The new Bel-Air trailer opens with a familiar scenario, a young Will Smith (now played by Jerry Madison) arrives at the Bel-Air mansion and reunites with his distant family. We then get a roll call of the entire Banks family, including Will’s uncle and father-figure Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes). The Peacock trailer even recounts the events that fans of the Fresh Prince know all too well: After getting into a fight during a basketball game, Will’s mother sends him to live with his affluent Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air. However, it looks like Will’s past is catching up to him as he struggles to adapt to his new affluent surroundings.
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The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air is easily one of the most beloved sitcoms of the ’90s. It’s difficult to find anyone who grew up in the ’90s who can’t sing along to the theme song. On top of launching Smith’s acting career, the series was known for being able to balance its comedic tone with serious issues such as racial inequality and police harassment. While it was able to deal with these subjects effectively, the series still followed the three-camera sitcom approach, featuring a live studio audience.
While Bel-Air will largely stick to the story told in the original sitcom, it’s clearly taking a very new approach. Rather than the traditional sitcom approach used by its predecessor, Bel-Air looks to have more in common with a prestigious drama on a network like HBO or Showtime. This has already caused some controversy amongst fans of the sitcom. Last month, a short Bel-Air teaser debuted and featured a soulful, spoken-word rendition of the sitcom’s original theme song. It was quickly roasted online, with some fans likening it to an SNL parody.
Regardless of how it’s received, Bel-Air is certainly taking a unique approach to its source material. In recent years there have been several revivals of beloved ’90s sitcoms, including Will and Grace and Rosanne. While both of these revivals functioned more as continuations of the original shows, some networks have seen success in airing reunion specials. Recently, HBO Max featured two highly-anticipated reunion specials for Friends and The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. Both featured the original cast members reuniting and discussing their experiences on their respective sitcoms. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air special even featured a highly publicized reunion between Smith and original Aunt Viv actress Janet Hubert decades after their infamous falling out.
While most networks seem happy to tap into audience nostalgia, Bel-Air looks to be trying something new. Rather than a continuation of the series, Peacock is producing a brand new adaptation of the story. Whether this will work or not remains to be seen, but at the very least, it’s a bold move for the platform.
Bel-Air premieres exclusively on Peacock on February 13th, 2022.
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Source: YouTube | Peacock
