The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American sitcom television series created by Andy and Susan Borowitz. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager born and raised in West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy uncle and aunt in their Bel-Air mansion after getting into a fight at the local playground in his neighborhood. However, his lifestyle often clashes with that of his upper-class relatives.
The show originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. 148 episodes were produced over six seasons.
It was produced by The Stuffed Dog Company, Quincy Jones Entertainment, Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment, and NBC Productions. The show is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.
Summary[]
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart teenager, West Philadelphia-“born and raised”. While playing street basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of gang members, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his wealthy aunt and uncle in the opulent neighborhood of Bel Air, Los Angeles.
Will’s working class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper class world of the Banks family — Will’s uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will’s cousins: spoiled Hilary, pompous Carlton, and impressionable Ashley.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Will Smith as Will Smith
- James Avery as Philip Banks
- Janet Hubert (seasons 1-3) and Daphne Maxwell Reid (seasons 4-6) as Vivian Banks
- Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks
- Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks
- Tatyana M. Ali as Ashley Banks
- Joseph Marcell as Geoffrey Butler
- Ross Bagley as Nicky Banks (seasons 5-6)
Recurring[]
- DJ Jazzy Jeff as Jazz
- Vernee Watson-Johnson as Viola "Vy" Smith
- Michael Weiner as Kellogg "Cornflake" Lieberbaum (seasons 1-2)
- Lisa Fuller as Toni (season 1)
- Jenifer Lewis as Helen Smith (seasons 2-6)
- Charlayne Woodard as Janice Smith (seasons 2-3)
- Perry Moore as Tyriq "Ty" Johnson (season 2)
- Brian Strokes Mitchell as Trevor Collins-Newsworthy (season 3)
- Tyra Banks as Jaqueline "Jackie" Ames (season 4)
- Nia Long as Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes (season 5)
Episodes[]
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | September 10, 1990 | May 6, 1991 | |
| 2 | 24 | September 9, 1991 | May 4, 1992 | |
| 3 | 24 | September 14, 1992 | May 10, 1993 | |
| 4 | 26 | September 20, 1993 | May 23, 1994 | |
| 5 | 25 | September 19, 1994 | May 15, 1995 | |
| 6 | 25 | September 18, 1995 | May 20, 1996 | |
Production[]
In 1990, music manager Benny Medina, along with his business partner, real estate mogul Jeff Pollack, decided to market a TV story based on Medina's life. Medina had grown up poor in East Los Angeles but his life changed when he befriended a rich white teenager, whose family lived in Beverly Hills and allowed Medina to live with them. Medina decided to use this part of his life as the main focus of the show. However, given that by then a black character living with a white family was a concept that had been done multiple times on TV, Medina decided to change the rich white family to a rich black family. "That way we could explore black-on-black prejudice as well as black class differences", Medina said in an interview for Ebony magazine.
Medina pitched the idea to Quincy Jones, who had just signed a TV deal with Time-Warner. Jones was impressed by the idea and arranged a meeting with NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff. Will Smith was well known by then as his music career as The Fresh Prince had put him on the mainstream radar, but he had come into debt after failing to pay taxes. At the suggestion of his then-girlfriend, Smith went to a taping of The Arsenio Hall Show where he met Medina by chance. Medina pitched the idea to Smith, but Smith was reluctant, having never acted before. Medina invited Smith to meet Jones at a party that Jones was throwing at his house in December 1989. There, Jones handed Smith a script for a failed Morris Day pilot that he had produced and challenged Smith to audition for Tartikoff on the spot. Smith did so, and the first contract for the show was drawn up that night in a limo outside. Three months later, the pilot was shot.
Andy Borowitz and his wife, Susan, are credited as the series' creators. Andy Borowitz, who was on a contract with NBC, was selected by Tartikoff to write the pilot. He based Will's cousins on Quincy Jones's daughters, and named Carlton after his friend Carlton Cuse. In 2015, he remarked that "It was written and taped in about three weeks, start to finish, and somehow it worked. It was just an explosion of really good luck."
The pilot episode began taping on May 1, 1990. Season 1 first aired in September 1990, and ended in May 1991. The series finale was taped on Thursday, March 21, 1996,and aired on Monday, May 20, 1996.
The theme song "Yo Home to Bel Air" was written and performed by Smith under his stage name, The Fresh Prince. The music was composed by Quincy Jones, who is credited with Smith at the end of each episode. The music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is based on a similar chord structure.
External links[]
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Fandom
- Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on Facebook