Will Smith has been a rapper and an Oscar winner — amongst other things — but everything in his mainstream career can be credited back to one zeitgeist-creating moment: the debut of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
And the actor took to his Instagram on Sunday (September 10) to pay tribute to that momentous occasion, which happened on that day 33 years prior.
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“Moved in 33 years ago today,” he wrote.
Check out the post below.
The photo, however, wasn’t a recent photo. Rather, it was taken in November 2020, when Will Smith and the rest of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast toured the location ahead of the reunion special.
“You’ve probably seen the picture,” Smith said in a trailer meant to announce the reunion. “I posted it about a month ago. Me and the whole Fresh Prince cast. But you’re not ready for this trailer. You couldn’t be ready for this trailer. Happy Thanksgiving.”
The reunion was shot on set in the Banks family home. Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid, Alfonso Ribeiro, and DJ Jazzy Jeff all joined Smith for the reflective day of laughs, tears, and memories.
The late James Avery didn’t have the opportunity to be present at the reunion. The man who starred in his role as Uncle Phil passed away in 2013 from complications following open heart surgery.
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“James Avery was this six foot four, Shakespearean beast and I wanted him to think I was good,” Smith recalls. “I fall into his arms at the end of the scene and he’s holding me, and the shot pans off and he whispered in my ear, ‘Now that’s acting!’”
The trailer finds Avery’s wife in the ’90s show’s first three seasons, Vivian, who is played by Janet Hubert, making a surprise guest appearance at the end of the reunion.
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The special hit HBO Max (now known as Max) on November 19, 2020.
In 2022, a dramatic reboot — simply titled Bel-Air — dropped on Peacock, which Will Smith executive produced in conjunction with content platform Westbrook Studios.
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Based on Morgan Cooper’s viral 2019 fan film Bel-Air,the film inspired the series remake for the Peacock streaming network. Set in 2021, the show is a one-hour drama that “dives deeper with emotions and discussions on diversity while still delivering the same swagger of the original sitcom,” according to a description.
