According to Deadline, the Netflix spinoff of A Different World has cast eight new leading roles. The cast joining the series includes Chibuikem Uche (All American, The Rookie) as Kojo, Maleah Joi Moon (Mystic Christmas) as Deborah, Cornell Young IV (Beyond the Gates, Mind Your Business) as Shaquille, Jordan Aaron Hall (What We Found, The Idea of You) as Amir, Alijah Kai as Rashida (Runt, The Sound of Christmas), and new comer Kennedi McClure as Hazel.

Deadline previously reported that Netflix will be shooting the pilot for the sequel to the 1987 sitcom. The sequel will follow Dwayne and Whitley’s daughter’s time at an HBCU. The series has been in development since last year. The pilot is a one-off and not part of any strategic move. The pilot will be employed in the series as a proof of concept for tone, chemistry among the cast and showcase what is to come from the series.

As per Deadline, The Different World sequel is being worked on by writer and executive producer Felicia Pride (Grey’s Anatomy, Queen Sugar) and executive producers Debbie Allen (A Motown Christmas, Amistad), Mandy Summers (Thar ’90s Show, The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh), Tom Werner (The Cosby Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King, Beyond the Lights) and Reggie Rock Bythewood (Swagger, Shots Fired). Allen, Werner, Prince-Bythewood and Bythewood all worked on the original series.

A Different World is a spin-off of The Cosby Show and follows the lives of a group of friends attending Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college. The series focused on Denise Huxtable, a Huxtable family member, until her departure shifting focus onto the other cast members and their lives and relationships of a diverse group of students. The series aired from 1987 to 1993 and accumulated 144 episodes with six seasons.

The release date for Netflix’s A Different World spin-off has not been officially announced but sources state the pilot is eying a June shoot in Atlanta.