The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. 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 live with his wealthy uncle and aunt in Bel-Air, Los Angeles, where his lifestyle often clashes with that of his upper-class relatives.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a massive commercial success and a hit for NBC, running for 148 episodes over six seasons. Smith and James Avery were the only actors who appeared in every single episode. The series was Smith's star vehicle into television and film. The series is widely regarded as one of the greatest sitcoms of all time.
A reunion special/retrospective reuniting the surviving cast debuted on HBO Max in November 2020. A more dramatic re-imagining of the series, titled Bel-Air and based on the fan film of the same name, received a two-season order for Peacock, and was released on February 13, 2022.
Summary
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart African-American teenager, "born and raised" in West Philadelphia. While playing street basketball, Will accidentally hits a group of young people with the ball, 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.
Will's working class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper class world of the Banks family – Will's stern uncle Phil and tough but fair aunt Vivian and their children, Will's cousins: spoiled Hilary, pompous Carlton, impressionable Ashley and baby Nicky (introduced in season 3), as well as their sarcastic butler Geoffrey.
Cast and characters = Main cast (credited) = Recurring cast (4+)
Main Actor Character 1 2 3 4 5 6 Will Smith William "Will" Smith colspan="6" James Avery Philip Banks colspan="6" Janet Hubert-Whitten Vivian Banks colspan="3" colspan="3" Daphne Maxwell Reid colspan="3" colspan="3" Alfonso Ribeiro Carlton Banks colspan="6" Karyn Parsons Hilary Banks colspan="6" Tatyana M. Ali Ashley Banks colspan="6" Joseph Marcell Geoffrey Butler colspan="6" Ross Bagley Nicholas "Nicky" Banks colspan="2" colspan="2" colspan="2"
Recurring Actor Character Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 DJ Jazzy Jeff Jefferson "Jazz" Jefford colspan="6" Vernee Watson-Johnson Viola "Vy" Smith colspan="6" Michael Weiner Kellogg "Cornflake" Lieberbaum colspan="2" colspan="4" Lisa Fuller Toni colspan="1" colspan="5" Virginia Capers Hattie Banks colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="1" Jenifer Lewis Helen Smith colspan="1" colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="1" Charlayne Woodard Janice Smith colspan="1" colspan="2" colspan="3" Perry Moore Tyriq "Ty" Johnson colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="4" Brian Stokes Mitchell Trevor Collins-Newsworthy colspan="2" colspan="1" colspan="3" Tyra Banks Jacqueline "Jackie" Ames colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" Nia Long Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes colspan="4" colspan="1" colspan="1" Jim Meskimen Werner colspan="5" colspan="1"
Celebrity guest stars The show is notable for having a heavy celebrity guest presence, with more than forty celebrities guest-starring throughout the series. Seasons 1 and 6 had the highest celebrity participation, with over 10 celebrity guest stars each.
+ Celebrity Season–Episode Notes Richard Roundtree 1–3 Dr. Mumford, father of Will's love interest. Also played Rev. Sims in 6–18. Don Cheadle 1–5 Ice Tray: Will's best friend from Philadelphia. Adrienne-Joi Johnson 1–7 Christina Johnson: Will's crush from poetry club. Bo Jackson 1–9 Themselves. Heavy D Malcolm-Jamal Warner Quincy Jones Al B. Sure! Kadeem Hardison Naomi Campbell 1–10 Helen: Geoffrey's date. Isiah Thomas 1–11 Himself. Evander Holyfield 1–15 Vivica A. Fox 1–19 Janet: Jazz's sister and Will's date. Jasmine Guy 1–21 Kayla Samuels: Will's girlfriend. Tevin Campbell 1–24 Little T: Teen idol. Queen Latifah 1–25 Marissa Redman: Hilary's Boss. Also played "Dee Dee" in 2–8. Tisha Campbell 2–1 Kathleen, Will's girlfriend in the episode. Lela Rochon 2–3 Cindy: Will's girlfriend in the episode. Malcolm-Jamal Warner 2–9 Eric: Hilary's love interest. Zsa Zsa Gabor 2–10 Sonya Lamor: Uncle Phil's celebrity client. Bell Biv DeVoe 2–11 Themselves. Brandon Quintin 2–12 Ramon: Ashley's friend. He returns as Bryan in 4–18. Allen Payne 2–15 Marcus: Will's basketball rival. Anna Maria Horsford 2–16 Karen Caruthers, a woman who Geoffrey is attracted to. Milton Berle 2–18 Max Jakey: Will's hospital roommate. Bernie Kopell Reprising his role as Dr. Adam Bricker from The Love Boat in Will's nightmare. John Beradino Reprising his role as Dr. Steve Harding from General Hospital in Will's nightmare. Bob Eubanks 2–19 Himself, as the host of a game show. Raven-Symoné 2–21 Claudia, the daughter of Robert, who is Vy's boyfriend in the episode. Larenz Tate 3–3 Kenny, a student at Bel-Air Prep who woos Ashley Garcelle Beauvais Veronica, a student at Bel-Air prep who Will pursues. Also appears in 5–25 and 6–6. Lark Voorhies 3–5 Cindy: Carlton's ex-girlfriend Sherman Hemsley 3–6, 3–7, and 3–10 Judge Robertson: Uncle Phil's rival. Also George Jefferson in 5–17 and 6–24. Oprah Winfrey 3–9 Herself. Vanessa Williams 3–11 Danny Mitchell: Will's idol. Phil LaMarr 3–15 Edward: Uncle Phil's personal assistant. Naya Rivera 3–16 Cindy: Hilary's imagined ideal baby sister. Kim Fields 3–17 Monique: Will's girlfriend. Tom Jones 3–18 Himself. Riddick Bowe 3–21 A bully that confronts Carlton, but fights Will instead. D. L. Hughley 3–22 Keith Campbell: Will's comedian friend from Philly. Hugh Hefner 4–9 Himself. Robin Quivers 4–12 Judith, one of the ghosts playing cards. Boyz II Men 4–13 Themselves. Sullivan Walker Reverend Boyd. Branford Marsalis 4–14 Himself. Also plays "Duane" a repair man in 4–18. Stacey Dash 4–17 Michelle Michaels, a famous singer/celebrity. Robert Guillaume 4–19 Pete Fletcher: Will's boss. Cree Summer 4–21 Lisa Adams: Will's girlfriend. John Witherspoon Augustus Adams, father of Lisa. Pam Grier 4–22 Janice Robertson, a former love interest of Uncle Phil. Ben Vereen 4–24 Lou Smith: Will's father. Donald Trump 4–25 Themselves. Marla Maples Dick Clark 4–26 Himself. Returned in 6–19 to co-host bloopers of the show with Will Smith. Leeza Gibbons 5–3 Herself. Brad Garrett 5–5 John "Fingers" O'Neill. Kareem Abdul Jabbar 5–6 Himself. Don Cornelius 5–8 Ken Griffey Jr. 5–9 Pat Morita Mr. Yoshi, a Martial Arts master who Will comes to learn self-defense from. Jay Leno 5–10 Himself. Also in 6–5 again playing himself. John Ridley Himself. Susan Powter 5–11 Herself. Isabel Sanford 5–17 Louise Jefferson, couple's therapy member. Returns in 6–24. Isaac Hayes 5–18 The Minister, who happens to be an Isaac Hayes impersonator, assigned to officiate Will's express wedding. Max Maven 5–21 The Great Mentos, a magician and mentalist that hypnotizes Will. Charlie Robinson 5–22 Ernest: Uncle Phil's friend and fraternity brother. Robin Givens 5–23 Denise: Will's love interest. Chris Rock 6–2 Maurice, a famous actor. Also plays Maurice's sister in the same episode. B.B. King 6–4 Pappy, the bar's blues player. Jaleel White 6–7 Derek: Ashley's boyfriend. Wayne Newton 6–8 Fred, the Casino Manager. Galyn Görg 6–12 Helena: Nicky's boxing instructor. Fredia Gibbs One of the women who was throwing Will around the gym in his nightmare. Daniel Riordan Stan: Carlton's personal trainer. Regis Philbin 6–21 Himself. Arthel Neville Herself. William Shatner 6–22 Himself. Conrad Bain 6–24 Phillip Drummond, open house attendee. Gary Coleman Arnold Jackson-Drummond, open house attendee. Marla Gibbs Florence Johnston, open house attendee.
Episodes
Development
In 1989, 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 development deal with Warner Bros. Television. Jones was impressed by the idea and arranged a meeting with NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff. Will Smith was well known at the time as one-half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, which 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.
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.
In seasons 1, 5 and 6, the credits would be played over still frames from the episode that aired and was accompanied by an instrumental version of the main theme that played in the background. In seasons 2–4, the music and stills were dropped, and the credits were now played over bloopers from the episode.
The series also occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as child abandonment, racial profiling, gun ownership, substance use disorder, driving under the influence, social inequality, mortality rate, interracial marriage, sexism, age disparity in sexual relationships, white privilege, police brutality, African-American history, social justice, body shaming, ageism, judgement, sex education, grief, and leaving the nest.
Though not a spinoff, The Fresh Prince was described by CNBC reporter Carl Quintanilla and Norman Lear in 2016 as being in the same "universe" as The Cosby Show and A Different World. However, according to Hilary Banks actress Karyn Parsons, the show was actually intended to be different from previous "black family" shows such as not only Diff'rent Strokes, but also The Cosby Show. Speaking with The Independent in July 2020, Parsons stated that "Our show was a little more irreverent – we were definitely sillier and the characters were broader.”
Crossovers and other appearances