A reboot of the classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is in the works, but rather than being a comedy, this one's a drama. Original series star Will Smith is one of the producers behind it.
According to THR, streaming services like Netflix, HBO Max and Peacock are bidding for the reboot, which is based on a viral video called Bel-Air which did the rounds back in 2019. The new version of the show has been in the works since then.
Here's that video in case you never saw it. It's the work of writer and director Morgan Cooper, who's involved in this reboot too:
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is one of those rare '80s/'90s sitcoms that are still enormously popular with modern audiences. It's why you can watch it right now on HBO Max in the US, or Netflix in the UK – it's no doubt helped by Will Smith's continued movie stardom, but it was also legitimately one of the best comedies of its era.
The original series saw the character Will Smith move in with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, California, after he got into a big fight in his home city of Philadelphia. To be honest, we could explain the premise in more detail, or you could just listen to the show's iconic theme tune again:
This reboot sounds promising
This won't be a knock-off or a cash-in. Most of the original show's producers are involved with the series, including executive producers Quincy Jones and Benny Medina, and co-creators Andy and Susan Borowitz.
According to THR, this new version of the Fresh Prince will explore the modern experience of being a Black man in America, while featuring fun references to the original show.
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