Netflix has recently announced that the streaming service has picked up “A Different World” as a sequel, following Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne’s daughter on her journey at the fictional HBCU, Hillman College, with returning cast members, Jasmine Guy (Whitney), Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne), Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson), and Cree Summer (Freddie Brooks) on board. With that news, The Root felt it was time to look back at other sitcoms that were given new life after the original series ended.
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We will reveal a few, depending on how many seasons the sequel ran, with some of the original cast returning. Where do you think “A Different World” will end up when the series makes its run?
Sanford
“Sanford” was a sequel to the popular Redd Foxx-led “Sanford and Son” sitcom, premiering on NBC in March 1980. The series follows the exploits of Fred G. Sanford, the most popular junkman in television history (Well, at least to Black folks). Sanford was known for his wit, and no one within his reach was spared insults or threats of violence.
The show followed the original series, which also featured Demond Wilson as Fred’s son, Lamont Sanford, who was mainly the recipient of Fred’s insults. “Sanford and Son,” based on the British sitcom “Steptoe and Son,” ran for six seasons (1972 to 1977). After Foxx left the show in 1977 to star in his own short-lived ABC variety series, his character was brought back to NBC three years later for two seasons (1980-1981), but the series failed to match the original’s success. Some of the characters who appeared on “Sanford and Son” also appeared in the sequel, including Nathaniel Taylor as Rollo Lawson and LaWanda Page as Esther Anderson.
What’s Happening Now!!
“What’s Happening Now!!” (1985 to 1988) picks up six years after the ending of the original, “What’s Happening!!”, which was on the air from 1976 to 1979. In a rare instance when it comes to returning sequels, the whole main cast, Ernest Thomas (Roger “Raj” Thomas), Haywood Nelson (Dwayne Nelson), Fred Berry (Fred “Rerun” Stubbs), Shirley Hemphill (Shirley Wilson), and Danielle Spencer (Dee Thomas), with the exception of Mabel King (Mabel “Mama” Thomas), all returned to star.
The sitcom was based on the 1975 movie “Cooley High,” which follows three friends navigating life in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles in the 1970s. “What’s Happening Now!!” depicts the lives of the main characters, who have all gone through expected life changes and relationships. Both series lasted for three seasons.
Everybody Still Hates Chris
This animated series follows the Chris Rock-influenced “Everybody Hates Chris,” which aired from 2006 to 2009. The original show was loosely and comically based on the comedian’s teenage years in Brooklyn. The animated series continues the story of Rock’s time growing up in New York City in the 1980s, showing the obstacles he faced as he dealt with his family, friends, classmates, and the issues teens faced in that era.
The cartoon aspect of Rock’s teenage years brings back the narrative voice of Rock (who also narrated the original) and Rock’s “television” parents, Terry Crews (Julius Rock) and Tichina Arnold (Rochelle Rock), reprising their “voices” for the series, which debuted in 2024. No release date has been announced for the second season.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
This animated sitcom debuted in 2022 and is currently airing on Disney+. It returns nearly two decades after the original cartoon, “The Proud Family,” ended in 2005, after two seasons that ran between the original air date in 2001. It centers around the Proud family, more specifically, Penny Proud and her parents, Oscar Proud and Trudy Proud, but also involves her friends Dijonay Jones, LaCienega Boulevardez, Zoey Howzer, and Sticky Webb. “The Proud Family” was the very first original animated series to air exclusively on the Disney Channel. The series was popular, but wasn’t brought back until 2022. What makes this series rare is that the sequel, “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” has three seasons and is still airing. The difference between the two series is that the original takes place in the 2000s, while the current series is set in the present, but the characters’ ages remain the same as in the original. The voices from the 2001 series that returned are Kyla Pratt, Tommy Davidson, JoMarie Payton, Paula Jai Parker, and Alisa Reyes.
Raven’s Home
Another Disney series, “Raven’s Home,” starring former “The Cosby Show” darling, Raven-Symoné, returns as the lead character after the original series, which first aired from 2003 to 2007. Raven Baxter was a teenager with psychic abilities who could see future events, and in her escapades, she involved her friends and family after seeing them.
In this series, Raven is now a divorced single mother whose son, Booker, has inherited her psychic abilities. She and her best friend, Chelsea, are living together with their children. “Raven’s Home” also has the distinction of airing more seasons than the original, which debuted in 2017 and lasted six seasons before ending in 2023.
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