The Different World cast, producer, and director reunited on ‘The View,’ with guest stars Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, and Sara Haines. Debbie Allen, the series’ producer and director, praised Goldberg as the show’s “secret weapon” during the powerful season 4 episode about the AIDS epidemic, “If I Should Die Before I Wake.” Goldberg played a cameo as a professor who assigns students to write their own eulogies, shining light on the important issue of AIDS.
Allen explained that Goldberg’s participation in the episode helped spread awareness and saved millions of lives, making it the highest-rated episode that year. The show was the first network television series to address AIDS after Magic Johnson’s announcement, highlighting the importance of the episode. Goldberg noted that it was a unique opportunity to be part of a series with an all-Black cast going to college, and she always said yes whenever Debbie asked her to do something.
A Different World premiered in 1987 as a spinoff of The Cosby Show. Allen, who attended a historically black college like the characters in the show, was brought in to provide creative input for season 2 to make the series more accurate. The reunion on ‘The View’ brought together the cast and crew to reminisce about the impactful episode and the significance of addressing important social issues on television.