Following in the footsteps of the planned Friends unscripted reunion special, HBO Max is setting up a reunion with the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The special is to coincide with the series’ 30th anniversary. Will Smith and co-stars including Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, and Alfonso Ribeiro as well as the recurring DJ Jazzy Jeff will tape the special on September 10. This is exactly 30 years to the day that the show premiered on NBC. Missing from the reunion special will be the late James Avery who played Uncle Phil on the show. Avery sadly passed away on December 31, 2013, at the age of 68. Also not expected to show up, unless some crazy miracle mixed with a lot of money comes into play, is the first Aunt Viv played by Janet Hubert. The actress played Aunt Viv for the first three seasons of the show before being replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid for the last three seasons of the series. Hubert departed over salary disputes and a feud with Will Smith that still goes on today.
The special, which will be produced by Westbrook Media, will launch on HBO Max around Thanksgiving. The streamer has the exclusive SVOD rights to the full series, which spans 148 episodes across six seasons, and has been airing it since its launch in May. The news of the reunion comes as the show has been in the news lately thanks to Bel Air, which will be an hour-long take on the series based on a short fan film from Morgan Cooper. The project, which will be a drama rather than a comedy, comes from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television and is understood to still be in a competitive situation, down to a couple of streamers that are looking to land the project.
The reunion will be looking back at the series, which starred Smith as a fictionalized version of himself moving from West Philadelphia to Bel Air to live with his wealthy uncle and aunt, as well as its cultural impact. The cast will return for a night of music, dancing, and surprise guests while Marcus Raboy (Whitney Cummings: Can I Touch It?) will direct the special for HBO MAX.
