In news that will undoubtedly be sweet music to the ears of many, reports are indicating that an unscripted Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special will soon be gracing our screens via HBO Max. Bringing together the cast which practically raised an entire generation – sans the beloved late James Avery who portrayed the irreplaceable Uncle Phil – this is the much-needed dose of feelgood wholesomeness your lives have been lacking since the late 90s.
In commemoration of the show’s 30th anniversary, the reunion special will be taped on September 10th and streamed a little later in the year. Confirmed appearances include the titular Fresh Prince Will Smith, along with Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks), Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks) Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv 2.0), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey the Butler), as well as DJ Jazzy Jeff. Although there will be a heartbreaking lack of James Avery, we should expect a tribute of some sort.
Sources such as AVClub have theorised this may be a sign of a larger Fresh Prince-related content development. Similar to how HBO decided to undertake its since-delayed Friends reunion special to celebrate the property being welcomed into the HBO Max catalogue, given how the original Fresh Prince series is already accessible via HBO’s online platform, this may be a hint that the premium entertainment company has actually decided to develop the dramatic reboot. A reboot which was posted on YouTube last year as a joke – and has since been shopped to several interested parties.
Professionally backed by both Will Smith himself and producer Quincy Jones, HBO obviously made a bid; streaming giant Netflix naturally tossed their hat in the ring; as did the network which originally developed the first series, NBC – who were hoping to obtain the rights for their own fledgeling streaming service Peacock. Regardless of whether the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special really does signify anything greater, more content is certainly on the way.
