A Different World is an American television sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC (from September 24, 1987 until July 9, 1993). It was a spin-off series from The Cosby Show, originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college in Virginia. Later seasons of the show focused on other characters including Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy).

While it was a spin-off from the Cosby Show, A Different World typically addressed issues that were avoided by the Cosby Show writers (race and class relations, the Equal Rights Amendment). One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic.