Bel-Air TV Review

Plot: Set in modern-day America, Peacock’s new one-hour drama series Bel-Air imagines the beloved sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air through a new, dramatic take on Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. As these two worlds collide, Will reckons with the power of second chances while navigating the conflicts, emotions, and biases of a world far different from the only one he’s ever known. 

Review: Bel-Air, the “gritty reboot” of 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, started out as a four-minute YouTube video back in 2019. After going viral, Morgan Cooper’s video gained the attention of Will Smith who produced this updated take on his iconic series. While many who hold the classic NBC sitcom close to their hearts may take issue with this variation on the Fresh Prince, there is no question that Bel-Air is a product of the times. With a prime premiere slotted for Super Bowl Sunday, Bel-Air has a lot to live up to appease wary fans of the sitcom version while winning over a new generation.

Much like the opening theme song to the sitcom version, Bel-Air follows Will Smith (newcomer Jabari Banks), a West Philadelphia high schooler and basketball phenom. With a chip on his shoulder when confronted by gangsters in his neighborhood, Will ends up being sent across the country to stay with his aunt and uncle in posh Bel-Air, California. The first half of the premiere episode makes it very apparent that this is not going to be like the prime-time multi-camera sitcom. There is no laugh track but there is a lot of profanity. Bel-Air is every bit the gritty reboot Cooper’s original trailer made it out to be. Over the three episodes made available for this review, Bel-Air shows some signs of promise while succumbing to a lot of the formulaic missteps that so many teen-centric series have made before it.

Once arriving in California, all of the main characters from the sitcom make appearances including Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) who is now the driver who brings Will to the palatial home of Philip (Adrian Holmes) and Vivian Banks (Cassandra Freeman). Uncle Phil is still a lawyer but one actively campaigning for Los Angeles District Attorney. Hilary (Coco Jones) is no longer a ditz but now is a social media influencer and aspiring chef. Ashley (Akira Akbar) is still a bright and precocious tween and butler Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola) is now referred to as house manager and shares more in common with Alfred Pennyworth as he serves as friend and close confidant to Uncle Phil. All of these characters get substantial character development moments in these early episodes, especially Hilary who must deal with a career decision that carries with it some racial undertones. That particular subplot feels very reminiscent of some classic Fresh Prince morality episodes but updated for a new generation.

The biggest shift from the original series is the relationship between Will and Carlton (Olly Sholotan). While Alfonso Ribiero’s version of Carlton is iconic, Sholotan’s take is far more layered. A star lacrosse player and one of the most popular students at Bel-Air Academy, this Carlton is not above drinking, drugs, or bullying to retain his social standing. The arrival of Will threatens that and the cousins are immediately at odds. The core plot of these first episodes balances Will as a fish-out-of-water while also butting up against Carlton, literally. The dynamic of Will as the cool one and Carlton as the nerd is replaced by both being alpha males in very different ways. There is also the dynamic of Will and Carlton vying for Uncle Phil’s attention which leads to further conflict.

In the first episode, I approached Bel-Air as a curiosity. I tried to see how elements from the comedy were transformed for dramatic purposes, how relationships between characters were preserved, altered, or updated, and even if the physical locations resembled their early 1990s counterparts. By the second episode, that luster fades a bit and reveals that this series is a variation of similar shows like FOX’s The OC which also deals with a teen from the wrong side of the tracks being brought into a wealthy California household. Bel-Air also echoes The CW’s Riverdale in taking established and safe characters and putting them in not-so-glamorous situations.

Bel-Air is a good attempt to tell a dramatic variation of the Fresh Prince. The morals forced into the episodes don’t feel very organic and the gritty elements like drug use and the gangbanger pursuing Will come off as heavy-handed. The actors are all good and do the best they can with the material, but many moments that are intended to be revelatory just feel bland. Jabari Banks delivers a performance that never tries to replicate Will Smith’s but he is overshadowed by Adrian Holmes’ understated take on Uncle Phil and Olly Sholotan’s troubled take on Carlton. Morgan Cooper has successfully translated his short viral video into an interesting series, but Bel-Air needs to differentiate itself a bit more or it risks becoming a spoof of itself.

Bel-Air premieres with three episodes on February 13th following the Super Bowl on Peacock.

Bel-Air

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