The youngest daughter of Dwayne Wayne (Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Guy), Deborah is a charming work in progress. She has her mother’s flair for the spotlight and her father’s big heart. Unlike her driven, hyperfocused family, she’s a free spirit — talented in art, music, and theater. 

After being rejected from her dream school, Tisch, Deborah is now entering her first year at Hillman and is determined to explore before locking in to a single path. While her worried parents try to carefully guide her college experience, campus life pushes Deborah to define herself on her own terms. 

“She’s a mess,” says Moon. “And that’s the wonderful thing about it … I hope that inspires people my age to be diverse in their experiences and know that the messy part is what creates greatness. That experience is priceless. The mess and the falls and the whims — it’s all part of it.”

Hell’s Kitchen on Broadway, Mystic Christmas

• Rashida is a first-generation college student from Compton, California, and a criminal justice major. Deeply community-minded and fiercely responsible, she’s determined to lift as many people as she can as she climbs to the top. 
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• “What’s most special about Rashida is that she’s a go-getter,” says Kai. “She’s a hard worker, and she doesn’t let anybody take her credit away.” 
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• This diligent student has little patience for what she sees as the frivolous antics of her generation. So when she’s assigned to room with free-spirited Deborah, the two women from very different worlds initially clash. But the unlikely pairing has potential to grow into a bond that challenges, softens, and expands them both.

Everybody Hates Chris, The Sound of Christmas, Runt

This superstar quarterback shocks everyone by choosing to attend an HBCU, but it’s all in honor of a promise he made to his late mother. Managed by an ambitious father, Ron Johnson (Bell), who wants a big future for his son, Shaquille may eventually need to assert his independence. 

Confident as hell and determined to make history, Shaquille is also deeply sensitive, carrying a quiet grief just beneath the bravado. His drive to achieve the impossible fuels a fiery will they, won’t they relationship with family friend Deborah. 

To succeed in school, love, and life, Shaquille will need to learn to temper his ego. And, as Young says, “He’s trying. Shaquille is trying.”

Doing Life, Forever, Beyond the Gates

Resourceful, street-smart, and emotionally mature, Amir is way better at doling out advice than he is at taking it. 

After arriving on campus and discovering he has no housing due to a dorm shortage, the psych major who hails from Harlem must crash on the community couch in Garvey Hall. It’s not exactly the HBCU fantasy he envisioned, but damn if it doesn’t beat his time in juvie.

“I love his hustle,” says Hall. “He’s very matter-of-fact, very honest, very upfront, and I think that makes him funny.” 

Good at helping people out of their mess, but bad at avoiding his own, at least Amir’s got Shaquille and Kojo (Uche) to turn to when he needs support. They always keep it real with him, and he does the same for them.

The Idea of You, What We Found, The Equalizer

• A small-town girl, Hazel arrives at Hillman College and treats it like her personal promised land. She’s dreamt of attending the school since she could walk, and her mission now is to make her parents proud and find her God-fearing husband.
•  
• “She’s definitely a bit of a contradiction,” Reece says of her character, who’s simultaneously pragmatic and naive. “But I’m sure there are so many people who will relate to that, so I focused on finding the humanity in all of her contradictions.” 
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• At Hillman, everything Hazel thought she knew about herself will be questioned. Thanks to class lectures and fruitful debates with friends like Deborah, she learns to distinguish between the beliefs she’s been assigned and the values that are truly hers.

Charged

Ghanaian-Nigerian fashion merchandising student Kojo is only in college to appease his parents. He’s an entrepreneur at heart and has started several businesses, but his true love is clothing design. 

“It’s a creative outlet, it’s a way to express, and it’s fun,” says Achebe of Kojo’s passion for fashion. 

Between charming American girls and building close bonds with his Garvey Hall mates, he spends most of his first year at Hillman getting ready to participate in the school’s fashion show. But if his parents remain unimpressed with his aspiration, will Kojo be able to keep up the courage to follow his heart? 

“Being a fashion designer is not the expected path that his parents have for him,” Uche says. “He’s a young man trying to find himself.”

One of Us Is Lying, The Tomorrow War, All American

A junior at Hillman, Ellington is Professor Brooks’s (Summer) student assistant and eventually becomes Deborah’s tutor. He’s confident, intellectual, and so handsome it may distract you from your studies.

Chicago Med, Shots Fired

This sexy junior from Houston is the star point guard and MVP of the Hillman College basketball team. His skills on and off the court quickly catch Hazel’s eye.

Night Swim

Candace is a type-A sophomore who serves as a resident advisor at Gilbert Hall and student mentor to Hillman’s incoming freshmen. Highly ambitious and confident, she rules her dorm with a strict, Godfather-like authority.

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat, Law and Order: SVU

Want to know what’s going on at Hillman? Tap in with Xavier. This student is always online and livestreaming, spreading the latest news from all the biggest events as they unfold across campus.

Law & Order, The Ms. Pat Show

Andre, Hillman’s starting quarterback and football team captain, is tough competition for Shaquille on the field and for Kojo with the ladies.

All’s Fair

Whitley may be Deborah’s mother, but that’s far from her only important role. Post-Hillman, Whitley traveled the world with Dwayne, built a family, and reinvented herself as a beauty mogul. 

Whitley launched her own skin-care line, Glitter by Gilbert, and grew it into a multimillion-dollar empire that put her in celebrity circles. She eventually sold the company for a substantial payout. With her brand gone and her three children grown enough to need less “micromanaging” — though Deborah is still a bit of a handful — Whitley is left questioning who she is beyond a wife and mother.

Harlem Nights, Dead Like Me, School Daze

He’s a Hillman parent, alumnus, and administrator. After graduating, Dwayne built a high-profile global career with Kineshiwa, only to realize that he didn’t enjoy life in the spotlight. 

Over time, he shifts his focus toward higher education, returning to the academic world he loves. Now serving in a prominent role in the school administration, Dwayne is fighting to rescue his beloved alma mater from a major funding scandal. Dwayne must juggle it all while centering what matters most to him: the students — including his youngest daughter, Deborah.

White Men Can’t Jump, Renaissance Man, K.C. Undercover

As his son’s manager, Ron wheels and deals, but as a dad, he always has Shaquille’s best interest at heart. The two are extremely tight, especially since the passing of Shaquille’s mother. Both men must grieve their loss while trying to come together to plan their shared future.

Brother, School Daze, Homeboys in Outer Space

Rashida’s proud and hardworking mom, Darlene, manages a store alongside her husband back in Compton. She may live on the opposite side of the country from her daughter, but she’s always there when Rashida needs her most.

Art imitates life for Arnold, since she’s playing her real-life daughter’s mom. That’s right — Arnold is the mother of Alijah Kai, who portrays Rashida. 

Everybody Hates Chris, Little Shop of Horrors, The Neighborhood

A distinguished law professor at Hillman, Freddie also runs her own practice. Students love her because she speaks in layman’s terms and can do a mean TikTok dance. 

Freddie never married (it’s a scam), never had kids (this world is a dumpster fire), but has devoted her life to helping people get justice. Over the season, Freddie becomes a mentor and confidant for students, and her classroom is a safe space and favorite hangout spot.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Tiny Toon Adventures, Rugrats

A graduate of Hillman Medical School, Kimberly is now an award-winning heart surgeon and the mother of fellow alum turned faculty member Dr. Brooklyn Boyer (Raven Goodwin).

Hindsight, Girlfriends, How Ya Like Me Now

Now married to Colonel Bradford Taylor (Glynn Turman), Jaleesa returns to campus to help fundraise for her cherished alma mater and maybe even spar a bit with Whitley like old times.

Dreamgirls, The 10th Kingdom, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka

Alongside her longtime bestie Gina Deveaux (Ajai Sanders), Charmaine is still Hillman’s biggest gossip.

Lean on Me, Malcolm & Eddie, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder

With all the drama swirling around Hillman’s finances — and her former classmates’ marriages — of course Gina is back to spill the tea with her other half, Charmaine.

Phat Tuesdays, Two Degrees

One of Hillman’s most esteemed alumni, Lena James now represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. As a sitting congresswoman, Lena wields a lot of power, but will she be able to help her friend and former crush, Dwayne, lift their alma mater out of financial trouble?

The Matrix Revolutions, Scream 2, Collateral

After Whitley left him at the altar for Dwayne, Byron went on to get married — and subsequently divorced — three times. Despite the struggles in his personal life, he’s found great success as a long-standing senator for the state of Virginia, and he’s willing to use his Capitol Hill connections to help out his old flame when she calls him up.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Scandal, The Brother from Another Planet

Hillman’s head football coach is also a former NFL player, and he won’t let his players forget it. The tough-but-fair leader always emphasizes the importance of being a team player — even to his star athletes.

Power Book II, Godfather of Harlem, The Wire

Professor Baptiste teaches various classes at Hillman, including Communicating Culture Through Public Speaking. He’s known for encouraging his students to engage in healthy debate and has a special bond with his colleague Professor Brooks, born out of their shared sense of justice.

Haus of Vicious, The Ms. Pat Show

As manager of The Pit, a favorite gathering spot on Hillman’s campus, Nellie serves up hush puppies and sage advice to all the students, just like her grandpa Mr. Vernon Gaines did before her.

Blue Bloods, Curse of War, Fear Lake Lanier

Officer Boo Boo is the no-nonsense campus security guard who keeps Hillman’s finest safe and out of trouble — for the most part. With her always-done nails and perfect edges, Officer Boo Boo doesn’t play about the rules

Star; Black Love Future, A.D.

The daughter of Hillman alum Dr. Kimberly Reese-Boyer and a legacy herself, Dr. Brooklyn Boyer is an adjunct professor of psychology. She offers a kind of cool-older-cousin energy to her students, including her family friend Deborah.

Grotesquerie, Single Black Female

Her wig may always be slightly askew, but as a longstanding academic advisor at Hillman College, Dr. Langhorne always keeps her students in line with straight talk, tough love, and honest direction.

Fame

The former dean of students at Hillman is now the college president, but under her leadership, the preeminent HBCU isn’t exactly thriving.

What’s Love Got to Do with It, The Preacher’s Wife, The Princess and the Frog

Brad may be retired, but the former math professor and campus ROTC instructor is still doing what he can to protect Hillman’s legacy.

Super 8, Gremlins, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom