Over the years, creators and actors have given us unforgettable and era-defining films/shows. Of late, many of these illustrious creations have been given reboots. One such show is the 1990s sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which starred the multi-award winning Will Smith.

Unfortunately, there have only been a handful of remakes that have lived up to the original and too many that have not. While many fall in the pile of ‘could-have-done-without’, creators seem adamant to produce more of these flops. Will Bel-Air be one such film or will it live up to what was? Here’s what you need to about the remake.

POV

While the Will Smith starred show took a softer approach and was filled with comedic value, Bel-Air will take a more dramatic approach. The story will stay close to it’s ‘square peg in a round hole’ plotline, but will do so in a more serious and realistic way, and, of course, will have a more modern feel. So there will be most of what we know, minus the contagious laughter accompanying hilarious jokes.

The idea was birthed from Morgan Cooper’s viral 2019 faux trailer, that imagined the sitcom as a more dramatic series. While a more relatable and current film is appreciated, is a reboot of The Fresh Prince the best way to portray this?

Cast and Crew

The cast is led by newcomer Jabari Banks who plays the role of ‘Will’ in the series. Adrian Holmes will play our favourite ‘Uncle Phil’, Cassandra Freeman as ‘Vivian Banks’, Olly Sholotan as ‘Carlton Banks’, Coco Jones as ‘Hilary Banks’, Akira Akbar as ‘Ashley’. Jimmy Akingbola plays ‘Geoffrey’ and Jordan L. Jones is ‘Jazz’.

From a first look at the trailer, needless to say, this cast, both in appearance and character, seem very different from the original, but maybe these choices are ideal, given the more realistic approach.

Cooper, who inspired the idea for the reboot, is director, co-executive producer and co-writer of the series. T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson also serve as executive producers, co-writers and are co-showrunners.

Smith has also aligned himself with the team, serving as an executive producer along with the likes of Quincy Jones, Benny Medina, Andy and Susan Borowitz, all of whom were a part of the original team. James Lassiter, Malcolm Spellman, Miguel Melendez and Terence Carter will also be executive producers.

Release Date

The series will debut its first three episodes on February 13, on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming network. Subsequent episodes will be released on a weekly basis.

Trailer

The three-minute trailer was released today (January 10) and gives a great feel for what exactly to expect.