NBC‘s Super Bowl LVI telecast will most likely draw the year‘s biggest television audience, but a lot of buzz is building for another show debuting this Sunday, Peacock‘s drama series Bel-Air.
The series, based on NBC‘s 1990-96 sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, is the industry’s latest remake/reimagining of a classic TV series. But unlike similar efforts such as Netflix’s Fuller House and Peacock’s own Saved by the Bell, Bel-Air offers a unique twist: it‘s a dramatic revision of the comedy-driven Will Smith vehicle. In other words, it’s not your father’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Initially born from a 2019 viral video by Morgan Cooper, the series follows the premise of Fresh Prince as the series’ main character, Will — Smith's character in the original series, now portrayed by newcomer Jabari Banks — moves from gritty West Philadelphia to an upscale California enclave to live with his aunt’s family. That’s where the comparisons end as Bel-Air, which is executive-produced by Smith, turns from a comedy into a gritty drama series.
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Peacock is hoping that Bel-Air can serve as a successful remake that attempts to ”flip, turn upside down” the original series on its head for a new generation of viewers. The fact that the high-profile show is debuting on Peacock Sunday instead of on NBC in the coveted primetime slot right after the Super Bowl (NBC's live Winter Olympics coverage will air after the game) says a lot about NBC Universal's confidence in the show's ability to draw viewers to the streaming service.
“The original show had a certain feeling to it, and if this show has more than a negative feeling to, it then it's a risk,” TV analyst Bill Carroll said. “At the end of the day, Bel-Air still deals with the premise of a fish out of water in a new situation, but it just isn’t a multicamera sitcom.”
Carroll also predicted that the current trend of TV show remakes and reboots will not end anytime soon. Indeed, among the already announced reboots so far this year are series remakes of films Cheaper by the Dozen, Pitch Perfect and Waiting to Exhale, as well as reboots of classic NBC sitcoms Frasier and Night Court.
“In this current environment with so many options, to get something sampled is the most difficult thing to do,” he said. “The first way to differentiate is to be known, and that’s what these shows have — a known concept that people relate to.” ■
