REWIND: A Different World | Looking Back at the 80s Hit with Writer Niceole Levy

"It was the first time that the idea of an HBCU was even a thought to me of a thing I could do... it was so eye-opening to me that there was this whole other part of life in Black culture that I just didn't know anything about... we're sending the message that all of our blackness is good." - Niceole Levy


REWIND EPISODE
The 80s TV Ladies are almost done moving! A few more bonus episodes to rerun, and we’ll be settled in and bringing you brand new episodes! We loved rewatching A Different World and learning about the show from our incredible guests. We think this interview with TV writer/producer Niceole Levy is so fun. We hope you enjoy it, too! 

Sharon and Susan begin an all-new series of episodes looking at the groundbreaking 80s sitcom A Different World (1987-1993). This Cosby Show spin-off starred Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Charnele Brown, Dawn Lewis and Marissa Tomei. It explored the lives of students at Hillman College, a fictional HBCU, and addressed issues such as race, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS and equal rights while still keeping the laughs coming. In 1988, Lisa Bonet and Marissa Tomei left the show and a new showrunner was brought on -- the legendary actress, producer, director and choreographer Debbie Allen.

To help kick off this in-depth look at A Different World, we welcome A Different World fan and amazing “2020s TV Lady” -- writer, producer, and author Niceole Levy.  Niceole’s numerous TV writing/producing credits include Cloak and Dagger, Shades of Blue, SWAT, The Recruit and Found. She is the co-writer, along with George Nolfi, of the 2020 feature film The Banker. She has also written a book for aspiring TV writers called "The Writer’s Room Survival Guide."

THE CONVERSATION

• 80s TV made marriage look easy and fun -- cuz the couples were usually crime-solving millionaires!
• How watching every syndicated show on TV -- Perry Mason, I Love Lucy, Marcus Welby, Dick Van Dyke Show, Ironside -- prepares you for a life of TV writing.
• Everything retro is new again: Getting that first gig -- with Blair Underwood -- on the 2013 re-boot of Ironside!
• Niceole’s advice for getting into TV and film -- DON’T GO TO FILM SCHOOL!
• For Niceole -- and so many others -- A Different World’s Hillman College was her first exposure to an HBCU.
• RUN THE NUMBERS: 20 of the 47 writers on ADW were women!
• SEASON 2 RE-SET: How the addition of show-runner Debbie Allen re-ignited the series with a new sense of excitement and vitality.
• A DIFFERENT LOOK -- How A Different World achieved a bigger, more expansive look than other sitcoms of the time.

So, join Susan, Sharon -- and Niceole -- as they talk Miami Vice, watching 1,000 television shows, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,keeping a TV journal, Boyz II Men, dancing with Kamala Harris, scheduling your life around a TV show -- and the importance of not messing up the lunch order!

AUDIOGRAPHY
Watch A Different World -- streaming on Netflix and Philo.
Find out more about Niceole Levy at niceolelevy.com.
Read her article “What I Learned Watching 1,000 Television Shows” here. 
Buy Niceole Levy’s book "The Writer’s Room Survival Guide" at Bookshop.org.
Get Susan’s President Carter play, Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.
Help Abortion Access at Abortionfinder.org.

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