Back when Morgan Cooper released a dramatic short of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I was intrigued. Then when Peacock picked it up as a series, I couldn’t wait to see what they were going to do with Bel-Air. What the producers did, is give us a show that is so amazing; you will be like, how did this come from the sitcom we know so well?
Well, I actually, I don’t know it that well. I didn’t really watch it, but I know enough. Therefore, it was interesting to see how they changed it up and how they kept it the same.
Will (Jabari Banks) is a good student and star athlete in Philadelphia who is about to get recruited to college. He has everything until he gets arrested with a gun during a fight. His mom doesn’t want him going into a life of crime, so she sends him to Bel-Air to live with her estranged sister and her family.
When Will gets there, he meets his Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman), and she welcomes her nephew with open arms. The same cannot be said for his cousin Carlton (Olly Sholotan). Thankfully, his girl cousins, Hillary (Coco Jones) and Ashley (Akira Akbar), love their cousin, Will. Phillip Banks (Adrian Holmes) is a little standoffish about his nephew, but he knows he is doing the right thing by taking him in.
Uncle Phil is running for District Attorney, and all of his energy is focused on that. He doesn’t want Will ruining his chances of getting elected. However, he might be able to help. Uncle Phil is not getting support from people of color because he is out of touch with their needs in his multi-dollar mansion. Will is just what he needs to win them over.
Aunt Viv gave up her dream of being an artist to raise her three children. However, now, she is all about being the perfect politician’s wife and trying to get her husband elected.
Hillary is an online influencer, so she is living in front of the camera all of the time. Her parents want the college dropout to get a job. Since she is a popular influencer, that shouldn’t be that hard. Or is it? Not only is she good at telling people she doesn’t know what to do, but she is also able to do that with the family. She is the wise one who is keeping them all together. Her character is the most improved.
Carlton is the popular one at school, and he hates that his cousin has moved in on his territory. Not only in his house but also on his ex-girlfriend Lisa (Simone Joy Jones). Carlton gets so mad when he sees them talking he gets into a fight with his cousin, and that is the beginning of their war. And Uncle Phil is not going to have it, but even he can’t get these two to get along.
And then the biggest character difference goes to Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola). I am not going to tell you how, but I love what they did to him.
I also like the changes they made to the Will/Carlton dynamic. It gets more interesting as the show goes on. This is not Alfonso Ribeiro’s Carlton. He is dark. And I have said too much.
What I will say, is that this is not your parents’ Fresh Prince. Not only did they turn it into a drama, but they modernized it. What Will went through in the ’90s is not the same as today. So they updated everyone’s storyline but still kept that premise of the original. So it is loyal but fitting for today’s audience. Because of that, new and old fans are going to be hooked.
Peacock needs this to do well, and it is going to do just that. People are going to love the series, and they are going to want to stream new episodes every Thursday. In fact, they are going to hate having to wait a week to find out what happened next.
I have seen six of the ten episodes, and I am blown away by what they did. You can stream the first three episodes on Peacock now, and I promise you will love it as much as I do.
It is not only because of the storylines, but every actor brings it. It doesn’t even feel like they are acting. They feel like a family who are perfect on the outside but are far from it on the inside.
Bel-Air is the first remake to get it right. It is the same and different at the same time. It is everything you want it to be.
Well, it is just missing that theme song, but it has everything else.
