It was announced in September that a Fresh Prince reboot based on a mega fan’s reimagined trailer would be released on streaming service Peacock. Last month Will Smith posted a picture of himself with all of the original cast which preceded the announcement of a reunion show to be released on HBO Max.
We need wait no longer to find out when the reunion show is coming out. Will Smith debuted the trailer for the Fresh Prince reunion show along with the release date, November 19. The trailer has over five million views. It includes most of the original cast with the exception of James Avery who played Uncle Phil. James passed away a few years ago from complications after open heart surgery. The trailer also includes both actresses who played Aunt Viv. The trailer is below. Here are a few excerpts about the show via CNN:
Smith posted the trailer to YouTube Friday morning where it quickly racked up nearly a quarter of a million views in just a few hours. “You not ready for this trailer,” Smith said in the first few seconds of the video. “You couldn’t be ready for this trailer. Happy Thanksgiving.”
The date to wait for, he announced, was November 19, when the reunion debuts on HBO Max in honor of the show’s 30th anniversary.
The video — featuring cast members such as Tatyana Ali, Joseph Marcell and Alfonso Ribeiro — combines moments from the TV series with shots of the cast around a couch together rehashing behind the scenes secrets and memorable moments while filming the TV show.
The trailer teases some difficult moments as the cast discusses the late James Avery, the actor who played father-figure Uncle Phil on the show and who passed away six years ago from complications after an open heart surgery.
“James Avery was this six-foot-four Shakespearen beast,” Smith can be heard saying in the trailer. “And I wanted him to think I was good.”
The trailer shows the cast reflecting on the importance that the show — which ran for six seasons and a whopping 148 episodes — especially had for Black viewers.
“Our show meant Black excellence to people,” Ali said in the trailer. “That excellence was the way that we loved each other.”
My teenage self is dancing. I was already excited about the reboot. However, I will definitely be tuning in for the reunion show. Fresh Prince was such amazing show to watch while growing up. Not only was it funny, it touched on topics that Black shows during that time period did not. Along with A Different World and The Cosby Show, Fresh Prince was the representation that my Black teenage self needed.
It will definitely be amazing to see the original cast together in one room again. Especially since Will invited Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv. It will definitely be bittersweet without James Avery but I am sure his spirit will be well represented on set. If I were to be honest, James Avery was my favorite part of that show besides Jazz. The man had presence and he was definitely every black kid’s TV uncle at that time.
I’ll be tuning into HBO Max on Thursday to watch the reunion show. It will interesting to hear the behind-the-scenes stories from the show and what the cast is currently doing with their lives. I am sure the reunion show will also serve as a balm for all of us waiting for the reboot to finally air.
Here’s that trailer:
Meh. I’m pretty sick of all the reboots and reunions. And I’m no fan of any of the Smiths. GD Scientologist supporters. Again – nobody who’s not involved with this cult pays for a school for them. Will and Jada just always have seemed shady as hell. I do feel bad for the kids though – it really seems like mom and dad set them adrift to do whatever they wanted when they were far too young.
I’m also still salty with how much YouTube pushed Will and the other celebrities who jumped on the platform. They definitely have plenty of trash to take out but pushing incredibly ridiculously rich celebrities as a sort of face of YouTube was also moronic.
I’m with you on this Oya. I loved watching the Fresh Prince show. It brings back wonderful memories and it was great seeing black teenagers portrayed in a positive way. I’ll definitely tune into the reunion show but not sure I’ll watch the actual reimagined reboot.
I remember reading a while back that WS wasn’t going to do this without Uncle Phil (RIP.) Now, all of a sudden he’s eager to do it. What a hypocrite. I’ll definitely pass on seeing this.
Maybe some of the other cast members could use the paycheck. I’m neutral on Will, lost a lot of respect for Jada, but I can overlook Will’s turnaround and see the positive bigger picture for the other people on the show.
That trailer was very sweet. I’m excited to watch the reunion. That’s all I got.
My fave characters were Uncle Phil and Geoffrey the butler 🙂
This should be fun to watch
I loved this show! I did like the first Mom better than the replacement though.
I loved Fresh Prince when it was on and I like Will and Jada now. Their kids seem happy and fine, even raised wild and privileged like they were. They are artists and creatives who seem to know their own minds and have an interest in bringing more of what they love into the world. (I’m especially pleased to see Black kids being raised free like that.)
I’m also glad they brought Janet/Original Aunt Viv back.
I’ll be checking this out.
Wonder if Tyra will make an appearance as Jackie???