'Bel-Air': How 'Fresh Prince' characters got turned upside down for dramatic reboot

We'd like to take a minute, just sit right there. We'll tell you how "Fresh Prince" was rebooted for a drama called "Bel-Air."

Peacock, the streaming service that premieres the first three episodes of the weekly series Sunday, and producers recognized elements of a drama in the hit 1990-96 NBC sitcom that launched Will Smith's acting career.

The theme song of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" helpfully explains the premise: A young Will is sent to live with his well-to-do Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, and their three children – Hilary, Carlton and Ashley – after getting into a fight in his West Philly neighborhood.

"You just ask the question, 'Why are Will and his mother living in Philadelphia and struggling to get by, at times, (when) they have these relatives living in Bel-Air in luxury?'" says co-executive producer T.J. Brady of turning the show into a drama for Peacock. "It's just looking deeper at the actual premise and asking, 'OK, if this was real, what would that look like?'"

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Although "Fresh Prince" had drama of its own – Will was shot during a robbery, and broken-hearted when his absent father abandoned him once more – the show was generally light and showcased Smith's knack for physical comedy. "Bel-Air," in contrast, mirrors the seriousness of film director Morgan Cooper's speculative trailer that went viral in 2019. (Cooper is a director, co-writer and executive producer for the new series.) Brady says the short served as "a very good North star" for the new show's aesthetic and tone.

But who would the "Fresh Prince" characters be in today's world? "What would a three-dimensional version of that character look like? What would they want? What would their dreams be? What would their flaws be?" Brady wondered.

Rasheed Newson, another co-executive producer, says "Bel-Air" "nods to the original and character traits": the new Will borrows from the "Fresh Prince" theme song to explain his scuffle in Philly. But the remake avoids borrowing storylines, he says, "because that felt a bit disrespectful. We didn't feel like we could do that better than they did it."

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"Bel-Air" also side-stepped the Carlton dance, Alfonso Ribeiro's memorable move of snapping and swinging his arms. (Ribeiro created the dance by marrying Courteney Cox's appearance in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video and Eddie Murphy's impression of white people dancing in his comedy special "Raw," the actor told HuffPost in 2015.)

"We're trying very hard to establish our own world," says Newson "We don't want to take people out of the reality of our show, and, boy, the Carlton dance feels like maybe a step too far."

Meet the series' re-imagined characters:

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Will Smith (Jabari Banks)

For the role of the new Will, Brady envisioned "someone with swagger" and "maybe a little bit more of a street edge." Will is now a bright student with hopes of playing basketball at a Division 1 school. He's shipped to Bel-Air after cops break up a brawl on the court in which Will pulls a gun on a notorious criminal in his neighborhood. "I’m not gonna bury my son," Will's mom Viola (April Parker Jones) says while driving her son to the airport. "You got a second chance, baby. Don’t waste it.”

As Newson explains, swapping a sitcom for a drama means the "Bel-Air" Will's actions would follow him after at an episode's end. "Will would do something rash or dangerous, and it would all be worked out in 28 minutes. Here, Will has to live with his bad decisions. He has to live with his mistakes. That opens him up to being more vulnerable," he says. "It also means at times he can be angry, he can be upset. He just gets a fuller spectrum of emotions."

Carlton Banks (Olly Sholotan)

Carlton 2.0 is well-liked at Bel-Air Academy, in contrast to the dorkier depiction in the original series. Older sister Hilary dubs him "the Jackie Robinson" of lacrosse.

"In the sitcom, they made fun of him because he did well in school and had assimilated to what could be thought of as a white culture," Newson says. "But when we looked at that today, and we said, 'OK, this kid is rich. He's attractive. He's an athlete. He makes good grades, and he's of this rarified world,' it dawned on us, this Carlton would be popular. He'd be one of the leaders of the school, and that was refreshing because it made him more of an equal to Will when Will arrives. And it made a clash inevitable."

This Carlton also dabbles in drugs. In the premiere, Will finds Carlton snorting what he says is Xanax when Will walks into his room unannounced. Later in the episode, Carlton sniffs more white powder at a party. Brady says Carlton's drug usage adds authenticity: "If you look at the realism of the situation, of privileged young people in rich areas of Los Angeles, it's just a reality. And for us not to acknowledge that would be a disservice to what we're trying to do with the show."

But "it's tied to his anxiety disorder, and it helped him have confidence and be the person who's outgoing," Newson says.

Uncle Phil Banks (Adrian Holmes)

In the debut episode Will arrives as the Bankses are hosting a fundraiser for Uncle Phil's bid for district attorney. Phil (originally portrayed by the late James Avery) tells attendees he’s “tired of watching this broken system discard young Black men into the for-profit school to prison pipeline.”

Brady says the campaign allows "the show to examine some of the larger issues, especially when it comes to the legal system as it relates to families of color." It also spurs an internal conflict for the character, says Newson. "This Uncle Phil, he still has his own ambitions, and he's trying to do right by Will without letting Will complicate and ruin those ambitions," says Newson. "What is he going to choose? The well-being of his family or his own personal goal?"

Aunt Viv Banks (Cassandra Freeman)

Brady describes Will's re-imagined Aunt Viv as "a brilliant artist who had to put her pursuit of an art career on hold when life got a little overwhelming." He also notes that when Viv (a role shared by Janet Hubert and Daphne Reid in the original series) was aspiring to become an artist, "the world was in a different place at that time and not necessarily as open to artists of color as it is now."

The original premise allowed producers to draw parallels between Will and Viv, who made her own journey to Bel-Air from Philadelphia decades earlier. "We realized these two are kindred spirits," Newson says. "It also got us thinking about who was Viv before she had children, before she met Phil. What we're going to see in this new version is Will's arrival really reawakens Viv's artistic side and her early ambitions that she let slip away."

Hilary Banks (Coco Jones)

Brady says the new version of Hilary (originated by Karyn Parsons) is inspired by the shopaholic. Still fashionable, the new Hilary helps Will dress for Phil's fundraiser.

"Hilary, in the original, was often very concerned about appearances and how she looked, and she had a hunger for attention," says Newson. For "Bel-Air," she becomes an influencer with 75,000 followers. Newson says the team also "wanted to give her a skill that would translate and have value outside of social media." They decided this Hilary can cook. (The first Hilary at least learned to make toast.)

Ashley Banks (Akira Akbar)

Viewers briefly meet Ashley, the youngest Banks child, in the "Bel-Air" premiere. She's a 12-year-old who's concerned about climate change and a "polarized political climate.”

“Ashley is still an adorable sweetheart," Newson says, "but in this re-imagining we will have her tackling some of the issues about identity and privilege that preteens face today."

The role was originally played by Tatyana Ali.

Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola)

The "Bel-Air" Geoffrey has the title of house manager, rather than butler-like "G" (Joseph Marcell) in "Fresh Prince." And he doesn't wear a uniform.

"We didn't just want him to feel like an employee or a servant," says Newson. "We try to elevate him more to the role of confidant" to Phil. He says the switch also "gave the show someone who could speak truth to power. Geoffrey isn't just some employee who's like, 'Yes, boss.' 'OK, boss.' He can really challenge Phil in ways that almost no one else on the board can."

Lisa Wilkes (Simone Joy Jones)

Lisa, introduced in the penultimate season of "Fresh Prince" (and played by Nia Long), helps illustrate "what was the Banks family doing before Will knocked at their door?" Newson says. The new version of Lisa is still a love interest for Will, but just to add to the drama, she's now Carlton's ex. Lisa is also a dedicated swimmer with dreams of going to the Olympics.

Jazz (Jordan L. Jones)

Jazz, first played by Smith's friend and collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff, has several hustles. His business card calls him a vinyl expert, DJ, flower deliverer and private transportation provider, which is how Jazz meets Will, during a ride to the Bankses' from the Los Angeles airport.

"He's great, in part because he's a good confidant to Will," says Newson, before sharing something worthy of a celebration with a Jazz and Will handshake. "But also – and this goes back to the original – there is an ongoing flirtation between Jazz and Hilary, which we explore later in this season."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Peacock's 'Bel-Air' gives 'Fresh Prince' characters dramatic makeovers