The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

The sitcom *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air* aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996, spanning six seasons and 149 episodes. Created by Andy and Susan Borowitz, the series follows a fictionalized version of Will Smith, a street-smart teen from West Philadelphia sent to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, Los Angeles. His working-class background frequently clashes with the upper-class lifestyle of his relatives. The show was a major success for NBC and launched Smith’s career in television and film.

The premise is established in the theme song: after accidentally hitting a group of people with a basketball, a confrontation frightens his mother, prompting her to send him to his wealthy relatives. Will’s stern uncle Phil and tough but fair aunt Vivian, along with their children—spoiled Hilary, pompous Carlton, impressionable Ashley, and later baby Nicky (introduced in season four)—and the sarcastic butler Geoffrey, make up the Banks household. Only Will Smith and James Avery appeared in every episode.

The series featured over forty celebrity guest stars, with seasons one and six having the highest participation. A reunion special for HBO Max in November 2020 brought back the surviving cast. A more dramatic reimagining, *Bel-Air*, based on a fan film, received a two-season order on Peacock and premiered on February 13, 2022.

Development began in 1989 when music manager Benny Medina and real estate mogul Jeff Pollack sought to adapt Medina’s life for TV. Medina grew up poor in East Los Angeles but later lived with a wealthy white family in Beverly Hills. To avoid repeating the concept of a black character living with a white family, Medina changed the rich family to a black one, aiming to explore black-on-black prejudice and class differences. He pitched the idea to Quincy Jones, who arranged a meeting with NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff. Will Smith, then known as half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, was in debt from unpaid taxes. After meeting Medina at *The Arsenio Hall Show*, Smith was reluctant to act but auditioned for Tartikoff at a party at Jones’s house in December 1989. The first contract was drawn up that night. Andy Borowitz, under contract with NBC, wrote the pilot, basing Will’s cousins on Quincy Jones’s daughters and naming Carlton after his friend Carlton Cuse.