The NBCUniversal streamer has renewed Bel-Air — a dramatic version of Will Smith's '90s comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for NBC — for a fourth and final season. The renewal comes about three months after season three concluded.
The series, with Smith as executive producer, grew out of a YouTube video by Morgan Cooper that transformed the sitcom into a gritty drama. Peacock ran with the idea and gave the project two seasons in September 2020; Bel-Air premiered in February 2022.
Season three followed Will (Jabari Banks) and Carlton (Olly Sholotan) growing closer as Carlton tried to leave his life of addiction behind him and rebuild his reputation - but the new partnership also revealed fundamental differences in their experiences and worldviews.
“I think the most rewarding thing has been watching people be on the journey with us and start from this position of skepticism and ‘I don’t know about this,’ to watching it,” showrunner Carla Banks Waddles revealed midway through season three. “And then seeing them be on the journey of hating Carlton at first, like, ‘What the heck have they done with Carlton?’ to really him being a beloved character and people rooting for him, understanding him, wanting the best for him. And he and Will and their dynamic duo together, just watching Will in this new space being this fish out of water in a very different, more dramatic way, that’s been fun.”
In addition to Banks and Sholotan, the cast of Bel-Air includes Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones and Simone Joy Jones.
Universal Television and Westbrook Studios are producing the series. Waddles produces with Cooper, Smith, Terence Carter, James Lassiter, Miguel Melendez, Benny Medina, Quincy Jones and Andy and Susan Borowitz.