Debbie Allen Talks ‘A Different World’ Reboot, Representation and Global Diversity

Trailblazing director, dancer, actor and producer Debbie Allen headed to Martha’s Vineyard for the first time in her life for the 23rd annual Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), where the “Fame” legend was feted for her visionary work during a special nostalgic tribute to “A Different World.” She also hosted World of Hyatt’s Mindful Movement Luncheon, where she spoke about championing movement, wellbeing and community. She also discussed extending her hand to the next generation while celebrating the stories and culture of artists and creatives.

For Allen, having a partner in Hyatt and TJ Abrams, VP of Global Wellbeing, means greater reach and access. “When you’re trying to get some information across or an idea across, who better to partner with than Hyatt, who has so many different extended brands within their company,” she tells Variety during an interview after the luncheon. “They are very committed to the communities that they serve. That is very important to me.”

An avid dancer and the founder of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, the Emmy Award-winner has always prioritized community as an imperative component of our collective mental health. “Community is everything, because there’s no one in this world who is by themselves,” she says. “There’s no economic group that will be spared COVID, a hurricane or the fires that we experienced in Los Angeles. If you don’t understand that, then you don’t know much. It is the diversity that makes us stronger and makes us whole.”

After more than five decades in the business, the Tony Award-winner has witnessed the evolution of inclusivity in Hollywood. “When I first started, there was no ‘Cosby Show,’” she says. “Growing up, the only show where we saw a reflection of ourselves was Diahann Carroll’s ‘Julia.’ The playing field has really expanded with the multiple networks and streaming services. There is such a broad variety of avenues to create shows, and there is a huge audience, especially a very Black audience. BET didn’t exist when I first started, which has since evolved into so many different things. When you look at Netflix, there is a massive presence of Blackness in their programming. Our stories are relevant to people all over the world.”

Though Allen did not have that access to Black representation when she was growing up, she has spoken openly over the years about her mother, Vivan Ayers Allen, who continues to be a model for her personal and professional work and advocacy.

“My mother worked in the arts and community her whole life,” Allen says. “As a child, she made it possible to bring thousands of Black kids to see ‘The Nutcracker.’ She made it possible for people to understand the importance of concerts under the stars. She’s always been one who’s visionary. She created Arts Open Fields, a project that brought together elders and young people in the beautiful, vacant lots of trees in Houston. Artists, dancers and musicians would gather to create a vibrant community. It’s how I grew up. My mother was always a Renaissance woman who did everything and was always ahead of her time, and I got the gene.”

Allen has leaned fully into her community with partners like Hyatt and others who know the importance of empowering artists and creatives. “I’ve had the great Wallis Annenberg,” she says of the Los Angeles-based philanthropist who died in late July. “I can’t even explain and express the gratitude for what she’s done for the whole community, not just for the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, but the whole community with her vision. Also, Shonda Rhimes has empowered people and given them a new sense of self in her programming. She’s made the world rethink its perceptions of Black people. And Berry Gordy, who was the first one to give us any money and supported us. He understood coming out of the legacy of Motown, how he developed those incredible artists, that development is a process, and it needs to happen, and we need to keep teaching and inspiring.”

Though her schedule is already jampacked,the “Grey’s Anatomy” director and executive producer is returning to a TV show that has been pivotal to her career, “A Different World.” Allen produced and directed the bulk of the original series’ 144 episodes. Now, Netflix has ordered a reboot pilot that would return to Hillman College, a fictional historically Black university, and follow the daughter of Whitley and Dwayne, the original series’ main characters. It has been reported that Allen will direct the pilot.

“‘A Different World’ is on Netflix right now,” Allen says. “Every episode, all those six years of great work are there for everyone to see. If you talk to me in a week, I might say we’re going. But what we’ve done so far, since we don’t have the commitment yet for the season, was kind of like a proof of life. It’s been a really exciting experience, and we are just waiting to see what happens next. We’re not sure yet, but I can tell you this: If there’s any time that the world needs to hear from young people on college campuses, it’s now.”