‘Bel-Air’ Trailer Features Return of the Fresh Prince, We Swear This Is Not a Parody (It’s Not a Parody, Right?)

The first trailer for NBC’s reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has finally dropped, and boy is it a doozy. Bel-Air is a gritty new re-imagining that dramatizes and modernizes the classic comedy sitcom, which is produced by Will Smith and Morgan Cooper. In case you are unaware, Bel-Air is not based on the series Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Rather, the series is based on Cooper’s own mock youtube trailer from 2019 that takes the story into darker and more dramatic territory. Confused as to why this series even exists? You’re not alone.

To make things even more confounding, series lead Jabari Banks is not playing the Fresh Prince from the original show, but rather Will Smith in real life. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was always loosely based on Smith’s life. But for a comedy show that featured over-the-top (but still real) characters, Bel-Air is simply taking things to a whole new and unnecessary level. This isn’t a parody, right? Right???

As you can see, this reboot seems wholly misconceived. A parody of a parody; copy of a copy. The biggest problem about this trailer is that it feels the need to hit all obvious beats that you would expect from a reboot. Remember Carlton, Uncle Phil, and Jeffery? They’re not funny anymore. Remember the Dice in the Mirror? This series won’t let you forget. Perhaps the most intentionally hilarious new addition to this series is an unnecessary subplot about some criminal in Philly chasing the Fresh Prince to California to enact some sort of revenge. Not to mention the severe lack of color that the original series was so notable for.

Ultimately, this trailer feels like it was made by people who based this series on the Fresh Prince theme song, as opposed to the series itself. Folks, you can’t make this stuff up even if you tried. The first two episodes of Bel-Air are set to air on February 13th, right after this year’s Super Bowl. Unfortunately for us, Bel-Air received a two-season order from Peacock, so this won’t be the last we’ll be seeing of the new Fresh Prince. God be with us.

Cover Photo: Peacock