The characters in Bel-Air on Peacock are set to take one last ride as they prepare to bid the series goodbye.
The reimagining of the beloved sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which kicked off rapper Will Smith’s acting career, Bel-Air takes a deeper look at the hit show through a more dramatic lens.
“One of the reasons that people like Bel-Air, I think, just from the feedback, is because of that vulnerability, especially when it comes to like young, Black boys and being able to express their feelings and say when they’re not OK, or to say ‘I love you,’ cry — all those things have become so important to people,” showrunner Carla Banks Waddles told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. “Just being in the writers’ room, it felt natural. It wasn’t like we were trying to do that, but it just felt like that — showing them as human just felt kind of revolutionary, and just being able to show that softer side of, in our cases, Will and Carlton and even Uncle Phil and Geoffrey. Just being able to show sort of Black male friendships, just the love you can have for another Black man as a cousin, as a brother, that kind of thing. And it has touched a lot of people. So it’s important, you know, to keep those story lines in the final season too.”
Previously, Jabari Banks and Cassandra Freeman likened the sitcom’s interpretation to viewers having a glimpse into the personal diaries of iconic characters like the Banks family and supporting characters such as Geoffrey, Jazz and others.
What would their final diary entry of the season be?
“It’s not over,” Jimmy Akingbola said of his character Geoffrey. “There’s something philosophical in there, like a wise quote or something, and then I think I’ll have pictures of all the family, all the Bel-Air family, all the cast, all the kids, stuff like that, you know? Because family means everything to Geoffrey.”
“I would say ‘New Beginnings’ were for Phil,” Adrian Holmes chimed in. “It’s also like, you know, ‘Job well done. The juice was worth the squeeze,'” adding, “It’s like inner peace and new beginnings, you know, that kind of thing, because it was a lot going on in the first three seasons.”
“My last entry would be, ‘It’s better to have loved than not to have loved at all,'” Jordan L. Jones, who has lent a voice to Jazz over the past four years, said. “Because in relationships, you know, obviously there’s journeys in relationships; there’s ups and downs, and in this finale, without giving any spoilers of where Jazz and Hillary end up, regardless, it’s OK wherever they end up, because he has been, you know, putting his heart on his sleeve for two seasons, and, you know, kind of leaving no stone unturned. And I feel like that’s very important, because I feel like a lot of people don’t do that.”
For the baby of the bunch, Ashley Banks, Akira Akbar is confident that her entry would read: “The end of the beginning,” as she’s just now beginning high school.
Olly Sholotan added, “I have always conceptualized that Carlton speaks to his younger self, and part of it is because even throughout the season, we do this very interesting thing where we look at a young Will and Carlton experience, right? And I think the final diary entry would be, ‘Hey kid, we did it. We love ourselves now.'”
For Simone Joy Jones, portraying a character as meticulous and calculated as Lisa, who she is 100%, would be someone born under the Virgo star sign; her diary entry would be blank for the first time.
“Will’s final diary entry would be a thank-you note to his family, to the people who showed up for him…to Carlton as well and to Lisa as well,” Jabari Banks shared. “We’ve seen Will constantly mess up for the last four years,” adding, “and, you know, even in my life, you know — Jabari, I think, a big, big thank-you note to everyone who’s always given him the love that he never knew he needed.”
A final act of surrender
Fans will meet Aunt Viv and her eldest daughter, Hillary Banks, as they embrace letting go of control in two different ways.
One scene in particular, when Cassandra Freeman’s character is set to bring a new life into the world, may shift those watching, but it definitely left an imprint on Freeman as an actress.
“For me, it was just the best, like bottling up the idea of what acting is, to me, which is to surrender second by second. I could have never guessed that’s how that day on set would have been,” she recalled. “And Morgan Cooper, he kept talking about, like, ‘How are we going to do this scene? Like what are you thinking?’ I said, ‘I just want to be present,’ and, you know, people are like, ‘Should we like clear out the room? Should it be a private room while you and Janet are working?’ I said, ‘No, people need to be present.’ Like, men are in that room who are fathers. Like everyone should be present to see what spirits come. That’s the biggest thing I’ll take away from that. Janet Hubert was such an open vessel, open mind, heart and spirit, and she was such a lovely person, and so fun between takes as well. But she and I both work the same way, which is like, we don’t know what it’ll be until you say ‘action.’ And if it’s useful, you keep it.”
“My character has to give up, in a way, control. I think Hillary is very like by the book, my way, and this is how it’s going to be; I’m going to accomplish the things that I want in life,” Coco Jones said. “And then you realize that you don’t really have that much control when things happen to you that you can’t even imagine, and you have to pick up the pieces and rebrand in a way. And so I think she gives up control as a finale of her storyline.”
The final season of Bel-Air premieres on Peacock on Monday, with the first three episodes available for streaming. The remaining two episodes will be released on Dec. 1, and the final three episodes on Dec. 8.