‘Bel Air’: A gritty reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is on its way

After Riverdale turned the wholesome Archie Comics gang into sex-crazed drug addicts, it shouldn’t come as a big surprise that a gritty reboot of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is currently being developed.

The whole process began with a trailer by Morgan Cooper that envisioned a darker look at the Fresh Prince story. As recounted in the show’s memorable opening rap, a young man from Philadelphia (Will Smith) gets into some trouble during a basketball game and gets sent to live with his “auntie and uncle in Bel Air.” Cooper’s take follows that trajectory, but the Will Smith character is also caught with a gun during the altercation, putting him in a much deeper quagmire.

Will Smith gave the trailer his stamp of approval, and his production company Westbrook Studios, which he runs with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, will serve as the studio for the upcoming reboot. According to a report in Deadline, the series is currently being pitched to a number of streaming services including Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon, and the new NBC streaming service Peacock (the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran on NBC from 1990-1996).

Cooper will direct and co-executive produce the series if it gets picked up and will co-write the show with Chris Collins (The Wire). Let’s just hope they don’t make Carlton a drug dealer.

Check out the trailer that started the whole shebang below.