Nearly a year since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot officially secured a two-season order, Peacock has finally found the young actor who will take on the mantle from Will Smith and become the upcoming drama’s newest Fresh Prince. The streamer has tapped newcomer Jabari Banks for the leading role of Will in Morgan Cooper’s Bel-Air series, which is a modern-day reimagining of the original sitcom. Interestingly, Banks is also a West Philadelphia local, just like the series’ lead character.
His casting confirmation also comes with the release of a new video which you can check out below, featuring the Oscar-nominated actor surprising Banks with the good news and congratulating him for landing his first major project.
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The new series, entitled Bel-Air is inspired by Morgan Cooper’s viral video that reimagines the iconic sitcom as a modern-day drama. The reboot will be co-written and directed by Cooper, who is also set as an executive producer.
“Set in modern-day America, Bel-Air is a serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that leans into the original premise: Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air,” reads the official synopsis. “With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.”
The series will be executive produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith through their Westbrook Studio banner along with original creators Andy and Susan Borowitz. Its debut was recently pushed back to 2022 after back-to-back exits of two showrunners. Writers T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson are currently the new showrunners for the drama.
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Bel-Air is a co-production between Westbrook Studios and Universal Television, which owns the copyright to the original series.
The original sitcom ran on-air for six seasons from 1990-1996 on NBC. It notably launched Smith’s acting career after debuting as a hip-hop artist in 1985. The iconic sitcom centered around a teenager from West Philadelphia, who after getting into a fight was sent to California to live with his rich uncle and aunt in their Bel-Air mansion.
