Jabari Banks as Will Smith
(Picture: Peacock)Back in 2019, filmmaker Morgan Cooper posted a three-and-a-half minute video on YouTube, reimagining the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a drama. Gone was the Nineties sitcom style and its chuckling audience; in came moody visuals with a plot exposing the dark underbelly of the original show.
It went viral — more than seven million views on YouTube — and although Cooper never had any concrete plans to turn it into a full-blown production, it’s since been picked up by US streamer Peacock (subsequently secured by Sky over here) and made into a series, with Cooper at the helm and the IRL Will Smith beside him as executive producer.
