The 'Fresh Prince' Reboot Will Be a Different Story About a Town Called Bel-Air

Say what you will about reboots and the best TV shows of the 90s making a resurgence. Because for those who loved The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in its heyday, the news of a reboot from Will Smith is nothing short of amazing. Of course, the real question is how much of a role Will plans to play in making the new series all it can be with a dramatic slant instead of the original comedic tone and in-studio audience.

While it's true that some episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had dramatic undertones and touched on more serious issues, the general theme of the series involved comedy. The reboot, however, will be an hour-long drama that retells the story of a delinquent moving across the country to live with his aunt and uncle, much to his uncle’s dismay. And now that the news is out there about a reboot in the works, longtime fans have questions.

So far, the cast for the Fresh Prince reboot hasn't been announced. But, while the show is in its early stages of development, Will Smith will be a part of it as a producer. As far as a starring role goes, however, he hasn't said if he will be part of it in that capacity. The idea stemmed from one fan’s faux trailer created with new scenes to make it look like a drama instead of a comedy. And, Will said in a YouTube vlog, he was impressed.

"Brilliant idea — the dramatic version of the Fresh Prince for the next generation," he said, of the trailer’s vision. "As funny as the episodes are, there was a whole other layer that you couldn’t do. In a one-hour drama, you could do eight-episode arcs. The dramatic version of these ideas means that you can use existing storylines, but it’s not going to seem like you’re redoing an episode because the storyline’s going to be brand new from a dramatic perspective."

Morgan Cooper, who created the trailer, will be working with Will on the reboot, which has yet to be given a premiere date. But that’s probably because it hasn't yet been picked up by a streaming platform, which is the goal. When the original Fresh Prince aired, it ran for six seasons on NBC. But instead of going back to the network to shop the reboot, producers are intent on finding a home for it on a streaming service.

This means any number of platforms could place a bid to become the home to the Fresh Prince reboot. And honestly, NBC’s Peacock makes the most sense. Since HBO Max has streaming rights to the original series, however, that might be the best place for it instead. For now, until it’s picked up and behind official production, there’s no official premiere date in sight. 

Because so much is still unknown about what the Fresh Prince reboot will look like and even how much of a role Will Smith will have in it, it’s still unclear which storylines from the original will play a part in it, if any. But the original series ended with a finale that tied up all of the loose ends of the characters.

The Banks family left the Bel-Air mansion for good. Hillary headed to New York to resume production of her talk show, while Ashley planned to live with her and attend a performing arts school. And while the rest of the family also moved to the East Coast, Will decided to stay in California to finish school. If the reboot picks up where the series left off, with one of them housing a delinquent younger relative, there’s plenty of potential for the original characters to make appearances.