Will Smith’s latest phase of his career has been explosive, with the beloved multi-hyphenate continuing to prosper in many mediums. It’s very fitting then that 30 years later, the original franchise that brought rapper Will Smith into the hearts of America is getting a true reboot – and finally, a reunion special, with all of the original cast.
Ultimately, Will admitted that he didn’t want to revisit the show on his own time was because he couldn’t stand to watch his acting that early on in his career. Will Smith previously did an appearance on British talk show The Graham Norton Show, in which he explained to Norton exactly why he couldn’t watch any The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air re-runs.
“It was my very first role, and I was very, very focused on being successful, so I learned the whole script and everyone else’s lines. If you watch the first four or five episodes, you can see I’m mouthing other people’s lines. It’s terrible and I can’t bear to watch it.”
Well, it seems as if the whole crew is finally going to reunite to talk about how Will mouthed their lines – and more. HBO Max has announced that the iconic sitcom family is reuniting for a special to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the show. Fans were surprised to see the original Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert-Whitten, back for the special as well. She’s been very vocal about her exit from the show.
It’s great timing, as Bel-Air, breakout director Morgan Cooper’s dark, drama tinged, self-made The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, has officially been picked up for two seasons at Peacock. Quite the way to celebrate 30 years of a successful, iconic, Black television show.
