Will Smith reboots Fresh Prince of Bel Air as a drama?!?! (Premiere's Feb 14,2022)

[JEDI]

‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Drama Reboot in the Works

Logo text Now this is a story all about how … a viral YouTube trailer is becoming a hot TV series. Will Smith and Morgan Cooper are teaming to adapt the latter’s dramatic reimagining of the former’s beloved NBC comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Bel-Air is described as a dramatic take on the...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

It was a successful comedy back in the 90's.


Now Will Smith is rebooting the series as a producer.
He's turning it into a drama.

With a re-imagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases of what it means to be a Black man in America today.

It will air on Peacock tonite (Feb 14, 2022) and season2 already pre-approved.


W T F?!

I predict disaster ala the Brandy Bunch reboot tackling modern day issues.
And that failed reboot had most of its original cast members for maximum nostalgia effect!

On the other hand, it's on Peacock instead of NBC so it has more freedom to do stuff than mainstream tv shows?

 

[Captante]

‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Drama Reboot in the Works

Logo text Now this is a story all about how … a viral YouTube trailer is becoming a hot TV series. Will Smith and Morgan Cooper are teaming to adapt the latter’s dramatic reimagining of the former’s beloved NBC comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Bel-Air is described as a dramatic take on the...

www.hollywoodreporter.com

It was a successful comedy back in the 90's.
View attachment 57434

Now Will Smith is rebooting the series as a producer.
He's turning it into a drama.

With a re-imagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases of what it means to be a Black man in America today.

W T F?!

A lot of the rich folks in Hollywood have COMPLETELY lost touch....

Not implying that racism isn't real or that being black in America isn't rough in some ways but in order to make any kind of a difference with a TV show, somebody will need to WATCH IT.

Tell me.... who in heck is the "target" audience for this?

 

[nakedfrog]

A lot of the rich folks in Hollywood have COMPLETELY lost touch....

Not implying that racism isn't real or that being black in America isn't rough in some ways but in order to make any kind of a difference with a TV show, somebody will need to WATCH IT.

Tell me.... who in heck is the "target" audience for this?

18-35s who are into teen dramas, I imagine. Peacock must think they have enough of them to make it worth the money, or are banking on it pulling in new subscribers.

 

[Torn Mind]

Started as a fan video on Youtube.

Development[edit]
On March 10, 2019, Morgan Cooper uploaded Bel-Air to YouTube. The submission was a fan film, written and directed by him, in the form of a mock trailer for an updated and dramatic reimagining of the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[3][4] Will Smith, who starred in the original sitcom as a fictionalized version of himself, heavily praised the fan film and expressed his interest in expanding the concept into a reboot, personally meeting with Cooper.[5][6] On August 11, 2020, the series was officially announced after being in the works for over a year. At the time, Netflix, HBO Max, and Peacock were bidding for the rights to the series.[7] On September 8, 2020, Peacock gave the series a two-season order under the title Bel-Air, with Westbrook Inc. and Universal Television producing. Smith and Cooper executive produce alongside Terence Carter, James Lassiter, Miguel Melendez, Malcolm Spellman, Quincy Jones, Benny Medina, Andy Borowitz, and Susan Borowitz.[8] An online premiere for the series was held on February 9, 2022, by Crown & Conquer.[9] The series premiered on Peacock on February 13, 2022, with its first three episodes.[1][10]

If there is one good thing about Youtube and the like is that the commoner can make contact with the stars far more easily.

 

[13Gigatons]

It looks really awful, a painfully dull drama with actors you have never heard of...

Like said who is the Target audience?

 

[Torn Mind]

A lot of the rich folks in Hollywood have COMPLETELY lost touch....

Not implying that racism isn't real or that being black in America isn't rough in some ways but in order to make any kind of a difference with a TV show, somebody will need to WATCH IT.

Tell me.... who in heck is the "target" audience for this?

18-35s who are into teen dramas, I imagine. Peacock must think they have enough of them to make it worth the money, or are banking on it pulling in new subscribers.

Given the ubiquity of Fresh Prince in the 90s, I believe initial interest will be far broader in the 30 and above crowd. Adults and even children in the 90s came across the TV show some way, be it its initial run or reruns.

 

[13Gigatons]

Only good thing on Peacock is Yellowstone...

 

[13Gigatons]

Given the ubiquity of Fresh Prince in the 90s, I believe initial interest will be far broader in the 30 and above crowd. Adults and even children in the 90s came across the TV show some way, be it its initial run or reruns.

That show was a comedy with different actors.

 

[Captante]

Given the ubiquity of Fresh Prince in the 90s, I believe initial interest will be far broader in the 30 and above crowd. Adults and even children in the 90s came across the TV show some way, be it its initial run or reruns.

I doubt it.

Fresh Prince was my older daughters absolute favorite show ... she just told me she thinks its a stupid idea & won't watch.

 

[nakedfrog]

Given the ubiquity of Fresh Prince in the 90s, I believe initial interest will be far broader in the 30 and above crowd. Adults and even children in the 90s came across the TV show some way, be it its initial run or reruns.

I doubt it.

That show was a comedy with different actors.

Exactly.

I had the initial "WTF, why?" reaction, but I can definitely see how the idea of digging deeper into societal issues than ever would have been allowed in the original series would be appealing to Smith.
But teen dramas were barely my thing when I was a teen, let alone now...

 

[Torn Mind]

I doubt it.

Fresh Prince was my older daughters absolute favorite show ... she just told me she thinks its a stupid idea & won't watch.

I don't expect all viewers who watched Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to watch this, but given many people did, even if 30% of the old audience actually get hooked, it is still a substantial amount of viewers.

 

[nakedfrog]

I don't expect all viewers who watched Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to watch this, but given many people did, even if 30% of the old audience actually get hooked, it is still a substantial amount of viewers.

I think 30% of the old audience would qualify as a runaway success, and they'll be lucky to get 2-4% of them.

 

[MrSquished]

I think it's a kind of interesting concept. All those sitcoms glossed over reality, which is fine, they were shallow entertainment, and we still have plenty of other shallow sitcoms to entertain us, so I don't see why everyone is so concerned about something going a bit under the skin using a familiar vehicle. That contrast is actually interesting to me if they make a good story out of it.

 

[Captante]

Imagine what would happen if they tried to do All in the Family or the Jefferson's in todays atmosphere?

Those shows did a better job addressing racism and getting the point across to a lot of people while at the same time entertaining then most of what you see today.

This Will Smith remake MIGHT actually be good and I'm pretty sure his heart is in the right place, however the folks who need to see this sort of thing are NOT going to watch it.... zero chance.

 

[JEDI]

I think it's a kind of interesting concept. All those sitcoms glossed over reality, which is fine, they were shallow entertainment, and we still have plenty of other shallow sitcoms to entertain us, so I don't see why everyone is so concerned about something going a bit under the skin using a familiar vehicle. That contrast is actually interesting to me if they make a good story out of it.

the reason why people watch comedy's is to escape reality.

turning this comedy into a gritty drama flies in the face of what made the original show popular.

i would think turning 'I dream of Jeannie" into a modern drama would do better than this Bel-Air reboot.

hm.. Aladdin would be even better. (limited to 3 wishes instead of unlimited)

 

[UsandThem]

30+ years later we now find out that it wasn't because of "A couple of guys who were up to no good, started making trouble in my neighborhood"?

Hopefully next they bring back Alf, and shoot it from the perspective of him being an undocumented resident.

I remember when you could watch most shows to half a laugh / get away from the problems of real world for 30 minutes. Now almost every show is almost a "The more you know" special and you should always feel mad/bad about something.

 

[BoomerD]

No thanks.

 

[spacejamz]

Add this to the pile of excrement of Hollywood's complete lack of originality so we can cash in on the nostalgia....

 

[Zanix]

Add this to the pile of excrement of Hollywood's complete lack of originality so we can cash in on the nostalgia....

oh I wonder how long we have to wait for the carlton dance! tee hee!

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Only good thing on Peacock is Yellowstone...

Dr. Death was pretty fantastic. I quite enjoyed Christian Slater.

 

[JM Aggie08]

This will be hot garbage.