TheGrio talked to Hardison, who played the character Dwayne Wayne, about getting his flowers and his favorite moments filming the iconic sitcom. When you think of hit ’80s and ’90s sitcoms, very few fans — Black or white — would leave out “A Different World.” During its run, it was the No. 2 television show on cable and has proven to be still relevant today. Thanks partly to social media, reruns on TV One and streaming platforms, the show’s fanbase stretches across multiple generations.