Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are the educational cornerstones that refuse to be cast aside. And these days, they’re up against a lot: general lack of funding, a jarring right-wing shift in the political landscape, the federal rollback of identity-based grants and campus organizations, looming cuts to low-enrolled yet historically important degree programs and more.
As HBCUs navigate those challenges, Hollywood is making an unexpected investment in their stories. After years with little scripted representation, a new wave of television series and films is once again placing Black college life at the center of the conversation, offering audiences a dramatic peek into campus life.
New State of Mind Puts AspireTV on Campus
When AspireTV launched in 2012, founder and NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson wanted to display a positive, uplifting representation of Black people in its programming. That vision remains the epicenter of the network, which has now expanded with its AspireTV+ streaming offering as it gears up for its first original scripted program.
New State of Mind will follow the lives of seven first-year students as they embark upon their own HBCU journey at the fictitious Oakwood Heights University. The series comes from Bentley Kyle Evans, known for his work on Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show, Love That Girl! and Family Time.
Evans’ documented commitment to Black storytelling caught AspireTV General Manager Angela Cannon’s eye, and when he pitched a show about HBCU life, she knew it was the one she wanted to greenlight as the network looks toward the future while honoring its brand.
“ We started off with HBCU content way back when we started over 13 years ago, and we have kept that steady drumbeat of content,” Cannon told EBONY. “People on streaming platforms, they’re looking for bingeable content. So in order for us to continue to grab the eyeballs of younger people, we need to be making the content that younger people and/or people my age — that, in this instance, is HBCU alumni — are going to be interested in.”
Following this point, Cannon referenced A Different World and how the show shaped her perspective on “Black people attending college.” She’s hoping that New State of Mind can sharpen the next generation’s mind, too.
“ We want to inspire young people to ensure that they know education is key,” she said. “And we felt like A Different World — at least what it did for me back in the day — I wanted to be able to provide that same feeling, that same aspirational programming to my niece, to my nephew, to my son. And that is exactly what this is.”
Evans expressed a similar sentiment, citing that Black youth are currently being heavily influenced by streamers, influencers and creators.
”School in itself is becoming a lost art,” he reflected. “It’s disappearing with the influencers and the social media aspect of promoting to the youth that you don’t need education; you can just influence your way to the top. And I think that’s sending a message that could have mixed reactions.”
Last fall, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that preteens with higher levels of social media exposure performed worse on reading and vocabulary tests than preteens with little to no exposure. It’s a real concern nationwide, and Evans understands the gravity of the moment as he’s building out New State of Mind.
“I think that right now we should be focused on the next generation educating themselves on the past. Because even in our culture, we’re losing a lot of that history, and they’re trying to take away the textbooks and take stuff out of the textbooks. I learned a lot about Black history from my friends who went to HBCUs, and that’s why we need to keep the relevance of what’s happening.”
A Return to Hillman
Netflix’s A Different World sequel series, which announced its September 24 premiere date last month, follows Whitley Gilbert and Dwayne Wayne’s daughter, Deborah, played by Maleah Joi Moon, as she begins her freshman year at Hillman College. It also follows her parents’ love story, which began there many years prior. With a legacy past, the sequel series is ready to ask a new question: What’s important to HBCU students now?
“One of the things that I think about a lot is wanting the sequel to feel like a warm hug,” showrunner Felicia Pride remarked at ABFF’s Celebration of Netflix panel. “But also to have the political consciousness that the original series had, to be able to see people becoming, make mistakes, get better, grow.”
She emphasized the importance of focusing on the series’ legacy: “Things that made us feel good, made us think, made us push forward, and then apply it to a new lens: a social media-first lens, a digital lens that is living in state violence, that is living in globalization, that is living in all those things.”
H.E.R. Enrolls
While rumors circulated that Oprah Winfrey was producing an HBCU series titled The B-Side with Sheldon Candis attached to direct, he confirmed to EBONY exclusively that the project doesn’t exist. Another HBCU project from Winfrey, however, is moving forward—this time starring H.E.R.
The 27-year-old songstress is set to play a ballet dancer from L.A. who puts her thriving dance career on hold to attend an HBCU. As she navigates the initial culture shock and broader life changes, she’ll join the ragtag majorette team to help it return to its former glory.
Winfrey will co-produce alongside H.E.R., according to Deadline. Choreographer and RuPaul’s Drag Race staple Jamal Sims is set to direct, while A Black Lady Sketch Show alum and radio personality Lauren Ashley Smith has already penned a script for the dance drama.
“One of the great joys of my life was spending part of my experience at Dillard University,” Smith shared in an Instagram post. “To be able to channel that joy into a film AND work with a team of staging talents who I revere?! The words ‘honored’ and ‘grateful’ only scratch the surface.”
Whether these projects rise to A Different World OG status remains to be seen. But it’s notable that Hollywood is once again investing in telling their stories.
A Different World premieres on Netflix on September 24, and New State of Mind will air on AspireTV and AspireTV+ in early 2027.
“One of the great joys of my life was spending part of my experience at Dillard University,” Smith shared in an Instagram post. “To be able to channel that joy into a film AND work with a team of staging talents who I revere?! The words ‘honored’ and ‘grateful’ only scratch the surface.”
A Different World premieres on Netflix on September 24, and New State of Mind will air on AspireTV and AspireTV+ in early 2027.