This ensemble comedy was a spin-off of the hugely popular The Cosby Show and aired on NBC from 1987 to 1993. Set at the fictitious, historically black Hillman College in the South, it centered around Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet), one of the four daughters on The Cosby Show. Denise is constantly trying to adjust to the changes of living away from home on her own as well as deal with her roommates Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis), a young divorcee and Maggie (Marisa Tomei), a free-spirited and naïve girl who also happens to be one of the only white students on campus. Other characters in the series include Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy), a rich Southern belle; Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison), a nerdy but fast-talking New Yorker, his best friend Ron Johnson (Darryl Bell) and Walter Oakes (Sinbad), who was the dorm director. There were various changes after the first season when Lisa Bonet left the series. Debbie Allen took over as producer and director after the first season, turning the show into one which explored more social and political issues.

Controversial topics such as AIDS, racial discrimination, date rape and the 1992 Los Angeles uprisings were all addressed, and several new characters were added, such as: Kim Reese (Charnele Brown), a pre-med student; Mr. Gaines (Lou Myers), the cafeteria cook; Col. Taylor. (Glynn Turman), the campus ROTC commander; Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer), an environmental activist and Lena James (Jada Pinkett), a feisty freshman from Baltimore. The series also gave more prominence to the romantic relationship of Dwayne and Whitley, who became the show’s main stars.

Jasmine Guy, Sinbad, Debbie Allen, Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Cree Summer, Dawn Lewis