The 8 Biggest Takeaways From HBO Max's 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' Reunion Special

30 years after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted, the iconic Black sitcom returns for an HBO Max special. Here are the biggest takeaways.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air cast
HBO

Image via HBO Max / Saeed Adyani

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air cast

Thirty years after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air debuted, and almost 25 after it concluded, the cast of the iconic Black sitcom reunited for an HBO Max special that looks into the history of this show. The series followed a kid from West Philadelphia (born and raised) to Bel-Air to live in the posh mansion of his relatives, the Banks. For six seasons and 184 episodes, we grew with Will and the Banks family, and three decades later, our kids’ kids will still get to experience what true Black Excellence looks like.

Over the course of the 74-minute special, viewers got to relive most of the show’s iconic moments and hear the origin stories of everything from the Carlton dance to their Friday night taping ritual. There was a lot to learn by watching the reunion special. Even if you grew up with the series and know every piece of dialogue (like a certain cast member did early on), there are things that you can take from it. Here are the biggest takeaways from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special.

Will Smith was really, really green

Will Smith, Karyn Parsons

The show is based on Benny Medina’s life

Will Smith and Benny Medina attends the premiere of Disney's "Aladdin"

Why they started using the same shot of Jazz getting thrown out

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As Jazzy Jeff remembers it, him being thrown out of the Banks house was written into the first episode he was on. He said that there had been “about 150 takes” of him being tossed across the porch. “I think they didn’t want to torture me anymore,” Jeff said, and he thinks that’s why they started using the same shot, which of course became its own thing.

It was Alfonso Ribeiro’s idea to break the fourth wall

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In the Season 5 episode “Will’s Misery,” Will turns the tables on Carlton and pranks the hell out of him. At one moment, Carlton gets so worried about possibly killing Lisa (Nia Long) that he drags himself out of the Banks household and starts running through all of the sets, as well as the audience, in one of the biggest moments in the show’s history. On the special, Alfonso revealed that everything was just set up perfectly backstage—even though breaking the fourth wall on sitcoms wasn’t a thing. This may be why it’s still talked about decades later.

Will Smith was getting new Jordans six weeks before release

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

The cast brought authenticity to the show

Alfonso Ribeiro, Will Smith, Karyn Parsons

James Avery really was a father figure to the cast

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It was amazing to hear Tatyana and Alfonso and others not just talk about the amazing music that James Avery, who played Philip Banks, had coming from his dressing room, but how he helped instruct them on perfecting their craft. Avery gave them lessons on how to be better actors, but also on how to be better as Black people. Will spoke on how, because of the importance of the position he was in, he had to elevate his craft.

In the scene where (if you allow me to use some pro wrestling lingo) Will cuts a great promo on his father, who had just walked out of his life again, during a take in front of the audience, Will messed up a line and was overcome with emotion. It was James who put him in his place, gave him his focus, and then called for them to run through the scene again. That is the scene that we all came to love. What a moment. What a man.

Janet Hubert’s side of the story

Will Smith and Janet Hubert

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