《不同的世界》于1987年首播时，世界景象截然不同。当时艾滋病疫情在美国蔓延，罗纳德·里根正担任第二任总统，且尚未出现万维网。
When “A Different World” debuted in 1987, the world looked very different. The HIV epidemic was raging across the U.S., Ronald Reagan was in his second term and there was no World Wide Web.
作为《考斯比秀》的衍生剧，该剧一直播出至1993年，成为电视首次展现年轻黑人身份现实的节目之一。剧中学生在一所历史悠久的黑人高校中，面对种族、政治、人际关系以及青年成长的阵痛。据国家教育统计中心数据，该剧六年播出期间，历史悠久的黑人高校和大学的入学人数大约增长了25%。
A spinoff of “The Cosby Show” that ran until 1993, the series broke ground as one of television’s first glimpses into the realities of young Black identity. Students navigated race, politics, relationships and the growing pains of young adulthood at a historically Black college. During the show’s six-year run, enrollment in Historically Black colleges and universities rose roughly 25%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.