Bel-Air (TV series)

Bel-Air
Genre	Drama
Created by	Andy Borowitz & Susan Borowitz
Based on	On a Story by Andy Borowitz & Susan Borowitz On a Format by Benny Medina & Jeff Pollack
Developed by	Morgan Cooper & Malcolm Spellman & TJ Brady & Rasheed Newson
Starring	Jabari Banks Cassandra Freeman Jimmy Akingbola Olly Sholotan Coco Jones Akira Akbar Simone Joy Jones Jordan L. Jones Adrian Holmes
Music by	Terrace Martin Robert Glasper
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	5
Production
Executive producers	TJ Brady & Rasheed Newson Morgan Cooper Will Smith Terence Carter James Lassiter Miguel Melendez Malcolm Spellman Benny Medina Quincy Jones Andy Borowitz & Susan Borowitz
Producers	Debra Lovatelli Jeff Rafner Jason B. Harkins
Cinematography	James Hawkinson Christopher Soos
Editors	Jennifer Barbot Christopher S. Capp Angela Latimer Shoshanah Tanzer Mark Heiliger
Running time	46–60 minutes
Production companies	Arbolada Roads Ra Shines Inc. Cooper Films The 51 Westbrook Studios Universal Television Warner Bros. Studios
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	Peacock
Original release	February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13) – present (present)

Bel-Air is an American drama streaming television series developed by Morgan Cooper, Malcolm Spellman, TJ Brady, and Rasheed Newson. It is a reboot and dramatization of the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and is based on Cooper's short fan film of the same name. It stars Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones, and Simone Joy Jones. The series premiered on Peacock on February 13, 2022.^[1]

Premise

The series follows Will Smith's complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.^[2]

Cast and characters

Main

• Jabari Banks as Will Smith, a 16-year-old from West Philadelphia who is sent to live with his Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air by his mother, Vy
• Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks, Will's Aunt, wife of Phillip, mother of Hilary, Carlton and Ashley and sister of Vy
• Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey Thompson, the House Manager of the Banks', originally from Jamaica before moving to London as a child
• Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks, the lacrosse-playing middle child of Viv and Phil and Will's cousin and adversary
• Coco Jones as Hilary Banks, a social media influencer, excellent chef and eldest child of Viv and Phil and Will's cousin
• Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks, the 12-year-old youngest child of Viv and Phil and Will's cousin
• Simone Joy Jones as Lisa Wilkes, a potential love interest of Will, and Carlton's ex. She is also on the swim team.
• Jordan L. Jones as Jazz, a taxi driver Will met and bonded with when he arrived at LAX
• Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks, Will's lawyer uncle, husband of Viv and father of Hilary, Carlton and Ashley

Recurring

• April Parker Jones as Viola 'Vy' Smith, Will's mother
• Davionne Jackson as Tray Melbert, Will's best friend in Philadelphia
• Tyler Barnhardt as Connor Satterfield, Carlton's best friend
• Joe Holt as Fred Wilkes
• Charlie Hall as Tyler Laramy, Will's friend and basketball teammate at Bel-Air Academy
• Karrueche Tran as Ivy
• Duane Martin as Steven Lewis
• Scottie Thompson as Angela

Guest

• Big Boy as himself

Production

Development

On March 10, 2019, Morgan Cooper uploaded Bel-Air to YouTube. The submission was a fan film, written and directed by him, in the form of a mock trailer for an updated and dramatic reimagining of the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.^[3][4] Will Smith, who starred in the original sitcom as a fictionalized version of himself, heavily praised the fan film and expressed his interest in expanding the concept into a reboot, personally meeting with Cooper.^[5][6] On August 11, 2020, the series was officially announced after being in the works for over a year. At the time, Netflix, HBO Max, and Peacock were bidding for the rights to the series.^[7] On September 8, 2020, Peacock gave the series a two-season order under the title Bel-Air, with Westbrook Inc. and Universal Television producing. Smith and Cooper executive produce alongside Terence Carter, James Lassiter, Miguel Melendez, Malcolm Spellman, Quincy Jones, Benny Medina, Andy Borowitz, and Susan Borowitz.^[8] An online premiere for the series was held on February 9, 2022, by Crown & Conquer.^[9] The series premiered on Peacock on February 13, 2022, with its first three episodes.^[1][10]

Casting

In August 2021, Smith surprised Jabari Banks with the news that Banks would star as the lead.^[11][12] In September 2021, Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones, and Simone Joy Jones joined the cast as series regulars.^[13] In January 2022, Karrueche Tran, Duane Martin, Joe Holt, April Parker Jones, SteVonté Hart, Scottie Thompson, and Charlie Hall in recurring roles.^[14]

Filming

Principal photography was scheduled to take place in Los Angeles and Philadelphia.^[13] On January 7, 2022, it was reported that the series had some positive COVID-19 tests on set, but production was not impacted.^[15]

Episodes

No.	Title [10]	Directed by	Written by	Original release date [10]
1	"Dreams and Nightmares"	Morgan Cooper	Morgan Cooper & Malcolm Spellman & TJ Brady & Rasheed Newson	February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)
This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Will Smith is a swaggy teenage boy from West Philly and a straight-A student with a high chance of winning a college basketball scholarship. After a game, he goes with his best friend Tray to get a snack and is insulted by the city's local bully, Darnell, who says that he "owns West Philly." Angered, Will and Tray go to get even with Darnell and end up making a quick two-on-two basketball bet with a drug lord, Rashad. After they win and defeat Darnell and another guy Rod, an angry Darnell throws the ball at Rashad and then slips away. A fight breaks out between Will and Tray, and Rashad and his minions. After seeing Tray getting beaten, Will scares most of the people off by firing an unregistered gun upwards, and then he pulls it on Rashad. The police arrive and Will is taken to jail, along with Rashad. Soon, he is released and sent to live with his rich Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, and cousins Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley in Bel-Air, Los Angeles. After hitching a ride there with a local named Jazz, he goes to a fundraiser that his uncle is throwing for his campaign as District Attorney. He is on good terms with his aunt and two cousins Hilary and Ashley, but his uncle is worried that Will will ruin his campaign. Carlton also takes a disliking towards Will after he sees him flirting with his ex-girlfriend, Lisa. Will tries to run away when he finds out that Tray is in a bad situation but is caught by the house manager, Geoffrey. He goes to the high school with Carlton to watch him play lacrosse, flirts with Lisa, and then ends up nearly starting a fight when one white boy on the team, Connor, starts singing offensive racist terms. Later, at home, Will catches Carlton sniffing Xanax and makes a deal that if they pretend to end their "beef," Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv will back down and stop forcing Carlton to show Will around. At Connor's beach party, a jealous Carlton pushes Will into the pool after seeing him kiss Lisa. Will can't swim and Lisa pulls him out. Angered by Carlton's actions, Will first punches Connor, and then Carlton.
2	"Keep Ya Head Up"	Carl Seaton	JaNeika James & JaSheika James	February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)
3	"Yamacraw"	Nick Copus	Yolonda Lawrence	February 13, 2022 (2022-02-13)
4	"Canvas"	Dale Stern	Nicole Delaney & Henry "Hank" Jones	February 17, 2022 (2022-02-17)
5	"PA to LA"	Tasha Smith	Ephraim Salaam & Rasheed Newson	February 24, 2022 (2022-02-24)

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 67% of 45 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads, "Bel-Air replaces its predecessor's high spirits with a dour tone and an uneasy mix of realism, although there are signs that this reimagining can grow into a fresh new spin."^[16] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 59 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".^[17]

References

External links

• Bel-Air at IMDb
• Bel-Air on Peacock