Will's fresh start

Will Smith produces a gritty new version of his 90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

- RICHARD MCCLURE, CAREN CLARK, STEVEN PERKINS

NEW DRAMA

Bel-Air

From Monday 14 February, Peacock on Sky

There’s nothing unusual about rebooting a classic sitcom from the 1990s, but fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air might be in for a shock if they tune in to Bel-Air, a new series based on the Will Smith comedy.

Like the original, Bel-Air follows youngster Will as he is sent from Philadelphia to live with his wealthy relatives, the Banks family, in the chic Los Angeles suburb of Bel-Air. But, this time, the storyline is played out as a gritty, hard-hitting drama, while keeping the glitz and swagger of the sitcom.

The 10-part series – launching with three episodes this Monday, followed by a new instalment weekly – is inspired by a four-minute version of the original comedy made by film-maker Morgan Cooper that took YouTube by storm. A huge fan of the 1990s show, Cooper used his own funds to create a trailer that imagined what the sitcom would be like if set in the present day.