Originally, the show centered on the character of Denise Huxtable (portrayed by Lisa Bonet) and the lives of students at a fictional historically black college called Hillman College, but after Lisa Bonet left the show after the first season, the remainder of the series focused primarily on the characters of Whitley Gilbert (portrayed by Jasmine Guy) & Dwayne Wayne (portrayed by Kadeem Hardison). In January of 1993, NBC placed the show on hiatus due to low ratings and during the hiatus, the network announced that "A Different World" would be cancelled.