The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is being rebooted as a drama series - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 08-11-2020, 08:15 PM

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...-works-1306799

Will Smith loved cinematographer Morgan Cooper's 2019 Fresh Prince viral video Bel-Air that reimagines the hit sitcom as a drama series so much that he's on board to turn it into a full-blown TV series. Smith is reteaming with Fresh Prince creators Andy and Susan Borowitz and original executive producers Quincy Jones and Benny Medina on Bel-Air, which will be shopped to streaming services. The Hollywood Reporter reports that HBO Max, Peacock and Netflix are among the streaming services bidding on the potential series. According to The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg, "the new Bel-Air has been in the works for more than a year after the four-minute clip went viral when it was posted in March 2019 and caught Smith's attention. Cooper, a Fresh Prince super-fan, created and directed the trailer that reimagined the series as if it were a drama. He will co-write the script, direct and be credited as a co-EP." This is not the only Fresh Prince revival. Last year, Smith announced he was rebooting his character for a Fresh Princess children's book series.

Will Smith is undercutting the value of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with his gritty drama reboot

There's a "desperate undertone to the prospect of Bel-Air becoming a reality," Charles Holmes says of Will Smith's plan to turn cinematographer Morgan Cooper's Fresh Prince viral trailer Bel-Air into a full-blown TV series. Holmes points out that Fresh Prince "already had layers of tension and complexity in its best episodes," which paved the way for Smith having one of the most successful acting careers of his generation. Holmes adds: "Reinventing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a realistic, gritty drama not only suggests that merely existing as a beloved sitcom is no longer enough — it also fails to acknowledge that the show was always part drama operating within the structure of a family-friendly sitcom. Fresh Prince thrived during a boom time for lack television. In the Nineties, your average black sitcom (Martin, A Different World, The Jamie Foxx Show) was concerned with blue-collar anxieties or the mundane reality of a middle-class existence. These shows were colorful and jagged disrupters at a time when network TV advertisers had finally realized that black people had disposable income like their white peers. One crucial outcome of having so many black shows to choose from is that very few of those shows had to build their runs around justifying a singular vision of blackness. Instead, they gave a new generation of characters the chance to occupy a space where their trauma was often implicit, but not the first or even most important trait about them. (Kenan & Kel, to take just one example, would have been a lot less funny if it included a crushing season-long arc about the ways multinational soft-drink companies market to black communities.) Many of the most remembered and critically adored moments from the original Fresh Prince — Will and Carlton getting racially profiled by the police, Carlton overdosing on amphetamines, Will getting shot — were also the most intense. Will’s tearful monologue about his in-show father abandoning him in 'Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse' was so effective that fans believed Smith’s real dad was a deadbeat. Part of what made Will defiantly sobbing on Uncle Phil’s shoulder so visceral was the way that scene played against the context of those two characters roasting each other season after season. The comedy that defined The Fresh Prince made its moments of drama more real, and those moments of drama made the jokes around them funnier. All of it was rooted in Smith’s preternatural ability to inspire intense joy and deep pain in his audience. As his subsequent career has shown, we’re as eager to believe he can save the world from fast-talking aliens as we are to see him embody the greatest boxer of all time."

JamesG · 09-08-2020, 04:02 PM

JamesG · 08-03-2021, 05:19 PM

"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Peacock Drama Reboot Changes Showrunners
by Denise Petski
August 3, 2021

There’s a change at the helm of "Bel-Air". Chris Collins has stepped down as showrunner and executive producer of Peacock’s drama reboot of the 1990s Will Smith sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", and T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson, whose credits include "The Chi" and "The 100", will take over as co-showrunners, Deadline has confirmed.

The hourlong series, based on Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film that re-envisions the original series, hails from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television.

It received a two-season order in September 2020.

https://deadline.com/2021/08/fresh-p...rs-1234808570/

TVLegend · 08-03-2021, 08:46 PM

People need to stop.

TMC · 08-31-2021, 06:24 PM

Will Smith tells newcomer Jabari Banks he'll play Will in Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air drama reboot

Banks, who has a blank IMDb page, will star in the dark, gritty drama reboot of the classic sitcom, titled Bel-Air. Banks currently lives in West Philadelphia, where his and Smith's character was born and raised before moving to Bel-Air. According to Variety, Banks graduated from University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2020. In addition to acting, he is a songwriter, singer, rapper and basketball player.

irehtman · 09-01-2021, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

Will Smith tells newcomer Jabari Banks he'll play Will in Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air drama reboot

Banks, who has a blank IMDb page, will star in the dark, gritty drama reboot of the classic sitcom, titled Bel-Air. Banks currently lives in West Philadelphia, where his and Smith's character was born and raised before moving to Bel-Air. According to Variety, Banks graduated from University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2020. In addition to acting, he is a songwriter, singer, rapper and basketball player.

This should be a positive time for Will's character to finish college and return to the east right now.

Old School · 09-04-2021, 08:58 AM

Making this tv series into a drama might just backfire...should keep it lighthearted with teachable moments-episodes like the original version or just call it something else altogether in my mind. Time will tell.

TODAY: The 1990s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which made Will Smith a household name, is getting a reboot, but in a surprising way: as a drama. The idea was inspired by this fan-made trailer.

TMC · 09-14-2021, 06:15 PM

Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot Bel-Air announces its full cast, including a new Uncle Phil and the third Aunt Viv

Joining Jabari Banks as the new Will are Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks, Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks, Coco Jones as Hilary Banks and Akira Akbar Ashley Banks. Meanwhile, Jimmy Akingbola will take on the role of butler Geoffrey, while Jordan L. Jones will play Will's best friend Jazz.

irehtman · 09-24-2021, 10:26 AM

No live audience, that's why.

TMC · 10-20-2021, 04:20 AM

Fresh Prince reboot's Uncle Phil actor involved in a fatal freeway accident

Peacock Bel-Air star Adrian Holmes was traveling on a Los Angeles freeway Monday night when he hit a man lying down in his lane. TMZ reports Holmes and two other cars were unable to avoid hitting the unidentified man, who died of his injuries.

TMC · 10-20-2021, 04:20 AM

Fresh Prince reboot's Uncle Phil actor involved in a fatal freeway accident

Peacock Bel-Air star Adrian Holmes was traveling on a Los Angeles freeway Monday night when he hit a man lying down in his lane. TMZ reports Holmes and two other cars were unable to avoid hitting the unidentified man, who died of his injuries.

JamesG · 11-23-2021, 05:17 PM

TMC · 01-10-2022, 11:12 PM

Bel-Air unveils its full trailer

Premiering Feb. 13, Bel-Air reimagines classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new, dramatic take on Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.

(sit)comedy · 01-13-2022, 11:43 PM

they definitely have a bigger budget, i give them that.. this seems more like a movie than a tv show.

unlike the original, i didn't see any distinguishing features about the characters based on appearance. it was difficult to tell who was who. i never would have known that this was an interpretation of 'the fresh prince of bel-air' unless i was told.

not everything needs to be dark and gritty. there's enough of that in the real world as it is. yes, the original show tackled issues from time to time, but it was primarily a comedy about family.

i'm worried that this will affect the legacy of the show.

SitcomsHeydayfan · 01-15-2022, 04:25 AM

This is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard.

08-11-2020, 08:15 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,489	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is being rebooted as a drama series https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/li...-works-1306799 Will Smith loved cinematographer Morgan Cooper's 2019 Fresh Prince viral video Bel-Air that reimagines the hit sitcom as a drama series so much that he's on board to turn it into a full-blown TV series. Smith is reteaming with Fresh Prince creators Andy and Susan Borowitz and original executive producers Quincy Jones and Benny Medina on Bel-Air, which will be shopped to streaming services. The Hollywood Reporter reports that HBO Max, Peacock and Netflix are among the streaming services bidding on the potential series. According to The Hollywood Reporter's Lesley Goldberg, "the new Bel-Air has been in the works for more than a year after the four-minute clip went viral when it was posted in March 2019 and caught Smith's attention. Cooper, a Fresh Prince super-fan, created and directed the trailer that reimagined the series as if it were a drama. He will co-write the script, direct and be credited as a co-EP." This is not the only Fresh Prince revival. Last year, Smith announced he was rebooting his character for a Fresh Princess children's book series. Will Smith is undercutting the value of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with his gritty drama reboot There's a "desperate undertone to the prospect of Bel-Air becoming a reality," Charles Holmes says of Will Smith's plan to turn cinematographer Morgan Cooper's Fresh Prince viral trailer Bel-Air into a full-blown TV series. Holmes points out that Fresh Prince "already had layers of tension and complexity in its best episodes," which paved the way for Smith having one of the most successful acting careers of his generation. Holmes adds: "Reinventing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a realistic, gritty drama not only suggests that merely existing as a beloved sitcom is no longer enough — it also fails to acknowledge that the show was always part drama operating within the structure of a family-friendly sitcom. Fresh Prince thrived during a boom time for lack television. In the Nineties, your average black sitcom (Martin, A Different World, The Jamie Foxx Show) was concerned with blue-collar anxieties or the mundane reality of a middle-class existence. These shows were colorful and jagged disrupters at a time when network TV advertisers had finally realized that black people had disposable income like their white peers. One crucial outcome of having so many black shows to choose from is that very few of those shows had to build their runs around justifying a singular vision of blackness. Instead, they gave a new generation of characters the chance to occupy a space where their trauma was often implicit, but not the first or even most important trait about them. (Kenan & Kel, to take just one example, would have been a lot less funny if it included a crushing season-long arc about the ways multinational soft-drink companies market to black communities.) Many of the most remembered and critically adored moments from the original Fresh Prince — Will and Carlton getting racially profiled by the police, Carlton overdosing on amphetamines, Will getting shot — were also the most intense. Will’s tearful monologue about his in-show father abandoning him in 'Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse' was so effective that fans believed Smith’s real dad was a deadbeat. Part of what made Will defiantly sobbing on Uncle Phil’s shoulder so visceral was the way that scene played against the context of those two characters roasting each other season after season. The comedy that defined The Fresh Prince made its moments of drama more real, and those moments of drama made the jokes around them funnier. All of it was rooted in Smith’s preternatural ability to inspire intense joy and deep pain in his audience. As his subsequent career has shown, we’re as eager to believe he can save the world from fast-talking aliens as we are to see him embody the greatest boxer of all time."
	Last edited by TMC; 08-14-2020 at 04:26 AM.

09-08-2020, 04:02 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,961

08-03-2021, 05:19 PM	#3
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,961	*"Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" Peacock Drama Reboot Changes Showrunners* by Denise Petski August 3, 2021 There’s a change at the helm of "Bel-Air". Chris Collins has stepped down as showrunner and executive producer of Peacock’s drama reboot of the 1990s Will Smith sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", and T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson, whose credits include "The Chi" and "The 100", will take over as co-showrunners, Deadline has confirmed. The hourlong series, based on Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film that re-envisions the original series, hails from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television. It received a two-season order in September 2020. https://deadline.com/2021/08/fresh-p...rs-1234808570/

08-03-2021, 08:46 PM	#4
TVLegend Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 06, 2020 Location: United States Posts: 4,306	People need to stop.

08-31-2021, 06:24 PM	#5
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,489	Will Smith tells newcomer Jabari Banks he'll play Will in Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air drama reboot Banks, who has a blank IMDb page, will star in the dark, gritty drama reboot of the classic sitcom, titled Bel-Air. Banks currently lives in West Philadelphia, where his and Smith's character was born and raised before moving to Bel-Air. According to Variety, Banks graduated from University of the Arts in Philadelphia in 2020. In addition to acting, he is a songwriter, singer, rapper and basketball player.

09-14-2021, 06:15 PM	#8
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,489	Peacock's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot Bel-Air announces its full cast, including a new Uncle Phil and the third Aunt Viv Joining Jabari Banks as the new Will are Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks, Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks, Coco Jones as Hilary Banks and Akira Akbar Ashley Banks. Meanwhile, Jimmy Akingbola will take on the role of butler Geoffrey, while Jordan L. Jones will play Will's best friend Jazz.

09-24-2021, 10:26 AM	#9
irehtman Member Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 15, 2013 Location: Montgomery County, Maryland Posts: 4,824	No live audience, that's why.

10-20-2021, 04:20 AM	#10
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,489	Fresh Prince reboot's Uncle Phil actor involved in a fatal freeway accident Peacock Bel-Air star Adrian Holmes was traveling on a Los Angeles freeway Monday night when he hit a man lying down in his lane. TMZ reports Holmes and two other cars were unable to avoid hitting the unidentified man, who died of his injuries.

11-23-2021, 05:17 PM	#12
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 56,961

01-10-2022, 11:12 PM	#13
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,489	Bel-Air unveils its full trailer Premiering Feb. 13, Bel-Air reimagines classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new, dramatic take on Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.

01-13-2022, 11:43 PM	#14
(sit)comedy series 1 Occasional Poster Join Date: Jan 09, 2022 Posts: 85	they definitely have a bigger budget, i give them that.. this seems more like a movie than a tv show. unlike the original, i didn't see any distinguishing features about the characters based on appearance. it was difficult to tell who was who. i never would have known that this was an interpretation of 'the fresh prince of bel-air' unless i was told. not everything needs to be dark and gritty. there's enough of that in the real world as it is. yes, the original show tackled issues from time to time, but it was primarily a comedy about family. i'm worried that this will affect the legacy of the show.

01-15-2022, 04:25 AM	#15
SitcomsHeydayfan Member Senior Member Join Date: Apr 19, 2018 Location: The Show Me state Posts: 2,966	This is one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard.