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Will Smith is still keeping it fresh — and a little feisty.
Will Smith is still keeping it fresh — and a little feisty.
The 52-year-old star of the NBC sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” officially announced Friday that a much-anticipated cast reunion will air Nov. 19 on HBO Max — and it will indeed include a shocking sitdown with cast member Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv for the first three seasons.
“I couldn’t celebrate 30 years of ‘Fresh Prince’ without Janet,” Smith said in voiceover as cast members’ jaws dropped during an otherwise sentimental 2 1/2-minute trailer that he shared Friday morning on social media.
The get-together will mark the 30th anniversary of the series, which premiered in 1990 and ran for six seasons and 148 episodes.
“These are the people who made me the man I am today,” he said in an accompanying caption on Instagram. “And I couldn’t let this day go by without marking the occasion.”
The reunion special, which taped in September, is billed as a “funny and heartfelt night full of music, dancing and a look at the cultural impact the series has had” in the official synopsis.
The reunited Banks family will include cast members Tatyana Ali (who played Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey), Daphne Maxwell Reid (the second Aunt Viv — more on that later), Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton) and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz).
The ensemble’s affection for one another is still palpable in the teaser video.
“Our show meant black excellence to people,” Ali shared. “The excellence was the way that we loved each other.”
Cast members also related that tapings themselves were “just kinda like a Friday night party” and “the hottest ticket in town.”
However, it turns out that, early on, then-rapper and novice actor Smith was uncertain of his own abilities.
“Nobody ever asked me if I could act,” said now-successful filmmaker Smith in the clip, which led to a quick, witty retort from Ribeiro: “And you couldn’t.”
But there are also some heartwarming moments, including tributes to late actor James Avery — “the heart to the show,” in the words of Ali — who played Uncle Phil and is seen wrapped in a bear hug in a scene with Smith.
Smith also surprised many fans (and apparently the cast) by including Hubert — who left the show in 1993 and was replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid — in the reunion. Smith and Hubert reportedly had not sat down and talked for 27 years amidst an alleged ongoing feud between the two.
The reunion isn’t the only “Fresh Prince” revival in the works: Smith has reportedly signed on to executive produce a dramatic reboot of the show, which is being shopped to streaming networks.
