Peacock’s hit show, Bel-Air, which is a more dramatic reimagining of the iconic Fresh Prince of Bel-Air show, finished its first season, and it has certainly left us with some things to think about. It’s been a long journey for Will (Jabari Banks) in his first few months in Bel-Air after his mom, Vy (April Parker Jones), sent him to live with his Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) and Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) for a chance at a better life. Any doubts if this show would work as a reimagined drama have been put to rest by an extraordinary first season.
Where It Started
As in the original sitcom, Will got in “one little fight” on the playground in West Philly. However, in this version, the little fight was a little more serious as it involved a gun and a local drug lord, Rashad (Eazy the Block Captain), who was determined to kill Will and his best friend, Tray (SteVonté Hart). When Will arrives in Bel-Air, he finds it a little difficult to fit in. Hillary (Coco Jones), Ashley (Akira Akbar), and Viv welcome him with open arms but Uncle Phil and Carlton (Olly Sholotan) took a little more time. Will found right away that Carlton was the big man on campus. Not only that, but Will immediately falls for Lisa (Simone Joy Jones) not knowing she is Carlton’s ex.
When the Rashad threat gets real and Phil’s body man, Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola), “takes care of it.” Tray later informs Will that Rashad was found dead and Will realizes he may be in over his head. When Tray comes to visit, Tray and Will both realize just how much his life has changed, and their friendship may not survive. At school, Carlton seems to be the king of the castle until Will really starts to shine on the basketball court. Carlton and Will’s rivalry is tense throughout the first half of the season until Will really steps in to help Carlton kick his drug habit. Carlton and Will slowly begin to bond despite Will’s new relationship with Lisa. In this version, Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) is an indie record store owner who drives Uber for some extra cash. He picks up Will at the airport and Will knows that this cab is rare, and the two become fast friends.
Meanwhile, Viv starrs feeling a little resentful that her art career was put on hold. When renowned gallery owner Reed (Michael Ealy) shows interest… in her art, suddenly her passion returns to the forefront. Uncle Phil is also running for District Attorney and is having some political trouble, as he is trying to conceal the real reason why his nephew is suddenly staying with him. Hillary is trying to make it as a social media influencer without the aid of her parents’ money and Ashley is figuring out how to handle her crush on her best friend, Lucia (Rita Angel Taylor).
One of the underlying themes of the whole season was the rivalry between Viv and Vy and figuring out what was best for Will. And one thing that kept coming up was the subject of Will’s dad. He was a mystery that nobody wanted to talk about. Will asked Geoffrey to look into it for him and when he did, Phil fired him but told the family that Geoffrey had to be away for a while on a family medical emergency. But faced with the envelope full of information about daddy dearest, Will let it go. Or did he?
Where It Ended
Following Phil’s stunning announcement that he was dropping out of the DA race, the family is breathing a sigh of relief. Once he realized that his opponents had the dirt on Will, he figured the best decision would be to step back and spend more time with his family. In the midst, Phil’s opponent, Fred (Joe Holt), who just happens to be Lisa’s dad, informed Lisa that Will had some serious secrets. After confronting Will and finding out it was true, Lisa dumps him. Hillary and Jazz find their way into each other’s arms and think it's a bigger secret than it actually is. Hillary also hits it off with hugely popular influencer Ivy (Karrueche Tran) and may just be able to have a career path forward.
Will’s long-lost dad, Lou (Marlon Wayans), finally shows up and pleads his case to Phil that he was located by Geoffrey and now Lou wants to see Will. Overhearing all this, Carlton finds Geoffrey’s investigation file and gives it to Will informing him that Lou is in town. The big secret is that Lou was in prison and Phil was his lawyer. After confronting Phil and Viv, they all agree that Will can meet Lou. It is a tense meeting. They have a moment where they begin to get along until Lou starts blaming Vy for everything that went wrong. The meeting becomes tense, Lou loses his temper and Will kicks him out not ever wanting to see him again.
Will is infuriated and decides to leave Bel-Air. Carlton begs him to stay while slipping a big wad of cash into his pocket, but Will leaves. The only way to find out how to find him is his car’s GPS and let’s just guess who is the only person who knows how to use it: Geoffrey. As the family pieces together that Geoffrey isn’t just away on family business, the entire Banks crew is infuriated with how everything has gone down. Carlton enlists the help of (a very angry) Lisa to find Will, but it is his pal, Jazz, that finds him. Here we get a tiny homage to the famous, “How come he don’t want me man” scene from the original series. Will is convinced that no one wants him, however, it is Jazz that tells him it’s just the one guy that doesn’t want him. Everyone else does. And it’s time to make a decision as to where he wants to be.
Where To Next
Season 2 hasn’t been announced yet, but if so here are a couple of questions.
- Is Will going to stay in Bel Air?
- Was that the last we see of Lou? Was it really one and done or is his presence going to be looming?
- What was Lisa alluding to when she said she really had to tell Will something?
- Hillary seemed like she struck a deal with Ivy to get out of her debt with Kylo (Jon Beavers) or was that too good to be true? It can’t be that easy, right?
- Can Carlton and Will uphold their bond?
- Is Aunt Viv really into this Reed guy or is she just excited that someone is finally interested in her… art?
- Will we get to see more of Ashley?
- Geoffrey has to come back, right?