Now that Full House and Boy Meets World are set for full reboots, Will Smith is reportedly eager to get in on the 90s nostalgia with a modern reboot of beloved sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
That’s according to a report published by TV Line, revealing that the Hollywood A-lister is keen on the modern-day revival, which is seemingly still in its nascent stages. It states that Smith is “in the very early stages of developing a present-day Fresh Prince reboot that puts a new spin on the fish-out-of-water tale while maintaining the spirit of the original series.”
Whether the revamped version of the long-running family sitcom – the same one that launched Smith’s career in the first place – will toe the line of a full reboot replete with a new cast or, on the other hand, serve as a spinoff allowing older members of the original cast to cameo, is currently unknown. Again, this modern take on Fresh Prince of Bel Air still has a long way to go before hitting the small-screen, without a writer or actor locked down at the time of writing.
What we do know is that Smith will be producing the series under his Overbrook Entertaiment company, partnering with Jada Pinkett-Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, and James Lassiter.
The bigger question now is: does Fresh Prince still hold the same cachet two decades on? During the original run, the sitcom simply oozed charm, with Smith transforming from a rapper into a compelling screen actor before our very eyes. Channeling the same familial dynamic in 2015 won’t be easy, and one can’t help but feel that the success – and indeed appeal – of a Fresh Prince reboot will leverage on its cast and writers.
So, there you have it, Will Smith is producing a Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV series. Do you still remember all of the words from the theme song?