“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” is coming back — in a much grittier form than the 1990s sitcom.
The dramatic reboot, dubbed “Bel Air,” is heading to NBC streamer Peacock with a two-season order, the original NBC series’ star Will Smith announced Tuesday on his YouTube channel.
The series, slated to premiere next year, is set in the present day and is based on Morgan Cooper’s viral video which reimagined the classic comedy as a drama and has garnered more than 5 million views just on YouTube.
In Tuesday’s video, Smith appeared on a virtual chat with Cooper, and co-executive producer Chris Collins.
“My guys,” Smith said. “We have just officially closed the deal with Peacock with an unprecedented two-season order from a pitch. I’ve been in this business for 30 years and that does not happen.”
Smith, 52, did not say if he will appear on the reboot.
In the original show, which aired from 1990 to 1996, Smith’s Philadelphia-born character, also named Will Smith, is sent to live with his wealthy aunt, uncle, and their three kids — Carlton, Hilary, and Ashley — following a fight in the City of Brotherly Love.
During the call with Cooper and Chris Collins, Smith applauded the former’s idea of exploring the central family through 21st century politics.
The “Men in Black” star pointed in particular to the relationship between Carlton — “a black, young Republican” — and his own more carefree and liberal character and “the heat that would be stirred up between these characters.”
Smith also mused about exploring Hilary’s largely shallow persona in the social media age and having Uncle Phil, a “black lawyer-turned-judge,” as the patriarch in modern times.
When Cooper asked the “Spies in Disguise” star what he would tell himself at the start of the original show, Smith said, “It’s almost like I would ask that guy for advice.
“At that age, there’s a certain power in naivete,” he explained. “When you really don’t know and you’re not scared, it’s like I didn’t realize that was a network television show and you can’t just change lines. … There was so many rules in terms of comedy. I was so free with my body. I didn’t care how I looked. There was a level of reckless abandon that I’ve been dying to try to find again over the last four or five years.”