Even the star of Bel-Air himself Jabari Banks wasn’t quite sure what to make of Morgan Cooper’s reimagining of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air when it was in its infancy.
The filmmaker, who is a director, writer and exec-producer on the series, has taken the key elements of the iconic 90s sitcom – protagonist Will Smith, the Banks family and the lavish Bel-Air setting – and spun them into a drama, with obstacles, both new and familiar, for our West Philly-born leading man to navigate.
“My friend called me and said, ‘They’re doing a Fresh Prince reboot, except it’s dark.’ And I was like, ‘What is going on?!’ Banks told RadioTimes.com. “I knew that people were sceptical about it, and I was going into it.”
But he very quickly came to understand the thinking behind the new-look show, adding: “And people are having an equal reaction now. There’s been so much love. We are really blazing our own path with this show.”
He added: “When it came to the project, I didn’t necessarily feel much pressure because… I knew that the original would be looming over us, obviously. That’s something that we really can’t escape.”
It was that initial doubt that helped the cast of Bel-Air bond, according to Banks.
“Every time they say ‘cut’, we break into a song. It’s really incredible. It’s great,” he said. “We’ve cultivated such an amazing camaraderie throughout this whole process. It feels like they’re actually family, and I think that’s because we all know the weight and we all wanted to handle this project with care. We’re standing on the shoulders of giants, and we knew that.
“We really had to go into this battle together because there was a lot of scepticism, at first and we had to shut all that out and say, ‘Hey, we’re really creating something that we believe in here.’ And I think that really brought us closer together.”
He added: “People are really sensitive about their nostalgia and I get that. This was a beloved 90s sitcom and they wanted it to be good, and we wanted to do right by them.”
New episodes of Bel-Air are streaming on Peacock via Sky and NOW every Friday. Find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV here. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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