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‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’ Is Coming Back To Your TV Screens — And Will Smith Is The Man Behind It

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 03:23 PST, Aug 19, 2015

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the show that launched Will Smith into super-stardom, and now almost two decades after the show ended, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is heading back to our TV screens.

Will Smith is behind the new project but will not be reprising his character in front of the cameras this time around, according to Metro. Instead, along with his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, James Lassiter, and Caleeb Pinkett, Smith will be acting as an executive producer of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot.

TVLine reports that Will Smith’s production shingle, Overbrook Entertainment, is in the “very early stages” of developing a present-day comedy spin-off of the original show, which though aimed at contemporary audiences, will be in the same spirit as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

A pitch is being finalized by Smith’s company as of this moment, and in the coming weeks, it is expected to be shopped around in major Hollywood circles. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ran for six seasons on NBC in the 1990s — while skyrocketing then-rapper Smith’s fame — finally to end in 1996.

In the show, Will Smith appeared as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart kid who is taken in by his super-rich relatives, which included his uncle Philip (James Avery) and cousin Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro). The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has remained popular decades after its end, with various cable channels vying for its rights up until a few years ago.

Speaking at the Television Critics Association summer press tour, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said the network was not involved in the project at the moment, but that they would be “happy to talk to [Will] Smith about it.” All of this leads us to believe that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will get a reboot, but it could take a few years before it finally pans out.

Fans on social media have not shied away from expressing their elation at the news, with most fans hoping that Will Smith decides to play an older version of his character, which though not impossible, seems highly unlikely at this moment. But then, who knows?

How excited are you about the rumors? Would you like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to come back with a reboot? Let us know through your comments.

[Photo: Wikimedia Commons]

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