Cree Summer reflects on ‘A Different World’ ending: ‘The world wasn’t waiting for us’

The actress who famously played “Freddie Brooks” shared some very real insights about the ending of that chapter of her life.

For many Black folks, “A Different World” has long been one of our favorite television shows for the world it introduced us to. Not only did it give us the “Dwayne Wayne” and “Whitley Gilbert” love story, but it also gave us a host of characters that we could relate to at Hillman College, a historically Black college (HBCU) that has lived on in our hearts. Hillman is arguably responsible for a significant amount of students finding their way to HBCUs, from Howard University and Hampton University to Morehouse College and Spelman College. “A Different World” was a roadmap, an introduction, and a window into a world many of us wanted to experience. 

Because those characters meant so much within that universe, it was often surprising that nobody from the show, save for maybe Jada Pinkett-Smith, became a household name once the show wrapped after its sixth and final season. Cree Summer—who played “Freddie Brooks”—opened up about why that might have been the case as she sat down on Lena Waithe’s podcast, “Legacy Talk.” 

When asked by Waithe how she kept the character of “Freddie” fresh over the seasons, Summer decided to get real and honest about where she was, and where the other cast members’ heads were by the end of the show’s run.

“Oh, am I gonna be honest? Okay, I’ll be honest. [“Freddie”] was fresh for a while,” she started. “By the time we got to Season 6, I had a record deal with Capitol Records and my rock band, ‘Subject to Change,’ and I was about to go on tour. We were going to open for a black ska band called ‘Fishbone.’ And, I was engaged to the drummer, and I was ready to get the f–k out of there. You know, Kadeem [Hardison] was doing movies, Jasmine [Guy] was doing ‘Harlem Nights.’ Like, we all couldn’t wait to go to the next step.”

That tracks with what most of us who were paying attention in 1992 saw. For instance, Hardison, who played “Dwayne Wayne,” was coming off of “White Men Can’t Jump,” starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in 1992. Jasmine Guy, as Summer said, starred in “Harlem Nights” as “Dominique LaRoux,” as part of the ensemble cast featuring Eddie Murphy, Richard Pryor, Redd Foxx, Della Reese, Lela Rochon, and others that came out in 1989. The stars from “A Different World” had parts and jobs in movies and other places, or so it seemed. 

Summer continued, though, with insight about how it shook out for (most of) them once the show was over. 

“What we didn’t realize was we ain’t ‘Saved By The Bell,’ we ain’t those white shows, and the world wasn’t waiting for us like that. We couldn’t wait because we thought ‘hey, we’re the number two show in America.’ There’s no way everybody can’t wait to see us. And no one gave a s–t. And you saw how that show ended with a whimper. Not a bang. And I think it was a real reality check for everybody.”

While several cast members continued on in the world of television and film—and successfully—there was always the question about why “A Different World” didn’t launch a slew of megastars, especially in the mid-’90s. Summer’s realization that while they were an amazing and popular show, it didn’t translate into the next step is reminiscent of tales and careers (it seems) for so many who left popular Black shows only to find that Hollywood wasn’t ready and willing to make stars. Even for the most popular show of the era, “The Cosby Show,” the cast members may be household names, but very few launched into full-fledge stardom the way many of us expected, perhaps by choice, but also likely, by force for a machine that wasn’t interested in more than a scant handful of Black stars at a time. 

Thankfully, Cree shares she was offered opportunities over time, and it’s not out of the ordinary to hear her doing in animation or voice-over (her voice work is extensive) or see her on television in various roles; her turn as Miss Rosalyn Inez on “Abbott Elementary” as the school librarian has been nothing short of entertaining. 

As stars from popular shows continue to share their stories in the business, the more we learn about the difficulties for Black stars to break into Hollywood, a tale that unfortunately feels as old as time.