There are reboots and then there is Bel-Air. The first trailer for the new take on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has just landed and it’s a mighty long way from the original show, which ran for six hugely popular seasons in the 1990s.
The sitcom that made Will Smith a star, this culture-clash comedy was every bit a show of its time, as Smith’s working-class high-schooler from West Philadelphia is sent to live with his well-to-do uncle, aunt and cousins – the Banks family – in the plush bit of Los Angeles. It was the perfect vehicle for the hugely likeable Smith, who was barely 21 when he took on the role, and it’s one that’s remained close to his heart ever since.
Five years ago, he said the chances of a reboot happening were “pretty close to when hell freezes over”. But then came a fan fiction "trailer" created by cinematographer Morgan Cooper in 2019, which gained serious traction when it landed on YouTube, reimagining the show as a brooding drama.
It led to a meet-up between Cooper and Smith, and the creation of Bel-Air – a show that echoes Smith’s own journey from Philly to the heart of Hollywood. Here are five takeaways from the trailer for Bel-Air, which bows this February on US streaming service Peacock:
It's the dramatic flip side
The official synopsis of the show calls Bel-Air a “dramatic analogue” of the ’90s sitcom, and that comes across loud and clear in the trailer. The show keeps the central premise – as high-schooler Will is packed off to his relatives’ mansion in a gated Bel-Air community after a fracas in Philly.
The original show did occasionally touch on issues of the day – gun violence, discrimination and absent fathers – but this reimagining will clearly bite more deeply into themes of race, class and wealth. “What the hell is my life?” says a bemused Will, as he gazes around a party in a luxury mansion. He’s a long way from home, that’s for sure.
Jabari Banks rocks as the new Will
When Smith bowed in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, he was already known for his music as one half of hip-hop duo Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (even supplying the show’s unforgettable title song). But here, Bel-Air has gone for complete newcomer Jabari Banks to play Will.
It was Banks’ father who found out about the auditions and encouraged his son, who was born and raised in West Philadelphia, to try out – and judging by the trailer that was good advice. Banks may not be like the effervescent Smith, but he looks the part, from slam dunking on the basketball court to strutting his stuff in Bel-Air academy, his baseball cap angled to one side. Very fly.
The family is all back
The show certainly hasn’t forgone original characters, or their names. Will’s relatives, Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv, and his cousins, Carlton, Hilary, Ashley and Nicky, are all present and correct. There’s even a return for the Banks family’s butler, Geoffrey, and Will’s best friend, Jazz, but how close these characters are to how you remember them is another matter.
The “thriving” Carlton – played by Olly Sholotan – gets the most screen time in the trailer, and he looks a little more scheming than the pompous character we all know and love. “I hope one day we can talk about why you’re really here,” he says, suggesting he plans to keep Will in check.
It looks like a Ryan Coogler movie
Stylistically, this is a full 180º turn from the original show, which favoured bright sets and a studio audience-supplied laughter track. Cooper’s 2019 short was compared to the work of Ryan Coogler, the director who brought audiences the spectacular Marvel movie Black Panther.
Yet before he dipped into the MCU, Coogler delivered Creed – a Rocky spin-off that took its characters back to the mean streets of Philadelphia. The trailer for Bel-Air certainly seems to be pulling from the Coogler playbook, especially with the scene set on the Philly basketball court, where Will gets caught in a mass brawl and fires off a gun as the police arrive.
There are no guest stars ... yet
The original Fresh Prince did what all good American sitcoms do and ushered in the celebrity guest stars for cameos. Big names such as Oprah Winfrey, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Boyz II Men all played themselves – though none were quite as mighty as actor William Shatner (succumbing to the effects of nitrous oxide at the dentist and hallucinating about Star Trek in one episode). Even Donald Trump turned up in season four.
But while celebrity appearances are perfectly acceptable in a sitcom, they don’t sit well in a straight drama. The trailer doesn’t hint at any guest stars – which may be for the best. Though, we wouldn’t say no to a cameo from Smith, obviously.
Bel-Air has its premiere on US streaming service Peacock on Sunday, February 13
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Fixtures:
Wed Aug 29 – Malaysia v Hong Kong, Nepal v Oman, UAE v Singapore
Thu Aug 30 - UAE v Nepal, Hong Kong v Singapore, Malaysia v Oman
Sat Sep 1 - UAE v Hong Kong, Oman v Singapore, Malaysia v Nepal
Sun Sep 2 – Hong Kong v Oman, Malaysia v UAE, Nepal v Singapore
Tue Sep 4 - Malaysia v Singapore, UAE v Oman, Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu Sep 6 – Final
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
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The biog
Age: 59
From: Giza Governorate, Egypt
Family: A daughter, two sons and wife
Favourite tree: Ghaf
Runner up favourite tree: Frankincense
Favourite place on Sir Bani Yas Island: “I love all of Sir Bani Yas. Every spot of Sir Bani Yas, I love it.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The biog
Favourite book: Animal Farm by George Orwell
Favourite music: Classical
Hobbies: Reading and writing
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
