Pretend you're the Prince of Bel-Air for a night: the villa is available to rent on Airbnb for the reboot of the series.
The reboot of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air', simply titled 'Bel-Air', is getting a publicity boost with the rental of the villa that served as the setting for the original 1990s series. The new series is based on a viral video from last year.
"This is the story, all about how...": so begins the title song of the cult 1990s series "The Prince of Bel Air", which launched the acting career of rapper Will Smith. For the past few days, the villa, where Will was welcomed by the wealthy Banks family, has been on Airbnb.
So you can spend the night there and hopefully you won't be thrown out the back door like Will's best friend Jazz.
Will Smith: renter but not owner
If you look at the announcement, you'll see that the villa is not rented in its entirety. According to the site, this imposing mansion only has one bed. One bed for a house that could easily accommodate a large family? Will Smith explains:
My wing of the mansion includes my bedroom (great for naps), a full bathroom (great for spitting bars in the shower), pool area (great for dips), an outdoor lounge, and the dining room (great for eating obviously).
Will therefore only rents a wing of the house with the bedroom that was his in the series, a bathroom, a swimming pool, a living room and a dining room. In fact, Will Smith does not own the house at all. The latter says he works with the owners of the house.
But that's not all. The series itself was largely shot on set, not in the house. The villa is probably remembered as the place where Jazz, played by DJ Jazzy Jeff, is thrown out by Uncle Phil (James Avery).
Just a publicity stunt really
The room rental, which isn't even in Bel-Air but in Brentwood, five miles away, is really just a publicity stunt. Yes, a reboot of the sitcom 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' is in the works. In the drama series "Bel-Air", Will is arrested and sent to stay with his Uncle Phil in Bel-Air.
A few days ago, NBC's streaming platform Peacock ordered two seasons of the series based on a viral video. The fact that the platform has just ordered two seasons even surprised executive producer Will Smith: "I've been in the business for 30 years and something like this never happens," he explained in a video on his YouTube channel.
Will Smith, as far as we know, will only be present behind the camera, as executive producer. The role of Will will be played by newcomer Jerry Madison Jr. The series is scheduled for release in 2021. No word yet on who will get the international broadcast rights.
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