Beneath the comedy, the funky outfits, Carlton’s shoulder sweater and elaborate handshakes, the story behind Will Smith’s starmaking classic sit-com The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a pretty dark one.
Born and raised in west Philadelphia, Smith’s character – also called Will – gets into trouble with the police and to save her son from a life that is spiraling out of control, his mother sends him off to live with his Uncle Phil in upmarket Bel-Air in California.
Now we all know the cast, the song and the ‘Carlton dance’, but last year director Morgan Cooper took it a step further producing a trailer reimagining the show as a gritty drama about a inner-city going ‘out West’ to make it big.
Named Bel-Air, the three-and-a-half minute video went viral, and it is believed that calls for it to be expanded into longer form have been heard.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper’s Bel-Air caught the attention of Will Smith who then brought him in to co-write the script, direct, and serve as co-executive producer.
The drama series, co-produced by Smith’s Westbrook Studios and original producers Universal TV, is currently being shopped to streamers like HBO Max, and Netflix.
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