The dramatic reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has officially found a home at NBC’s Peacock!
Update (9/8/2020): Fresh Prince fans flipped over filmmaker Morgan Cooper’s viral trailer that imagined what a dramatic take on the hit sitcom might look like when it first hit the internet last year.
Now, Cooper’s vision is being brought to life in the form of a full fledged reboot that has officially found a home at Peacock!
According to TV Line, Peacock has officially ordered two seasons of Bel-Air, which will find Cooper directing, co-writing, and co-executive producing along with Christ Collins (The Man in the High Castle). Will Smith himself, who was a huge supporter of Cooper’s parody trailer, is also on board to serve as an executive producer on the project.
Smith shared the big news via a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, which also features footage of the actor telling Cooper and Collins that Peacock has officially picked up the series.
“We have just officially closed the deal with Peacock with an unprecedented two-season-order from a pitch,” says Smith in the video. “I’ve been in this business for 30 years, and that does not happen. They ordered two full seasons of Bel-Air based on the quality of the pitch and the work that you guys have done. So I want to say congratulations. I am hyped.”
Per Peacock, Bel-Air will be a ““serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the 90’s 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. 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.”
Looking to get a feel for the dramatic flare Bel-Air will bring to the Fresh Prince story we know and love? Check out Morgan Cooper’s official parody trailer that started it all below!
Original Story (8/11/2020):
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is gearing up to get a dramatic update.
According to Variety, a rebooted version of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is officially in the works, although it’ll be a bit darker than the beloved sit-com starring Will Smith.
The new dramatic reboot of the hit 90s NBC comedy is based off of a trailer uploaded by filmmaker Morgan Cooper to YouTube just last year. Titled Bel-Air, the reimagined take of the story we know and love has racked up over 5 million views since going live.
Check out the gritty trailer for Bel-Air below!
Cooper’s gritty interpretation even caught the attention of Will Smith. The actor later met up with the filmmaker to speak with him about where the inspiration for the Bel-Air trailer came from.
In the interview, which Smith uploaded to his YouTube channel in April 2019, Cooper also sheds some light with regards to how he envisions the drama series playing out.
Currently, the proposed rebook is without a home, but plans to shop the series around to streaming services— including HBO Max— are already underway.
HBO Max would make for the perfect home for the series, especially given that the newly minted streamer already serves as the home to all six season of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air series.
Behind the scenes, Cooper will serve as co-writer and director of the series, in addition to serving as co-executive producer. Meanwhile, Chris Collins will serve as showrunner and co-writer on the show.
The Fresh Prince himself, Will Smith is also on board to be involved with the reboot. He’ll be executive producing under his Westbrook Studios banner along with original series creators Andy and Suzan Borowitz. Other producers on the project include Quincy Jones and Benny Medina.
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