Everyone’s favourite 90s sitcom is getting a reboot – and it’s going to be a lot darker than the original…
For anyone out there who’s inexplicably never encountered the show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was on air between 1990 and 1996, resulting in six seasons and nearly 150 episodes of comedy gold. The original series follows the character Will Smith (played by the actor of the same name) as he moves in with his wealthy extended family in Bel-Air.
After getting into a fight in West Philadelphia (where he was born and raised), he is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in the hopes that they can keep him on the straight and narrow. Essentially, it’s a story all about how his life got flipped turned upside down… [Featured image: IMDB/NBC]
There are several heartfelt moments weaved throughout the sitcom, but the overall feel of the show is comedic and light-hearted. A new adaptation called Bel-Air, however, will have a much more serious tone. The reboot was inspired by a fan-made trailer (see above), produced by Morgan Cooper, that went viral in 2019. The video portrayed the show as an intense, compelling drama and caught the attention of the original Fresh Prince, Will Smith.
Though the hype appeared to have died down in the wake of the trailer’s release, Cooper and Smith have been working behind the scenes to bring the series to life, with news arriving recently that several streaming networks – Netflix and HBO amongst them – are interested in bringing the project to life.
While we all know and love the original show, the remake is already garnering a lot of buzz, and will attempt to situate the storyline in the present day – almost certainly making the show a lot darker. The tagline of the original trailer reads, “What would happen if Will Smith made the Fresh Prince today? Bel-Air, a story of a kid from Philly whose life got turned upside down…in 2019″. And it looks like we’ll be finding out the answer to that question very soon.
Smith will not be starring in the remake but will still be very involved in the project. Instead, he will be teaming up with Cooper and taking on the role as executive producer, whilst Smith’s Westbrook Studios will be co-producing the show with the original producers at Universal TV. A release date has not yet been confirmed, but Bel-Air will most definitely be the talk of the town when it airs.