Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film “Bel-Air, which re-envisions the 1990s Will Smith sitcom “The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” as a drama, is being turned into a hourlong series.
Not only that, but Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television are onboard and are currently pitching the project to streamers with multiple straight-to-series orders on offer and a potential bidding war brewing between the likes of Netflix, Peacock, HBO Max, Amazon and Apple.
Set in modern-day America, “Bel-Air” is a serialized one-hour dramatic story of Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. The series will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to explore in a sitcom format, while still delivering fun nods to the original show.
Cooper will direct and co-executive produce the potential series which he is co-writing with Chris Collins (“The Man in the High Castle,” “The Wire”) – the latter serving as executive producer and showrunner. The original four-minute short has amassed more than 7.5 million views to date in two official YouTube posts.
Source: Deadline
