Fresh Prince remake Bel-Air more than justifies its dramatic existence

Rare is the remake that has a reason for existing. Bel-Air more than justifies its purpose.

Is it even The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air if there are no parachute silk pants, laugh tracks or Carlton dances?

Will Smith’s seminal nineties American sitcom has had a makeover and you’d barely recognise it if you didn’t know what you were looking for.

Rebooted as a grounded and sometimes gritty drama, Bel-Air strips away more than just the longer name, it also does away with the goofier elements of its predecessor.

Those are good decisions, because there’s no point in remaking it as it was, if it’s going to go down that path again, it better have something different to say. Bel-Air does.

More interested in issues of class and race in modern day America than the original, the smart and compelling Bel-Air justifies its own existence with its fish-out-of-water story about a teen who moves from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air.

Newcomer Jabari Banks takes on Will Smith’s role. (Photo by: Peacock)

The backstory that was summarised in the iconic theme song to the nineties version is fleshed out in a 15-minute intro, and that’s the first sign this series is doing something very different. It understands the context of where Will came from has everything to do with what he’s about to experience.

Will (charismatic newcomer Jakari Banks) is a promising student whose academic and athletic gifts has him on track for a plum college scholarship. He’s been scouted for his prowess on the basketball court while he has a great relationship with his non-finger-wagging mum (April Parker Jones).

But Will has impulse control issues and his quick-to-react attitude sees him come up against a local gangster who threatens his life. Unlike in the original, this backstory comes up again and again to haunt Will, as does the disproportionately violent treatment he receives at the hands of the Philly police.

That’s how this Will lands in the ritzy Bel-Air, at the palatial estate of his aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman), uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) and his cousins Hilary (Coco Jones), Carlton (Olly Sholotan) and Ashley (Akira Akbar).

Will has to hold onto his sense of self in a town that wants to change everyone.

We’re not in Philly anymore. (Photo by: Adam Rose/Peacock)

Bel-Air started life as a viral fan video, uploaded by filmmaker Malcolm Cooper who became one of the eventual three creators of this series – and they have the endorsement of Smith himself who saw Cooper’s video and realised there was something in the premise of Fresh Prince as a drama – and Smith is an executive producer on the series.

There’s a touch of The OC in that a kid from the “wrong side of the tracks” has to navigate the world of money and privilege, but Bel-Air layers on top of that the added dimension of race.

That’s best embodied in the fractious relationship between Will and Carlton, a dynamic that is much pricklier than its comedic counterpart. Bel-Air is delving deep into the different experiences of race when there’s money involved.

The conflict between Carlton and Will is a dominant plotline in Bel-Air. (Photo by: Evans Vestal Ward/Peacock)

A scene in one of the first three episodes encapsulates this thorny dilemma. Walking into a near all-white locker room at the prestigious Bel-Air Academy, Will is confronted by the sight and sound of Carlton’s lacrosse teammates bellowing out rap lyrics which include the N-word.

Will is incensed at hearing the word come out of the mouths of rich white boys whereas Carlton has no beef with it, leading the cousins to a blow-up about who can and can’t use the N-word and in what context.

Other storylines involving Hilary being asked to tone down her “spicy” brand or Phil’s disconnect from the African-American during his run for District Attorney points to a series that is conscious of the conversations it could spark.

That gives Bel-Air a reason for being, and that’s already a higher purpose than recycling nostalgia, a trap which too many revivals and remakes fall into.

Bel-Air is streaming now on Stan