‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ is getting a reunion special

In the words of Will Smith himself, "Oh my God, Carlton!" It’s happening. It’s really happening! The beloved cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air are coming together for a one-time reunion special to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary, and prove that dreams really do come true.

HBO Max is bringing together series regulars Will Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks), Tatyana Ali (Ashley Banks), Karyn Parsons (Hilary Banks), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv), and DJ Jazzy Jeff for the unscripted special, set to film on September 10th, thirty years after the show's first episode premiered. The special is expected to hit the streaming platform at the end of November.

Fresh Prince, which aired from 1990 to 1996 on NBC, currently streams on HBO Max in the U.S., so it comes as no big surprise that the reunion will also stream there. The show was known for its comedic moments, as well as heartfelt ones, and rumours of a potential revival have been swirling for some time now. In fact, just last month, Deadline reported that Fresh Prince was set to make a return in the form of an hourlong drama series based on Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film, which quickly went viral on YouTube, reimagining the classic sitcom as a drama. Could we get both a reunion special and a dramatic reboot?

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Of course, this isn’t the only fan-rejoiced reunion special announced by HBO Max. Earlier this year, the platform announced an unscripted Friends reunion special; however, COVID-19 related delays have caused the special to be rescheduled and postponed several times this summer, and a new date for the filming has yet to be confirmed.

Last week, HBO Max also announced plans to film a West Wing reunion. This particular special is set to film in Los Angeles in early October.

In anticipation of the upcoming Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion, HBO Max promises "a funny and heartfelt night full of music, dancing, and special surprise guests, in honour of the series that ran for six seasons and 148 episodes."

Fans will also note that, technically, this isn’t the first Fresh Prince reunion we've had this year. In April, the cast made an appearance on the finale of Smith’s Snapchat show, aptly titled Will From Home. The cast paid tribute to their co-star James Avery, a.k.a. Uncle Phil, who passed away in 2013 following complications from heart surgery.

The cast also revealed during their April reunion that it was, in fact, Ribeiro’s idea for Smith to name his character after himself. “It was such a deep insight that you had,” said Smith. “You said because people are going to call you that for the rest of your life.”

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