“A Different World” sequel series reveals shocking fate of Halle Berry’s character

Halle Berry's A Different World character factored into the new series.

The Oscar winner appeared in one episode of the NBC sitcom.

Showrunner Felicia Pride shares why the Netflix sequel did what they did with Berry.

Halle Berry 's A Different World legacy is living on — even if her character isn't.

Exactly 39 years after the debut of the iconic sitcom, a new sequel series hit Netflix on Thursday, blending a bunch of the beloved returning characters with a fresh class of freshmen. Maybe the biggest name to ever appear on the original was a pre-fame Halle Berry. The future Oscar winner guest-starred on the 1991 episode, "Love, Hillman-Style," as Jaclyn, one of three young women that Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell) is juggling on Valentine's Day.

Despite the small role, Berry unexpectedly factored into the story for the Netflix iteration of the comedy. Ron returns to Hillman College when his star football player son, Shaquille (Cornell Young IV), decides to take his talents there. It's alluded too that Shaquille's mom has passed away, and her identity is revealed after Shaquille's big first game, when his dad texts him congratulations, adding, "Mom would be proud." Shaquille smiles, before then looking longingly at a photo on his desk of Ron and...Jaclyn.

"We love a meaningful Easter egg," A Different World showrunner Felicia Pride tells Entertainment Weekly . "We also allude to it in episode 9, where Ron talks about that Valentine's thing that he had with three other women. That is one of our biggest Easter eggs for those OG fans, and it was just really, really fun and felt meaningful and like a great way to nod to the original series."

A Different World was one of Berry's first acting credits, and the episode aired just a few months before she made her film debut in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever . She then soon caught eyes on the big screen in The Last Boy Scout , Boomerang , and The Flintstones . By the start of the next millennium, she was a full-blown movie star, between starring in X-Men as Storm, appearing as the latest Bond girl in Die Another Day , and winning the Oscar for Monster's Ball .

Pride's A Different World is part-revival, part-reboot, following Deborah Wayne (Maleah Joi Moon), the free-spirited and well-intentioned daughter of beloved Different World couple Dwayne Wayne ( Kadeem Hardison ) and Whitley Gilbert ( Jasmine Guy ). Deborah looks to blaze her own trail at Hillman, but the historically Black college is facing financial challenges, forcing her to quickly emerge as a leader.

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In addition to Moon and a crop of talented youngsters, A Different World is packed with OGs, between director and producer Debbie Allen and a majority of the memorable cast. Among the actors returning to campus are Hardison, Guy, Bell, Cree Summer, Ajai Sanders, Karen Malina White, Charnele Brown, Jenifer Lewis, Jada Pinkett Smith, Dawnn Lewis, and Glynn Turman.

"All of our OGs came back and dropped in like it was yesterday," Pride declared to EW. "It was so remarkable and almost historic to watch; they did not skip a beat."

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly