Dark and dramatic reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in the works
A dramatic reboot of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is in the works based on a viral trailer.
The four-minute video, created by director and super-fan Morgan Cooper, reimagined the hit comedy as a serious drama telling the story of a working-class Philadelphia teen adapting to life with his richer family in Los Angeles. It racked up over 7.5m views between two YouTube posts, and caught the attention of the show’s original star Will Smith, who is now developing a series with Cooper.
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“Morgan did a ridiculous trailer for Bel-Air,” Smith originally commented. “Brilliant idea – the dramatic version of The Fresh Prince for the next generation.”
The project, known as Bel-Air, has reportedly been in development for over a year with Smith and original producers Benny Medina and Quincy Jones on board. Cooper will co-write, act as executive producer and direct, while Chris Collins, whose credits include The Wire and Sons of Anarchy, will act as showrunner.
According to Deadline, the show is being pitched to multiple streamers and has created a bidding war.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons from 1990 to 1996, turning Smith into a star, and has seen a sustained popularity ever since with syndication. In the US it was recently added to HBO Max.
It’s one of a number of 90s TV reboots on the way, with NBC’s new streaming platform Peacock just premiering a teaser for its new take on Saved by the Bell, which follows news of updated versions of Daria, Who’s the Boss, The Ren & Stimpy Show and Beavis and Butt-Head. Last Week, Brandy also shared that she is “in discussions” to return to Moesha, which has been a popular recent addition to Netflix.
After turning Bad Boys For Life into a hit earlier this year, Smith will next be seen in Oscar-aiming drama King Richard, where he will star as Richard Williams, the father and coach to Venus and Serena Williams.
