November is turning out to be the month of Will Smith, who released his memoir Will and returned back to the box office with the hit film King Richard, which is centered on the father of famous tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
For his latest hattrick, Will went back to his television roots and released the teaser to the upcoming reboot of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” The original show ran for six seasons and catapulted the rapper into the eyes of Hollywood.
The new series was inspired by writer-director Morgan Cooper’s viral fan film Bel-Air. The four-minute spec trailer debuted in March 2019 and caught the attention of Smith. Cooper also serves as director, co-writer and executive producer on the project. Jabari Banks will star as Will Smith and Adrian Holmes was cast as Uncle Phillip Banks in the reworking.
Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones and Akira Akbar play Aunt Viv and Will’s cousins Carlton, Hillary and Ashley Banks. Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones and Simone Joy Jones will round out the cast as Geoffrey, Jazz and Lisa.
The revised series will be a one-hour “dramatic analogue” set in modern-day, Bel-Air, that follows “Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The reimagined “Bel-Air” will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show, according to NBC.
Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television are also executive producing the series, which has already been greenlighted for a two-season order from NBC’s streaming network Peacock. The official release date is still pending but check out the teaser below as Will recites the lyrics to the show’s theme song in spoken word.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKYfwATqaBc[/embedyt]
