Will Smith to produce dramatic reboot of ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’

The beloved ’90s comedy that starred Will Smith is getting an update, inspired by the fan video from filmmaker Morgan Cooper that went viral last year.

In 2019, Fresh Prince super-fan Cooper created and directed Bel-Air, a short fan trailer that reimagined the series as a darker, grittier show.

The four-minute clip drew on the show’s underlying narrative of the wisecracking working-class kid who gets in trouble on the tough streets of West Philadelphia and is sent off to stay with his uncle and aunt in very unfamiliar surroundings: the wealthy, gated Los Angeles neighbourhood of Bel-Air.

Bel-Air went viral when it was posted in March, and even caught Smith’s attention.

Now Cooper’s “trailer” is all set to expand into an actual TV series. Set in the present, the reboot’s hour-long episodes will delve into the emotional conflicts and dramatic potential of the original premise.

Cooper will co-write the script, direct and executive-produce. Chris Collins (The Wire, Sons of Anarchy) will serve as showrunner as well as executive producer and co-write the script with Cooper.

The drama series is a co-production between Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal TV. Original series producers Smith, Quincy Jones, Benny Medina as well as creators Andy and Susan Borowitz will all return as executive producers.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons between 1990-1996 on NBC.

Smith starred alongside James Avery, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M Ali, Joseph Marcell and Janet Hubert-Whitten (later replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid).

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