The New Royals Of Bel-Air

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  A fresh prince for a new generation
  
  
  https://youtu.Be/_-_P9DPMuy8
  
  
  
  “I think it's admirable that Will gave a little bit man a chance,” Banks tells MTV News over Zoom. “And he saw Morgan's 2019 trailer and he was like, ‘Hey, I'd like produce, I'd like to give this a chance, and I want to be able to see how we can grow this.’ He might have with little effort been like, ‘Shut it down’ You don't have to touch that at all. And the fact that he didn't do that is really inspiring. Morgan did the same for me.”
  
  
  The premise of Bel-Air remains similar to the sitcom from the 1990s, however the show has a considerably different tone. There really is a serious twist on the old formula of a Black teen moving in with his posh relatives in the ritzy enclave of Bel-Air, Los Angeles. Nevertheless there really are some parallels. “There are a lot of similarities: both from Philly, first time in L.A.,” Banks continues. “[It was also] my first time in L.A. So while you visualize Will and Jazz looking out on Mulholland Drive and Will's like, ‘Oh my god, this is crazy,’ a lot of that is Will, although a big piece of that is Jabari, as well."
  
  
  
  
  



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  The legacy of Uncle Phil
  
  
  Greg Gayne/Peacock
  
  
  
  Viewers will watch Will adapt to his new life in Bel-Air right after his well-to-do aunt and uncle take him in. As Will arrives in California, the uncertainty of his new life leaves him momentarily hopeless, although Uncle Phil reassures him that a life in Bel-Air is much less to be worried about than the dangerous Philadelphia streets with which he and Will are both familiar. Adrian Holmes describes re-imagining the character, who was originally portrayed by the late actor James Avery, and paying homage to him.
  
  
  “Philip Banks is a self-made man. He comes from humble beginnings and he understands what it takes to succeed,” Holmes says. “His definition of success is how well he is taking care of his family member, and he's the anchor of the family member. In the original, he really was an anchor for the family member, and for Will in particular, as soon as he's the fish out of water. He's just a positive, affluent, high-vibrational Black man. I'm so delighted have the ability to play a role that is just so positive, inspiring, and hopeful, and I think that's what we need now in these times. And it's a tribute to James Avery, as well.”
  
  
  Cassandra Freeman notes of her co-star, “Adrian in this character is so phenomenal. And I think what he has in regular with uncle Phil is this sense of people getting to feel grounded. He really is the anchor.”
  
  
  
  
  



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  Aunt Viv as “the heart of the show”
  
  
  Adam Rose/Peacock
  
  
  
  Freeman, who has been seen in popular hits like Marvel’s Luke Cage and Donald Glover’s Atlanta, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Spike Lee’s Inside Man with Denzel Washington and Chris Rock’s I Think I Love My Wife, plays Aunt Viv as a no-nonsense however nurturing and understanding spouse, mom, and aunt implying layers of discipline and dissatisfaction.
  
  
  “Vivian Banks is the queen of aunties,” Freeman says. “She's the consciousness of the show. She's the heart of the show. She's the warmth of the show. And she also, in this version, is an artist who's been put on mute, and hopefully, during the season, you visualize her come back to her love of being a visual artist.”
  
  
  
  
  



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  A different and driven Carlton
  
  
  Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock
  
  
  
  Fitting in isn't easy for Will, especially as his arrival provokes jealousy from his cousin Carlton, a popular lacrosse player at his high school — very serious along with a lot far less sweet than his predecessor. The series examines each of Will’s familial relationships, nevertheless the contradictions between him and Carlton show that, whenever they might be cousins, they might not necessarily be companions. From the starting of the series, Will doesn't think Carlton cares about his Black culture enough, while Carlton doesn’t hold back on reminding Will where he came from.
  
  
  “Carlton's a driven young man,” Sholotan says of his character. “He really struggles with this concept of not feeling like he belongs to his community and why he navigates that. There really are many issues with Blackness and the idea of Blackness, and why his whole life, he's been told that he talks white, he acts white. And I just think the most pretty thing about Carlton is, at the end of the day, we visualize this 16-year-old kid who's just attempting to belong and deal with his anxiety and flourish up.”
  
  
  The original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was rather influential for its portrayal of detailed Black identities, not often seen on TV in its time. additionally, the sitcom explored the social and cultural contradictions among Black people, a theme that is still relevant today.
  
  
  
  
  



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  Hilary Banks, the influencer
  
  
  Adam Rose/Peacock
  
  
  
  “I think we're just a lot more daring in our storylines, a lot more transparent and raw and honest,” Coco Jones tells MTV News. “In a way that, in 2022, you sort of have to be because there's so much media out there that, if we don't tap into what's really going on in the lives of our youth, they won't be interested… Our objective was to take these characters and to create them captivating to the people that are our age.”
  
  
  Coco Jones’s portrayal of Hilary is a complete transformation from the ditzy, self-absorbed teen of the '90s. “Hilary is decided, headstrong, she is a fashionista for sure,” Jones says. “But she's also a chef, she's also a content creator, she's also an influencer, she is a boss. The actress also infuses the character with her magnetism and wit, making Hilary more modern and relevant for the times. “She has a set path that she sees for her life. And without consideration of it, if that looks unrealistic to some. If it looks like she wouldn't fit, for whichever those objectives are, she's attempting to achieve, she's going to get them anyway.”
  
  
  
  
  



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  Ashley’s enduring wisdom
  
  
  Adam Rose/Peacock
  
  
  
  Hilary immediately captures a person's eye of viewers she’s dressed to impress with chic clothing and killer accessories as soon as she appears on screen, embodying the organic essence of a confident, young Black woman. This is also crucial for Ashley Banks, played by Akira Akbar, who is the youngest of the bunch at 12 years old and admires her big sister. The actress shares some of her preference characteristics about Ashley, pretty and whip-smart.
  
  
  “Ashley, she is a very smart, poise young lady. She is really educated behind her years, nevertheless she's the baby of the family member. And I just feel like she has to know a lot, and that really, she does know a lot. That's why she's educated above her years because she is aware all about politics and global warming and all that.”
  
  
  For longtime Fresh Prince fans, the opening season of Bel-Air also contains references to the original. "It's going to be so exhilarating to watch," Banks says. It's going to be all the characters we know and love, however we just go in-depth with them. We're bringing them back for a new generation, nevertheless there is lots of callbacks to the original, a lot of Easter eggs. So, be prepared for that."
  
  
  In the show, Holmes adds, "We dive deeper into conflicts and all of the issues that they explored in the original show. We were able to stretch it out and we're able to peel back the layers and really get more into the origin stories of those characters. So, nostalgic because the original characters are, you're still going to get that through us, although you're also going to get to go deeper."