Spelman College Alumna Lands Dream Role as Writer on Netflix’s “A Different World” Sequel 

From Viewer to Writer: Ashley Laverne Jackson Shares Her Journey to the Writers Room of an Iconic Series 

For as long as she can remember, Ashley Laverne Jackson, C’2020, knew she was destined to work in the entertainment industry. Her aspirations became a dream realized just five years after graduating from Spelman, when the Los Angeles native was offered her dream job as staff writer for Netflix’s upcoming “A Different World” sequel. 

The sequel, announced last year, will follow Deborah Wayne, the youngest daughter of Hillman College icons Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert, with original cast members appearing throughout the 10-episode series set at the fictional historically Black institution Hillman College. The original show, which premiered in 1987 and aired throughout the 90s, led to a surge in HBCU enrollment and helped shape the perception of Black educational spaces. For Jackson, an avid viewer of the series who feels she was shaped by its legacy, the opportunity is a full circle moment.  

“This is truly my dream job. I watched Denise Huxtable journey to Hillman College as a kid glued to ‘The Cosby Show’…by my late teens, when I fell in love with ‘A Different World,’ I was already imagining what the characters were doing after the finale,” said Jackson. “[The show] reinforced everything I was raised to value. With two HBCU graduates as parents, I grew up understanding the pride, purpose, and community that these institutions hold, but Hillman gave me a visual language for it. To work on this sequel and help build the next chapter of the universe is a professional honor. In some ways, I've been working toward this my entire life.” 

Jackson’s love for writing came from being a devoted viewer. Jackson grew up studying the Black women who shaped television and laid the blueprint for narrative complexity, like Debbie Allen, Yvette Lee Bowser and Mara Brock Akil.  

When Jackson enrolled at Spelman in 2018, she was already acting professionally, but her time in front of the camera only intensified her curiosity about the work behind the scenes. According to Jackson, her career and artistic foundation were shaped by the Spelman professors who helped guide her.  

Under Julie Dash and Elyce Strong Mann, I built an independent major centered on Black storytelling in film and television,” said Jackson, who graduated with a degree in African American narratives in cinema and television. “Professor Anjanette Levert changed my trajectory when she recommended me for my first executive experience as a Disney apprentice, expanding my sense of possibility,” said Jackson. “And in Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall’s classroom, I encountered the Black feminist praxis that still grounds my work – one that understands narrative as intellectually rigorous, ethically rooted, and politically responsible.” 

After graduating from Spelman, Jackson earned her Master of Fine Arts in producing for film, television, and new media from the University of Southern California’s Peter Stark Producing Program, becoming the first Spelman graduate to complete the program. Her education, both from Spelman and USC, helped blend her interests in writing, producing and acting, which eventually helped shape her into the multifaceted professional she aspired to be.  

“I sensed early that my voice suited a multihyphenate path, so I followed that instinct – from a Disney apprenticeship to my MFA at USC to founding my production company,” she said. “Landing in the ‘A Different World’ writers room feels like the meeting point of my influences and past works. It’s a chance to give back to the canon that shaped me.” 

Jackson’s role in the sequel extends further than just her career aspirations but also allows her to bring both her lived experience and her family’s legacy to the forefront. According to Jackson, reimagining Hillman for a new generation is deeply personal for her, both as an HBCU graduate and a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and as the daughter of Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., who was referenced throughout the series and appeared in Season Two’s “Citizen Wayne.” 

When asked what she hopes this sequel will convey to the new audience, Jackson referenced the intricacies of Black culture, emphasized the beauty of Black stories, and expressed her hope that audiences see themselves reflected in the characters. 

“I believe our sequel holds the promise of achieving what the original series did so masterfully: elevating our culture, expanding our collective imagination, and challenging limiting narratives,” she said. “Ultimately, whether an HBCU student, prospective, or just someone who loves good television, I hope viewers feel a sense of connection to Hillman, see reflections of themselves in our characters, and feel invited into a wider sense of possibility. My hope is that our sequel offers new generations an invitation into community and self-discovery, and a pathway toward the transformative Black educational spaces that shaped me.”