A Different World is a television spin-off of The Cosby Show set at Hillman College, the alma mater of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. It ran for six seasons on NBC, airing a total of 142 episodes, including three hour-long episodes. The last three episodes aired in syndication, bringing the total to 145.
Comprises 22 episodes
Darryl M. Bell appears in 13 episodes
Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, and Marisa Tomei were absent for one episode each
Loretta Devine appeared in 10 episodes before being written out of the series
Mary Alice appears in eight episodes after joining the show
Sinbad appears in five episodes
Theme song performed by Phoebe Snow
Comprises 22 episodes
Mary Alice and Sinbad were each absent for two episodes
Darryl M. Bell was absent for one episode
Glynn Turman was absent for three episodes
Lou Myers appears in 12 episodes
Debbie Allen replaced Anne Beatts as the series' producer, and also took over as primary director
A new opening is introduced featuring all of the main characters, set to a new version of the show's theme song performed by Aretha Franklin
Comprises 25 episodes
Gary Dourdan appears in five episodes as Shazza Zulu
Joe Morton appears in seven episodes as Byron Douglas
Jada Pinkett appears in 20 episodes as Lena James
Ajai Sanders appears in 12 episodes as Gina Devereaux
Cory Tyler appears in 15 episodes as Terrence Taylor
The final season comprises 25 episodes
Darryl M. Bell and Ajai Sanders were each absent for three episodes
Charnele Brown and Lou Myers were each absent for five episodes
Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Jada Pinkett, and Karen Malina White were each absent for one episode
Cree Summer was absent for six episodes
Glynn Turman was absent for 13 episodes
Gary Dourdan appears in five episodes as Shazza Zulu
Jenifer Lewis appears in eight episodes as Dorothy Dandridge Davenport, Dean of Students
Patrick Y. Malone appears in 22 episodes as Terrell Walker
Michael Ralph (who appears as five different characters in previous seasons) assumes the recurring role of Spencer Boyer and appears in seven episodes
Bumper Robinson appears in 21 episodes as Dorian Heywood
An updated version of the theme song is performed by Boyz II Men, and is accompanied by a new opening sequence featuring the new characters
Due to declining ratings NBC placed A Different World on hiatus following episode 135, but production on the series continued. During the hiatus, the network announced the series's cancellation. A Different World returned to the schedule on May 8, 1993, with the one-hour series finale; the events in episodes 138 through 145 occur before the finale. Episodes 138 through 142 were scheduled to air over winter 1993 prior to the series being placed on hiatus. Episodes 143 through 145 were unaired on NBC; they were aired later as part of the program's syndication package.
