Will Smith is heading back home to Bel-Air, as the former star ofThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Airhosted a cast reunion for his online Snapchat series. This will be the first time the cast has reunited on-screen, even via webcam, since the hit comedy series ended its run on television in 1996. While each cast member is reuniting remotely from the comfort of their own homes, it’s still wonderful for anyFresh Princefan to see everyone back on the same screen once again almost a quarter-century after the show went off the air.
Along with Smith, theFresh Prince reunionfeatures Smith’s former co-stars Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Vivian), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey Butler), and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz). Sadly, a complete cast reunion isn’t possible, as the legendary James Avery (Uncle Phil) passed away in 2013. Janet Hubert-Whitten, whooriginally played Aunt Vivfor the show’s first three seasons before she was replaced with Reid, is also not present, but this isn’t a shock considering the rocky history between the actress and theFresh Princecast.
With no movie productions currently shooting and with Smith spending so much time at home, the formerFresh Princestar has taken to creating his own online talk show for Snapchat. CalledWill From Home, Smith has been inviting several guests of all kinds onto the series in previous installments, with some other notable names including Johnny Knoxville, Kevin James, Guy Fieri, Tyra Banks, Kevin James, and Dr. Anthony Fauci. The bigFresh Prince of Bel-Airreunion serves as a two-part finale for the series, as apparently Smith wanted to leave things off with a bang.
While the full episode isn’t on YouTube, Snap Originals has provided a couple of entertaining clips from the reunion. In one video, Smith reveals thatit’s because of Alfonso Ribeirothat his character’s name on the show is also Will Smith. “It was such a deep insight that you had. You said, ‘Because people are going to call you that for the rest of your life!'” Smith says of his co-star’s suggestion to name the character after himself. It was clearly great advice, as the series helped to turn Will Smith into a household name very quickly.
In another clip, DJ Jazzy Jeff speaks with Smith about his thoughts on getting recognized byFresh Princefans after appearing on the show. “I got really, really annoyed that everybody wanted to do the handshake… you would see in people’s eyes when they were about to sneak the handshake, and I would just grab their hand and hold it,” the DJ says of hisFresh Princefame, adding that all is well besides that one particular aspect. For his part, Smith finds the story hilarious.
The first part of theWill From Homefinale streamed Wednesday morning on Snapchat, with part two set to stream on Thursday morning at 6 a.m. ET on Snapchat’s Discover page. If you’re not on Snapchat, you can watch a couple of clips from theFresh Prince of Bel-Airreunion below, courtesy ofSnap Originals on YouTube.
