The differences between ‘The Fresh Prince’ and dramatic reboot ‘Bel-Air’

When news broke that a gritty, dramatic reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was coming in the form of Bel-Air, you probably had the same reaction as us:

“Why?”

After all, the Fresh Prince is among the most beloved TV sitcoms, balancing its silly, fun tone with the drama of a kid uprooted from his West Philly home and brought to bougie Bel-Air. The series, set to debut Sunday on Peacock, is basically based off a mock trailer from 2019. Created by writer and director Morgan Cooper, it asked the question, “What would happen if Will Smith made the Fresh Prince today?” As it turned out, Smith decided to get involved, seeing it as a chance to talk about his “real experiences,” as he said in a 2019 vlog.

» READ MORE: Forget ‘Bel-Air’ — Here are the 10 most dramatic moments from the original ‘Fresh Prince’

Having watched the first several episodes of Bel-Air, we’ll say this: It’s good — or at least better than you think it might be. Think The O.C. meets Snowfall, add a Philly twist, and you’ve got an idea.

But, of course, the only thing that’s different about Bel-Air isn’t just that its more dramatic than the Fresh Prince. There are a few things that make it more compelling, too:

As any Philadelphian worth their salt knows, the original Fresh Prince had Will move to Bel-Air after “one little fight” that scared Momma Smith, as explained in the show’s beloved theme song (the new version, meanwhile, doesn’t really have one). On its face, that fight sounds almost innocent — a youthful indiscretion to which a loving mother may have overreacted by shipping her son across the country in fear for his safety. Cue a classic fish out of water story, pop some jokes, roll credits.

But in Bel-Air, Will’s move feels more like a lifesaving effort. There is a fight, sure, but it’s with some dangerous neighborhood gang members, and it involves an unregistered pistol that’s tied back to our hero. Like in the original, that turns the life of Bel-Air’s Will upside down, but some legal favors are called in to free him from jail, causing his newfound enemies to think he’s a rat.

There’s something to be said for that more serious approach. Perhaps because it comes as Philadelphia is experiencing a gun violence epidemic, and a 2021 murder rate that topped any other year in Philly’s history, it feels particularly apt right now.

The Fresh Prince’s characters are almost uniformly lovable and wacky, from Alfonso Ribeiro’s nerdy Carlton and world-weary butler Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell), to the painfully shallow Hilary (Karyn Parsons) and the eminently matriarchal Aunt Viv (Janet Louise Hubert and Daphne Maxwell Reid). Even the late James Avery’s strict, short-tempered Uncle Phil has his charms.

And while those characters have become household names, Bel-Air’s versions of them do feel more fleshed-out and realistic.

Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes), for example is a powerful player in the Los Angeles legal community, at the onset of his campaign for district attorney when the series starts. Compared to Avery’s version, Holmes is more beefcake than beef stew, which lends itself to the idea that he and Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) have a real marriage where there’s, you know, passion.

Coco Jones’ cousin Hilary, meanwhile, is a social media influencer, and works hard to not be perceived as vapid or fame-hungry. That’s a welcome change from Parsons’ original take, hilarious though it was, that in some sense adds more depth to Hilary, and allows Jones’ version to have more agency.

But no character is more different than Olly Sholotan’s Carlton. He’s essentially an inverse version of Ribeiro’s silly, carefree sitcom character — hotheaded, brooding, and with destructive habits that impact not only himself, but Will, too. And the pair’s relationship, formerly akin to the Odd Couple, is here outright antagonistic and bitter, more or less making Carlton the series’ big bad (for now, anyway).

Oddly, though, the least fleshed out character — at least in the first few episodes made available for review — is Will (Jabari Banks). This time around, he’s a West Philly high school basketball phenom in line to be scouted to play college ball. Beyond that, the first few episodes don’t establish a strong personality for our protagonist.

For the most part, the Fresh Prince’s Will could have come from any major East Coast city in that there’s not a ton of overt Philly ties beyond the second verse of the show’s theme song. The region, however, is these days experiencing something of a moment in pop culture, thanks to shows and movies like Concrete Cowboy, Mare of Easttown and Abbott Elementary.

We’re going to guess that the actual Will Smith’s involvement as an executive producer, and Smith’s Westbrook Studios producing it, is why it feels more Philly than the first iteration.

“If you notice, I’ve never put my name on something in this way as an executive producer,” Smith told Deadline. “It’s such a perfect balance and a reimagining of this world.”

The show’s first episode, for example, is titled “Dreams and Nightmares” — a nod to Philly rapper Meek Mill’s debut 2012 studio album. The first song played in the series is fellow Philly rapper Freeway’s “What We Do,” followed by Meek’s eponymous track. And, in one of several on-location Philly shots, Will and his friend Tray (SteVonté Hart) eat cheesesteaks out front of Cesario Supermarket on 57th and Girard, arguing about whether mayo belongs on a cheesesteak. That’s just in the first five minutes.

Banks’ Will, meanwhile, is a definite Philly guy — so much so that the first thing he orders from a private chef in Bel-Air is a cheesesteak. He worries that Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola) might steal his poster of Allen Iverson, but Geoffrey is “more of a King Kobe fan.” And he says “jawn” a lot — like, bordering on too much, but that’s better than not at all. Fitting, considering Banks is an actual West Philly native.