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Nick at Nite Goes Back to School When A Different World Premieres on the Network on July 19
PASADENA, Calif., July 13 -- Prepare for big laughs on
campus when the ensemble comedy A Different World joins the Nick at Nite
line-up on Wednesday, July 19, 2006 with a four-hour marathon beginning at
10 p.m. ET/PT. The sitcom, the first of its kind, introduced viewers to
life at a historically black college and tackled social and political
issues rarely explored on television. The series will air in its regularly
scheduled timeslot of 10 p.m. from Monday-Friday beginning July 22.
"A Different World is a ground-breaking series that truly had one of
the most talented ensemble casts on television," states Larry W. Jones,
President, TV Land and Nick at Nite. "Filled with cultural vibrancy, the
show explored so many important issues of our time and we are proud to add
it to Nick at Nite's line-up."
This 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 naive 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.
Currently seen in more than 88 million U.S. homes, Nick at Nite
features timeless hit comedies: The Cosby Show -- this Emmy Award-winning
sitcom is one of the network's highest-rated shows: Full House -- this
popular family comedy launched on the network in October and is one of the
highest-rated and most popular syndicated programs in television; and
Roseanne, one of the most talk-about and celebrated sitcoms in television
history.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. (NYSE: VIA,
VIA.B), owns and operates the following television programming services --
MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, mtvU, VHI, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY
CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, MTV INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL
SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 12 digital services, all of which are
trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also has licensing agreements,
joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming
services can be seen worldwide.
About Viacom
Viacom is a leading global entertainment content company, with
prominent and respected brands in focused demographics. Offering
programming and content for television, motion pictures and digital
platforms, Viacom's world-class brands include MTV Networks (MTV, VH1,
Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, CMT: Country Music Television,
Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and more than 120 networks around the world), BET
Networks, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Entertainment, DreamWorks and
Famous Music. More information about Viacom and its businesses is available
at http://www.viacom.com .
SOURCE TV land; Nick at Nite
http://www.nick.com
http://www.viacom.com
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