The set used during the first season was the same set used on the sitcom, "Family Matters" (1989).
In an episode where Max's ex-boyfriend comes over for dinner with his new girlfriend, Regine tells the woman that she looks familiar and asks what school she attended. She replies "Eastland" boarding school, and Regine says, "Hmm, never heard of it," while looking towards the camera. This is a reference to actress Kim Fields's role on the sitcom "The Facts of Life" (1979), which is set at the fictitious "Eastland School for Girls".
Many main cast members of "Different World" appeared on the show: Jasmine Guy as a psychologist, Kadeem Hardison as Khadijah's reporter-rival-romantic-interest, Darryl Bell as Max's romantic-interest, Cree Summer as Overton's romantic-interest and Charmin Brown as Khadijah's and Max's college friend.