The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot is set to take on a more dramatic approach to the original ’90s sitcom, which was based strongly on actor Will Smith and Alfonso Ribeiro’s comedic rapport with one another. Bel-Air is adopting a more contemporary approach as well, with the new Peacock series taking place in modern day America. The reboot will follow basically the same narrative as the classic sitcom in which main character Will is shipped off to live with his uncle in the wealthy community of Bel-Air, Los-Angeles, after getting into some teenage shenanigans. Now, nearly three decades after The Fresh Prince had been on air, the reboot finally materializing was something many fans thought they would never see.
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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air family is all back together, including Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, Geoffrey, and of course Will’s cousins Hilary and Ashley. Banks, who is now the young star of the reboot, has teased his on-screen chemistry with co-star Olly Sholotan, who plays Carlton. Banks stated during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, “He’s an amazing scene partner, but Olly is my brother, first and foremost. When I got to L.A, I literally had no clue where I was going, and I had to find a place to live. He was like, ‘I’ll just drive you around L.A. I’ll take you to every neighborhood, and we’ll see. That just really showed me who he is as a person. We got to a level of comfortability. We hang out on-and-off set - we’re really good friends."
Banks noted that the level of comfort between himself and Sholotan, who are both “very playful,” gave the two of them enough space to play with the bond between their characters. “We want to see how far we can take this Will and Carlton dynamic. In the first episode, it’s something, and in the last, something completely different. It’s super exciting for everyone to see them grow as cousins and as brothers; for them to get into like their Will and Carlton silly situations and crazy adventures.” Banks said. “That’s going to be exciting for everyone to see and witness again. I think those are some of my favorite episodes from The Fresh Prince, when Will and Carlton are just getting into shitty situations.”
Smith championed the idea of rebooting The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air after coming across a YouTube video in which the show was revised as a drama. YouTuber Morgan Cooper’s video quickly became viral, which garnered the attention of Smith, who absolutely loved the idea of switching the tone for a reboot. Smith went on to publicly praise and show support to Cooper’s video, professing that he now had no doubt in his mind whether he wanted to make the reboot down the line.
A year after development, the reboot was officially confirmed along with Peacock winning the right’s to the show after some serious competition. Bel-Air has also confirmed that to many fan’s delight, they will be bringing back all the quintessential, core characters from the original series as well.
The first three episodes of Bel-Air will be available for streaming through Peacock on February 13th, 2022.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter
