Will gets into “one little fight” in new teaser for Peacock’s Bel-Air
The new series, based on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, hits Peacock on February 13
Aux News Bel-Air
Peacock has a released a new teaser for Bel-Air, their gritty The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air reboot. The new footage gives another glimpse of the fight Will (Jabari Banks) was involved in that ultimately led his mother (April Parker Jones) to ship him off to his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.
The new series premieres February 13 on Peacock. It turns Will Smith’s original beloved, ‘90s sitcom into a one-hour drama, exploring the grittier side of his journey from West Philadelphia to Bel-Air.
The series is executive produced by Will Smith and directed and co-written by Morgan Cooper, whose viral trailer served as the inspiration for the series. The show also stars Adrian Holmes as Uncle Phil, Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Coco Jones as Hilary, Akira Akbar as Ashley, Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey, and Jordan L. Jones as Jazz. The first season will have ten episodes, with three episodes released on the 13th and the rest following weekly.
The series is obviously a huge departure from the original series, which portrayed the clash between Will’s West Philly lifestyle and the Banks family’s bougie life in California more for humor than anything else. Of course, that meant the episodes that did handle more serious topics hit especially hard. But Bel-Air doesn’t seem to have at least changed the show’s sense of humor. For example, Carlton, originally the nerdy foil to Will’s effortless cool, seems to be much more comfortable fitting in with his wealthy peers in this rendition.
In 2020, the original Fresh Prince cast reunited, minus James Avery, who passed away in 2013. Smith told the story of how he nailed the audition for the role of himself at Quincy Jones’ birthday party, where the guests included the then-president of NBC. Smith was apprehensive about making the leap from music to acting, but he managed to impress the powers that be and land the gig.
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Somehow I didn’t register in the first trailer that Ashley is li’l Monica from Captain Marvel! Nice to see her continuing to work, she was very charming in that movie.
VERY excited to finally get some backstory on whether or not the cab to Phil’s house was, indeed, “rare”
I always assumed it was rare in the sense that it drove Will all the way from Philly to California, a thing most cabs would not do.
TRUE ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ scholars (we are called ‘Bellaureates’ btw) know that the extended version of the opening credits that played during the pilot episode (‘The Fresh Prince Project. production code 446801, aired 09/10/1990) included an entire VERSE about Will traveling via first-class air travel to California. “I begged and pleaded with her day after dayBut she packed my suitcase and sent me on my way
She gave me a kiss and then she gave me my ticket
I put my Walkman on and said, “I might as well kick it”First class, yo this is bad
Drinking orange juice out of a champagne glass
Is this what the people of Bel-Air living like?
Hmm this might be alright”
Uncut version of the theme has him flying first class to LA.
Where did the driver buy the dice on the mirror?
This is “Give the Geico Cavemen a Sitcom” levels of ridiculous.
I’m excited for their take on the pool sharking episode.
I hope this new series flips the comedy/drama balance completely. So most of Will’s struggles to fit into Bel-Air are deadly serious, but the scene where he breaks down about how his dad never wanted him is played for laughs.
[does the Carlton dance to Elliott Smith]