Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told, hits streaming this week and the documentary does a good job capturing the vibe of the massive Atlanta party during the 80s and 90s.
And while there are plenty of things you could pull out from the doc and write about, I want to talk about “A Different World”. A sitcom that stands underrated to this very day.
It was a “Cosby Show” spinoff that originally dealt with Denise Huxtable at Hillman College. But the show ultimately settled on what was widely an esemble cast that delivered the laughs for several seasons.
Where do we start?
The show made me a Sinbad fan. And I moved on to his stand up after watching “A Different World”. Then he had his movie sprint in the mid 90s that included “Houseguest” and “Jingle All The Way”
We had Jasmine Guy’s Whitney, who is still a memorable character to this day.
There was Kadeem Hardison, who went on a run after the show started which led to his roles on “White Men Can’t Jump” and a personal favorite of mine “Gunmen”
We had Dawn Lewis and Cree Summer, who are still appearing on big shows to this day (Summer was on Abbott Elementary two weeks ago as the librarian).
And I could go on.
The episodes were also funny and interesting. We had some drama, some romance, even some politics. It all worked well.
I’m happy that Freaknik nodded towards A Different World because we forget about it in the avalanche of great NBC sitcoms. Back then it was Cosby and Cheers. It would spill into Friends and Seinfeld in the “Must See TV” era and into 30 Rock, The Office and Parks and Recreation. Goodness, I miss great NBC comedy.
And A Different World plays a role in that entertaining legacy.
And if you’d like to support the blog, you can below. Thank you!
As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases