBA All-Star during her media day news conference Saturday by wearing a T-shirt that featured the longtime Philadelphia 76ers star’s 1999 Slam magazine cover.

“For me, he’s a trailblazer,” Osaka said when asked about the shirt. “He’s also someone that I look up to a lot, because he’s done a lot in fashion, whether it’s on purpose or not, but he’s shifted the way that NBA players dress. And I also think the whole conversation around clothes in sports, and also just expressing yourself through style, I feel like he’s someone that I look up to in that regard.”

Philadelphia 76ers’ Allen Iverson plays against the Boston Celtics pn March 8, 2006.

(Winslow Townson / Associated Press)

With his hair, tattoos, jewelry and clothes, Iverson gained his reputation as an NBA fashion trailblazer during his playing career from 1996-2010 — so much so that in 2005, when then-commissioner David Stern instituted a stricter dress code for players arriving to games, many felt it was in response to Iverson’s look.

“I took the ass whooping for it, but the dress code thing I actually was just — I was 21,” Iverson said on “The Breakfast Club” last year. “Where am I going after the game? I’m going to the club. Before that, they were used to dudes wearing suits, and I was like, damn. I’ve never worn a suit growing up — going to church or to a funeral was the only time I put on a suit … and the courtroom. I never wore a suit to the gym to play, to the park.”

On Saturday, Osaka said she had never communicated with Iverson — “but hopefully he’ll see this,” she added.

Turns out, he did. Iverson posted a photo of Osaka in the shirt featuring his image and a clip of her comments about him Monday on Instagram.

“Wow, what a honor!!” Iverson wrote. “BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you. @naomiosaka”

Six-time Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen was arrested Sunday in downtown Indianapolis on suspicion of drunken driving.

According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, officers observed a vehicle parked in a no-parking zone on the 100 block of South Meridian Street shortly after 1 a.m. and conducted a traffic investigation. While speaking to the driver, who was later identified as Allen, officers noticed signs of intoxication.

Following further investigation, the longtime Chargers player and current Indianapolis Colts receiver was arrested on preliminary misdemeanor charges of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher) and OVWI (operating a vehicle while intoxicated) endangering a person.

Jail records show that Allen was released Sunday afternoon and has a court date scheduled for Sept. 16.

“An arrest and a charge are merely accusations, and Allen should be considered innocent unless and until found guilty in court,” the police department said in a statement. “The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office will make the final charging decision.”

Allen was selected by the Chargers in the third round of the 2013 draft and made the Pro Bowl each year from 2017 to 2021 and again in 2023. After playing with the Chicago Bears in 2024 and returning to the Chargers last season, Allen signed with the Colts earlier this month and was included on their initial 53-man roster when it was released Sunday evening.

“We are aware of the incident involving Keenan Allen last night,” the Colts said in a statement earlier on Sunday. “We are in the process of gathering more information and have no further comment at this time.”

Allen has 1,055 career receptions (13th all time) for 12,051 yards (33rd all time) with 70 touchdown catches (52nd all time).

Receiver Allen Robinson II spent one season with the Rams. It didn’t go the way L.A. fans had hoped when the former Pro Bowl receiver signed a three-year, $46.5 million deal with the then-reigning Super Bowl champions.

Still, Robinson had some positive takeaways from that portion of his career to share during a video he posted to Instagram on Monday announcing his retirement from the NFL after 11 seasons.

“I learned a lot about football from Coach [Sean] McVay and Cooper Kupp and the guys I was around to be able to then use for the rest of my career,” Robinson said.

The video, titled “No More Sundays,” was posted on Robinson’s 33rd birthday. It shows Robinson watching film from every stop during his football career — from his days as “a kid in Detroit trying to be like Randy Moss” to his final NFL season with his hometown Lions in 2024. It and ends with him turning off the projector and literally hanging up his cleats.

Robinson played three seasons at Penn State and led the Big Ten Conference in receptions and receiving yards in 2012 and 2013 and receiving touchdowns in 2012. The 6-foot-3 player was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the second round of the 2014 draft and made the Pro Bowl in his second season.

During the first game of his fourth year with Jacksonville, Robinson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and missed the rest of the season. He signed with the Chicago Bears before the 2018 season and had four productive years there, which led to his contract with the Rams.

Robinson was expected to be an upgrade over veteran receiver Robert Woods, who was subsequently traded to the Tennessee Titans soon after the Robinson deal, but wasn’t able to achieve his previous levels of success. He wasn’t able to establish a rapport with veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford, who did not throw passes during offseason workouts or part of training camp because of a right elbow condition.

A foot injury caused Robinson to miss the final seven games of the season. He finished the year with 33 catches for 339 yards and three touchdowns. During the offseason, the Rams traded Robinson and a seventh-round draft pick (No. 251 overall) to the Pittsburgh Steelers for that team’s seventh-round pick (No. 234 overall). The Rams were on the hook for about $10 million of Robinson’s salary.

“I did get injured, so I didn’t have a full season in L.A.,” Robinson said. “But I think I learned a lot about myself, being able to just kind of persevere, go through adversity and being able to mentally grow up. I can say that my career wouldn’t be what it was if I didn’t have a lot of those learning moments.”

Robinson finishes his career with 565 receptions for 7,058 yards and 43 touchdowns. He and former NFL cornerback Prince Amukamara started the “Press Release” football podcast last year. In addition, Robinson has hosted several youth football programs over the years.

“Football gave me more than I ever could’ve imagined,” Robinson wrote on Instagram. “It challenged me, shaped me, humbled me, and rewarded me in ways I’ll carry for the rest of my life. I came, I saw, I conquered and I leave with nothing but gratitude.

“The memories, the relationships, the victories, the lessons, they’ll stay with me forever! Thank you for every moment, every cheer, every lesson, and every opportunity.”

LILY Allen has described herself as a ‘porn enthusiast’ in a very candid new interview.

The singer, who split from her husband David Harbour last year, also revealed she suffered an awkward blunder with her new boyfriend when it came to X-rated sites.

In February, Lily confirmed she’s in a new relationship with Jonah Freud.

And while she is hesitant to speak about the romance publicly, Lily has opened up on her bedroom preferences in a very open new interview.

Talking about her opinions on porn, she told Perfect Magazine: “There have been times when I’ve been a porn enthusiast. I’m not currently in one of those periods.”

Admitting she recently had a blunder with new beau Jonah about porn, Lily continued: “However, I did try to get on to Pornhub the other day because my phone was connected to the Bluetooth speaker [backstage at a show] and I thought it would be really funny while everyone was getting ready to go to the toilet and put porn on and everyone would think I was secretly watching it in the toilet.

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“But the wifi wouldn’t allow me to go on any restricted sites, so I couldn’t do it.

“And then I was in bed with my boyfriend later and when he asked me to Google something, Pornhub came up on my search history and I tried to explain but it just didn’t sound very believable.”

Lily added that she wasn’t embarrassed but was “annoyed” her other half didn’t believe her.

The singer confirmed her relationship in February after being spotted with Jonah several times.

After being asked who the last person she texted was in an interview, she replied: “My boyfriend.”

However, she didn’t expand further on the romance.

It comes after she split from husband David Harbour last year.

It is reported Lily turned detective after growing suspicious that her hubby was cheating and caught him out on Raya — the same app where she met him in 2019.