Jasmine Guy reveals why returning as Whitley Gilbert in ‘A Different World’ made her nervous
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The actress says a new filming style forced her and her returning castmates to approach their beloved characters differently.
Jasmine Guy is back at Hillman College, but stepping into Whitley Gilbert’s shoes again was not as effortless as fans might expect.
More than three decades after the original “A Different World” ended its six-season run, Guy has returned alongside several of her former castmates in Netflix’s new sequel series. In an interview with PEOPLE, the actress explained that excitement about the reunion was tempered by years of uncertainty over whether the revival would actually happen.
“We’ve been waiting for a long time,” Guy said, explaining that she did not fully allow herself to get excited until she had signed her contract after previous attempts to revisit the series failed to materialize.
That caution was only part of the challenge. The production itself required Guy and her returning co-stars to approach their familiar characters differently.
The original sitcom was filmed with a multi-camera setup and a live audience. Netflix’s new “A Different World” uses a single-camera format with a more cinematic style, meaning scenes can require multiple takes and a different rhythm from the broad, immediate comedy of the original.
Guy said she became “a little jittery” before filming and admitted that repeating a funny scene several times could make it harder to preserve the spontaneity that came naturally on the old set.
Cree Summer, who reprises Freddie Brooks, also acknowledged the adjustment, noting that the cast members are older and their characters have evolved alongside them. Darryl M. Bell, meanwhile, described the reunion itself as the easier part, comparing the experience to slipping back into “a comfortable pair of shoes.”
The revival shifts the focus to a new generation of students at the fictional historically Black Hillman College. At the center is Deborah Wayne, the daughter of Guy’s Whitley and Kadeem Hardison’s Dwayne Wayne, while several original characters return in supporting roles.
The new series began streaming on Netflix on September 24, 2026, introducing younger viewers to Hillman while reconnecting longtime fans with characters who helped define the original show.
Guy’s nerves ultimately reflect the unusual challenge of reviving a beloved sitcom without simply recreating its past. The cast is returning to familiar characters, but the world around them has changed, giving Whitley and the rest of the Hillman veterans a different stage on which to continue their stories.