Picture Credits: The Tyler Twins/Netflix
A Different World has officially returned to our screens. The highly anticipated revival takes viewers back to Hillman College, and it’s already topping the Netflix charts in the US and around the world. As we covered in our review, the show brilliantly honors the original sitcom’s iconic legacy, with a brand-new generation of students navigating life, love, and the HBCU experience. One of those new students is Hazel, a bubbly, deeply loving freshman played by breakout star Kennedi Reece.
In a true “life imitates art” story, Reece was a musical theater student at Howard University when she booked the role. We recently sat down with Kennedi to talk about her whirlwind casting process, working alongside returning Hillman legends, and what she hopes to see for Hazel in a potential Season 2.
Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
What has this press tour been like for you? Working on this and having to do the press grind.
It’s been a lot of work. I think this is my first press tour ever, but it honestly was really fun, mainly because I got to be with the cast the whole time and genuinely they’re family at this point. Literally, Malia called me yesterday and we’ve been away from each other for what, two days? We’re like, I miss you. I have separation anxiety. As much as it was a lot of work and I feel it definitely taught me to be very disciplined and lock in on the work. I think I had the best experience because I got to be with my people.
That’s awesome. A Different World started before you were born, before you were on this planet. What was your connection to it, if any, before auditioning for this and getting the role?
I kind of always grew up with it in the background, my parents would watch it. They would call me and my sister Little Whitleys. I think the first time I watched it for myself was in high school, and I went to a predominantly white high school. It was really nice to see a show that was centered on Black youth and Black higher education. It was something that was really inspiring to me, and I talked to my parents about it, too.
It was definitely a reason my dad chose to go to Morehouse himself. He had the best experience there, and I ended up choosing Howard, where I had the best experience. It was amazing to go back to A Different World, rewatch it, and feel those things for the first time again. Immerse myself in that world. Then actually get to be a part of the world is crazy.
A Different World – Season 1. (L to R) Kennedi Reece as Hazel in Episode 103 of a Different World. Cr. Daniel Delgado Jr/Netflix © 2026
Talk about hearing about that. How did this role come to you?
For me, it was a little unconventional. I was still in my junior year at Howard. I was studying musical theater and we got an email one day talking about, “Oh, untitled HBCU project, Debbie Allen’s going to audition.” I was like, “Oh, of course, it’s A Different World. I got to do this.” I threw together random audition materials, because they wanted an acting reel and I didn’t have one. It was just random self-tapes from classes and all that. I submitted that and ended up getting an audition.
I auditioned with the sides for Hazel. Felicia Pride was there. Debbie Allen was there. Josh Nelson was also there. I was like, cool, great. That was so much fun. I got to meet Debbie Allen.
I was like, let me go study for my finals. I was still very much student, I didn’t think anything was going to come of this. It really wasn’t on my radar; I was really focused on finals week coming up.
It actually ended up during my finals week, I got the email talking about, “Oh, we were really interested. We want to invite you out to LA for a chemistry read.” I had to end up rescheduling all my finals actually, to fly out there and audition for it. It was such a crazy ride. I ended up going back to school for the fall semester. Then we filmed that next spring. I had to miss my senior year second semester. I basically did some online classes to keep up, and then I ended up graduating.
You brought up Debbie Allen. Billy Woodruff is a director on a couple of these… talk a little bit about working with the directing talent, somebody who has not been directed before, what was that like?
It was really interesting, because everybody kind of has their own style. It was really interesting to see not only while it was happening, how everything functioned and how I felt during scenes while it was happening, but also watching the series all the way through together. It works so cohesively. It’s so interesting. I’m like, that was all different people. It all coincided and everything. At the end of the day, it was all directed by different people. I thought that was so beautiful, because we were all able to come to this common goal.
Billy was so great to work with, it was really funny, he’s very close with Toni Braxton, of course, and her son actually went to Howard with me. So we were friends. On one of the first days of Billy directing, he came in and snapped a picture of me, he’s like, “I’m gonna go send this to Diesel.” Sure enough, he did. It was so funny to have that connection with him. Angela was also fantastic. She was very much mom and auntie on set, she really took care of us. All of them were really fantastic. I feel we all had this common goal of making this show the best that it can be because of its legacy and its cultural significance; it all kind of meshed together. It was really interesting to be able to learn little bits from each different director.
A Different World – Season 1. (L to R) Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Kennedi Reece as Hazel in Episode 103 of a Different World. Cr. Netflix © 2026
Is there a piece of advice or a note working with them that you want to take with you and apply to future projects?
I feel overall, they were very much kind of trust your instincts. I think that’s something, especially coming from Howard; this is my first gig. This is my first for a lot of things. It’s really hard to trust myself and know that I belong in this room. I was chosen to be in this room. Because I’m still young, I’m still figuring things out. Definitely all of them. It wasn’t even necessarily explicitly said, but I could tell that they had trust in me to be my character and to fully live that out. It made me believe in myself more, with them having that confidence in me.
What was it about Hazel that drew you to audition for that character?
I relate to her a lot. I feel we’re both very bubbly girls who can be a little loud, say things at the wrong time, and be very quirky. I feel that type of representation, especially as the bubbly Black girl is really important because a lot of times we feel we’re too much. We feel we have to hide ourselves or dim our light because we want to fit in or because we want people to like us or people to not think we’re annoying. I think with Hazel, I really saw myself in her and I saw how outwardly beautiful and bright she is to the world and unapologetically herself. I think that really drew me to her to be able to express myself in that way that I felt suppressed in other situations. I think that’s why I was really drawn to her.
Hazel goes through so many things throughout the season. What was your way into obviously feeling you related to her… what was the one thing you wanted to emphasize about her? What was your way into “this is how I want to play her”?
I think Hazel leads with a lot of love. I think everything she does is meant to be in love. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t make mistakes. That doesn’t mean she’s a perfect person. It means she leads with good intentions. I feel Hazel is who I would want to be on my best days, the way she is so open about her Christianity, but also open about how much she loves her friends, especially Amir. In that type of dynamic in that relationship. I think Miss Gilbert Hall loves to lead and wants to inspire others because she loves others so much. I think in all of those actions, it’s deeply rooted in her love for others, her love for community, and her love for herself.
What was Jordan like to act opposite as a scene partner? How did you two approach some of those scenes towards the end of the season where you have to have those tough discussions?
Jordan, I love him; heis a fantastic person, and he’s also a fantastic actor. He’s an amazing person to work with. Neither of us really discussed how we were going to go into it and play into it. It fell into a really natural state because we understood the significance of what happened. Again, Hazel always wants to lead with love. This situation was taking her out of that. It was different for her.
In her eyes, I feel she really used those reconciliation moments at the end to show God’s love through her because that’s something that’s really important to her. At the end of the day, Amir is her friend. I know a lot of people are like, “oh, girl, you forgave him too easily.” But we’ve got to remember these are 17- or 18-year-old kids. They’re figuring out the world for the first time. We all have vulnerable moments. It’s important to be empathetic and sympathetic towards one another and understand that sometimes we mess up. It’s how you deal with the mess up afterwards that can dictate how a relationship goes.
A Different World – Season 1. (L to R) Alijah Kai as Rashida, Chibuikem Uche as Kojo, Maleah Joi Moon as Deborah, Jordan Aaron Hall as Amir, Kennedi Reece as Hazel in Episode 103 of a Different World. Cr. Daniel Delgado Jr/Netflix © 2026
Hellman is a fictional school, but I was really impressed by the different sets you used that make it feel, I think, more expansive than it probably was. As an HBCU graduate, how did you like working with the sets? Were there some critiques about this is just not how an actual university [looks]?
I think they did honestly an amazing job imbuing the community that HBCUs have into the set and into the show. Coming from Howard, yes, we called it Club UGL, which is the undergraduate library, because nobody for real got their work done in there. We were all chit-chatting and he he and ha ha. I think they did a really good job at providing those community spaces.
The same thing with the dorm culture. I really loved the girls and boys dorms, because I was in an all girls dorm my freshman year, Harriet Tubman Quadrangle, it was fantastic. I met some of my best friends living there. There’s something about that community of living in an all girls dorm, it’s a sisterhood, or in an all boys dorm, it’s a brotherhood. I’m so happy that was put into the show, because it’s so relevant to honestly any college experience, but especially HBCUs. Living in these buildings named after amazing figures of history and being able to bond off of that and shout their names from the rooftops. It’s an amazing feeling.
Talk about working with Jasmine Guy returning; Kadeem is also great too. What was it like working and learning with the legacy cast, telling a whole new story but returning to establish characters?
When I say those amazing people have changed my life, I truly mean it. They are always so present with us. Wanting to mentor us and take us under their wings. With a show like this, it would have been very easy for them to be like, who are these new kids coming in, who do they think they are, but never once was that felt. They immediately took us in as their own. The first person out of the OG cast we met was Darryl Bell. He immediately was like, guys, I want to take you to dinner. We want to sit, we want to talk. He really set a precedent for all of us. Knowing that we can always come to them when we need help. They went through this years ago. Now they’re like, we know we’ve been through your shoes. Ask us, use us as your resources.
They’re so fantastic and loving. Cree Summer, amazing woman. Every time she opens her mouth, I’m enthralled. She’s fantastic. Kadeem is my buddy. He always is on set giving us advice, laughing with us, sitting in his corner all quiet and acting like he don’t like us. But we know he loves us. Jasmine [Guy] is a beautiful, beautiful soul. She’s hilarious. That girl makes me laugh consistently. Actually, reach out to her, we need to hang out. All of them have been so amazing. I feel so lucky to call them mentors and friends. I can’t even believe I’m in the position to be able to call them that.
A Different World – Season 1. (L to R) Kennedi Reece as Hazel in Episode 104 of a Different World. Cr. Daniel Delgado Jr/Netflix © 2026
Is there an episode you’re proudest of that was the hardest to pull off, one that sticks with you as you’re doing this press tour?
I really loved episode eight, the storm episode. That one’s a good one. I love being able to see the six of us all together. Seeing our dynamic on screen because it is similar to our dynamic off screen. We really are close friends. We will hang with each other for hours into the night, being near each other, and we love on each other. Seeing that on screen is beautiful to me.
Are there any specific beats or plots you want to see resolve or things you’ve conjured up that you could see Hazel doing in season two?
I don’t know. There’s so many different things we can go for. I think that’s the beautiful thing. She’s so versatile. I feel she can be thrown into any situation and handle it very well. There’s a few things I got in mind, I’ll save them. I’ve been seeing on Twitter that people want Hazel to have a little girlfriend. I think that would be really interesting. Even if it’s not me, I feel sapphic relationships are really important, too. They deserve representation as well. I would love to see that on screen in any way.
A Different World season 1 is now streaming on Netflix.
