The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air |
| Abbreviation(s): | The Fresh Prince |
| Creator: | Andy and Susan Borowitz |
| Date(s): | September 10, 1990 — May 20, 1996 |
| Medium: | Television |
| Country of Origin: | USA |
| External Links: | at IMDb at Wikipedia |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
This page is about the 1990s sitcom. For the 2022 drama, refer to Bel-Air.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American comedy series that follows young Will Smith who moves to live with his wealthy relatives, the Banks – Phil and Vivian, their children, Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley, and their butler Geoffrey – in Bel-Air at the request of his mother who wants him to have a better life. His lifestyle often clashes with that of his upper-class relatives.
The series gained cult status in Brazil, being extremely frequently referenced by many fans, in large part due to its mostly POC cast.
In 2022, a reimagined version of the show, Bel-Air, began airing, notably based on a fan film of the same name. This served to breathe some new life into the fandom for The Fresh Prince, and some fanworks combine the two fandoms. However, the reimagined show is noticeably darker in tone and takes a very different direction with its story and characters.
Fandom
The series has a small online fandom, with fewer than 100 works published on AO3, a number of which are crackfics. The most popular ship is Will Smith/Carlton Banks, with Will Smith/Philip Banks having a more minor presence. The canon ship Will Smith/Lisa Wilkes also has a few fanworks. There is also a preponderance of A/B/O fic in the fandom due to a particular series, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air A/B/O, making up roughly 1/3 of the published works in the fandom. All works in the series are anonymous.
The fandom has a similarly-sized presence on Fanfiction.net, with fanworks skewing more towards gen than shipfic.
Fanworks
Bel-Air Fan Film
In 2019, filmmaker Morgan Cooper wrote and directed a short fan film, 'Bel-Air', which reimagined The Fresh Prince as a darker and grittier drama rather than a pure comedy, while retaining the same premise.
It was published to YouTube by Sun Square Media, with the description:
What would happen if Will Smith made The Fresh Prince today? Bel-Air, a story of a kid from Philly whose life got turned upside-down... in 2019.[1]
The film went viral and was seen by actor Will Smith. In a YouTube video of his own, he called the film a “Brilliant idea, the dramatic version of The Fresh Prince for the next generation.”[2] The fan film was later developed into a fully-fledged two-season series, Bel-Air, with Morgan Cooper executive producing alongside Will Smith.
Fanfiction
Fanart
- Philly’s own! #WillSmith by @ctd_philly (2018)
- Fanart by 4umilivu (2021)
- I've been watching Fresh Prince lately by ezravogelofficial (2022)
Archives & Resources
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Fan Wiki
- Fresh Prince of Bel-Air tag at AO3
- Fresh Prince of Bel Air on Fanfiction.net
References
- ^ Bel-Air (2019) | Official Trailer (4k), YouTube, March 10, 2019 (Accessed August 1, 2022).
- ^ Will Smith Calls Dramatic Fan-Made ‘Bel-Air’ Trailer “Brilliant”, Ryan Parker, The Hollywood Reporter. Published April 26, 2019 (Accessed August 1, 2022).