In 2019, self-taught independent filmmaker Morgan Cooper created a 15-minute short that transformed one of the seminal sitcoms of the 90s into a far darker story and uploaded it to YouTube, where it caught the attention of millions. The sitcom? The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. And who was among those millions? The Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith, and a plethora of Hollywood suitors. Bel-Air is the product of that seemingly overnight success story and now makes its debut on the Peacock streaming service.
For several years, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had a stranglehold on the Monday nights in American households. That grip extends further for decades when you consider the fact that it was the launching pad for one of the most talented actors ever to hit Hollywood and its continued popularity in syndication and streaming. That level of pop-culture capital forces Bel-Air into an uphill battle in making its mark. While it may never give us the next Will Smith, can Bel-Air carve out a place of its own in our homes and hearts?
If it stays consistent with the first episode, Bel-Air will be more than a gritty carbon copy of its origin – it will have the same longevity with the opportunities to cover the ground the OG series would not dare touch. Cooper and co-writer Chris Collins’s writing gives the show this level of promise by making revisions that go beyond the bounds of simply removing much of the laughing matters that kept families faithfully clearing their Monday nights to watch for six seasons.
The most noticeable change aside from the reduced comedic tone is Cooper and Collins’s expansion of the characters. Will’s move to the West Coast and subsequent culture shock are still the break shot that starts everything, but the other characters in Bel-Air move towards their respective pockets in a way that showcases more depth and development than their previous versions. The new Hillary is more mature and savvy than her earlier rendering ever, allowing the potential exploration of women's equality and empowerment in depth. We meet Carlton but encounter his struggles with the realities of code-switching and the toll it takes on him shortly after that. Uncle Phil still has the same DNA as the late James Avery’s portrayal of the character, but his career, standing among the Black elite, and the circumstances surrounding Will’s arrival make him a more conflicted man.
Diversity is another hallmark that separates Bel-Air from its predecessor. Yes, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a show with a Black lead and featured a Black cast except for the occasional white guest star or appearances from friends and classmates of the children in the Banks household. Yet, it also played into colorist tropes both on and off the camera with its treatment of Janet Hubert and the way it cast dark-complected characters.
The new show corrects that and makes it a point to display all shades of Black. Its cast damns the paper bag test to hell with an infusion of melanin the previous show lacked among the core cast. However, the inclusion of darker skin is not a “check the box” deal to avoid past criticism. The beauty of those skin tones is showcased through lighting and color that embraces it in a way reminiscent of Insecure’s expertise in this arena.
While behind the scenes aspects of Bel-Air immediately grab your attention, the show’s acting warrants praise as well. While he does not have the same name recognition or star power, newcomer Jabari Banks proves he is more than capable of providing the wit, charm, and vulnerability that made the Will Smith character a unique watch.
The most intriguing watch in Bel-Air is Adrian Holmes’s Uncle Phil. As mentioned earlier, this iteration is darker and more conflicted, and Holmes pulls it off nicely without making Uncle Phil seem menacing or villainous. Olly Sholotan also brings a similar feeling to Carlton and should be one to watch as the season progresses.
Bel-Air is the rare instance in which something good has come from rebooting a classic. It still maintains the fabric of the prototype that birthed it but features several changes that reshape the story to make it more relevant over 30 years after entering our homes. While our nostalgia and connections to the megastar it launched make it easy to cast The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s shadow over the new show, Bel-Air packs more than enough to stand on its own for years to come.
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