The Brandcenter alum built an envy-worthy career in advertising before moving to LA and breaking into television. Now, he’s a writer and producer on Netflix’s new A Different World sequel series — and has advice for anyone looking to make the leap.
As a kid, Howard Jordan, Jr. (Copywriting, 1999) watched A Different World for the same reason millions of others did: he loved seeing young Black people on television who were smart, funny, driven and figuring out who they were.
“It had a truth to it, it had a texture,” he says. “The cultural impact is undeniable. It was young Black college kids on TV making something of themselves in a Black environment.”
He also loved that the show reached far beyond its setting at the fictional historically Black college of Hillman.
“A Different World was doing over 20 million viewers every episode. That’s unheard of now. It was that big, and even though it was at an HBCU, it crossed over. White kids were watching it. White adults were watching it. It was for everybody, but it was a uniquely Black, intentional, conscious show, and even as a kid, I loved that.”
Nearly four decades later, Jordan is helping bring that world to a new generation as a writer and producer on Netflix’s sequel series with a team led by showrunner Felicia Pride. It’s a fitting chapter for someone whose career has always been driven by storytelling, even if the medium has changed.
Jordan, a Richmond native, decided at age 9 that he wanted to work in advertising. After earning a marketing degree from James Madison University, he started mailing letters to advertising agencies around the country looking for any sort of job or internship.
A response from The Martin Agency gave him the break he needed, although not in the form of a job. The agency told him he needed a portfolio and pointed him toward a new program in his hometown: VCU Brandcenter. Jordan drove home to Richmond, filled out his copywriting application, built a portfolio, and was admitted to the program’s second cohort.
After Brandcenter, he moved to New York City and built an impressive career as a copywriter and creative director, working on brands including Beats by Dr. Dre, State Farm, McDonald’s, Lexus and Coca-Cola.
But while his advertising career was taking off, Jordan was also writing on the side.
He started taking continuing education classes at NYU, where he discovered sitcom screenwriting, and what started as a side interest eventually became a second career.
After more than a decade in advertising, Jordan moved to Los Angeles and broke into television, writing and producing for networks and studios including CBS, BET and Warner Bros. Now, he’s part of the team bringing A Different World back to center stage.
The move from advertising to television wasn’t about leaving creativity behind. If anything, Jordan wanted more of it.
“I wanted to write the part that people tuned in to see.”
After years of telling brand stories in 30 seconds, in a medium that most folks actively avoid, he wanted more room for character development, bigger ideas and longer-form storytelling. Television offered a different kind of creative challenge.
For anyone considering a similar leap into entertainment writing, Jordan’s advice is straightforward: start reading and writing. There’s no shortcut around the work.
Jordan recommends having at least two amazing writing samples when applying for jobs: one original pilot and one spec episode of your favorite series where you nail the tone of the show, “99% of the time in television writing, your job is to learn the showrunner’s voice and execute that.”
Whether you’re a comedic writer who grew up on The Simpsons or a drama writer obsessed with procedurals, Jordan also emphasizes leaning into your genre: “Learn the format, learn the structure, learn the act breaks, learn the characters, learn how that works.”
Even amongst busy schedules and priorities, Jordan emphasizes that you have to put in the work. “You have to decide what’s more important to you, and you have to pursue it. And actively go get it.”
And for anyone wondering whether it’s possible to make a leap into something new, Jordan’s own career is proof that creative careers don’t have to follow a straight line. He credits Brandcenter with giving him the confidence to walk into unfamiliar territory knowing he could figure it out.
“After Brandcenter, Richmond, VCU, you’re ready to take on the world…I knew no matter what situation I walked into, I was capable.”
The sequel series A Different World drops this Thursday, September 24, 2026 at midnight on Netflix.
