The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is returning to television more than 20 years after the show’s six-season run ended in 1996.
The reboot has reportedly been in the works for more than a year, after a Fresh Prince fan created a trailer on YouTube that reimagined the series as a drama.
[Watch the video below]
Will Smith is set to produce the remake, which is reportedly based off a dramatic take on the original, while diving deeper into “conflicts, emotions, and biases of what it means to be a Black man in America today,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor is teaming up with cinematographer Morgan Cooper, who was responsible for the creation of the YouTube trailer last year. Cooper will now be responsible for co-writing the script for the reboot, as well as directing the show and will be credited as a co-EP.
Related Story: Will Smith Hosts Virtual ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Cast Reunion
Cooper’s version of Fresh Prince went viral when it was first released, but it had a much darker spin and intimidating tone in comparison to how audiences remembered the light-hearted comedy.
Smith watched the viral video, then invited Cooper for a meeting. The superstar actor posted a video of their meeting on his YouTube page.
“I saw this trailer that Morgan Cooper hooked up, it was called Bel-Air,” Smith said as he stood next to Cooper. “This is the first time that I heard something and I was like ‘Yo, that’s an idea that is brilliant.’”
The series doesn’t officially have a network home yet, but is reportedly being shopped to streaming services such as NBC’s Peacock, Netflix, and HBO Max.
Smith will serve as an executive producer alongside original Fresh Prince creators Andy and Susan Borowitz and producers Quincy Jones and Benny Medina. Chris Collins (The Wire, Crash, Sons of Anarchy) will serve as showrunner, executive producer and will co-write the script alongside Cooper.
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