Anticipation was high for “Bel-Air” two years ago, the dramatic flip of the beloved classic comedy “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Kansas City native Morgan Cooper’s re-imagining of the pop culture fixture started as a fan film he uploaded to YouTube in 2019 that generated so much buzz that Will Smith himself jumped aboard as an executive producer. And the success of the first season, not to mention glowing reviews of the show’s depiction of class tensions — and changes like fresh takes on Hillary as a culinary influencer and Carlton as a struggling, undercover addict — beget a second season and now a third.
But the latest installment takes a somewhat greater departure from the first two seasons. Instead of taking place during the school year, Season 3 takes over the summer, placing Will (Jabari Banks) and Carlton (Olly Sholotan) in a country club setting that television has typically reserved for young white kids. In this space, Will is even further away from the life he’s known in Philly. His admiration for Quentin (portrayed by rapper Vic Mensa, who cut his teeth as Jamal on “The Chi” set in his hometown), an unconventional entrepreneur who’s managed to strike it rich without selling out his culture or his people, inspires Will to contemplate, for the first time ever, a life where basketball is not his everything.
While Will seems to have unlimited possibilities, Carlton’s prospects appear to be dwindling. Publicly revealing his addiction may cost him the Ivy League future for which he’s worked for years. On top of that, his past lies have made both his mother Viv (Cassandra Freeman) and sister Ashley (Akira Akbar) distrust him. His potential romance with Amira (Alycia Pascual-Peña), a beautiful young lady with a love of danger, is a bright spot despite its own complications.
Last season ended with Hillary (Coco Jones, now a Grammy-winning singer) torn between Jazz (Jordan L. Jones) and spinning the block with her ex and pro football star LaMarcus (Justin Cornwell). Working out her love life is proving more challenging than directing a successful influencer house. Love is also proving challenging for her parents. As Viv tries to find her new center in the art world and Phil (Adrian Holmes) grows his own law practice, they are still figuring out how they fit as a unit in their new roles. Phil working with the woman who once tore them apart isn’t helping either. After connecting with Jackie (Jazlyn Martin), with whom he shares a similar background, Will is still finding his way with Lisa (Simone Joy Jones), who is not quite ready to go all in with him. Ashley doesn’t feel secure in any aspect of her life and is falling under the radar of her family. Meanwhile Geoffrey’s (Jimmy Akingbola) dark past back in London keeps haunting him, making him question how to move to keep himself and his son Frederick (Joivan Wade) safe. Complicating matters more, Frederick might not be the son he thinks he is.
There’s certainly a lot of potential for an explosive season, based on the three episodes available for review, especially as Carla Banks Waddles (“Good Girls”, “Truth Be Told”) settles in as showrunner after changes in previous seasons. This season is a chance for her to put her stamp on the show. But the problem may just be that “Bel-Air” is too ambitious and not focused enough on the core storylines. Instead of characters driving the drama, there’s a sense that the show is more interested in exploring themes through them, like Black entrepreneurship, the impact of gentrification and, with Lou’s (an excellent Marlon Wayans from Season 1) return, the wounds of an absentee father.
While these are lofty and worthy conversations to have, how they land can be dicey if the character storylines don’t feel as real and grounded. In this season, there’s a bit of young Tariq from the Starz’s hit “Power”, some early “Fast and the Furious” when Los Angeles was the main focal point, as well as elements of “The OC”, “The Summer I Turned Pretty” and other teen dramas.
This doesn’t mean that Season 3 is unwatchable. Far from it, actually. The actors imbue their characters with such warmth that it’s hard to ever give up on them. Even as the plots threaten to get in the way, Will, Carlton, Hillary and company seem so real that you can’t help but care about their journeys, even when they’re wonky. Their riz meter, as Zendaya might say, is so through the roof — they wear the right clothes, drive the right cars, walk with just the right amount of confidence, project just enough sexiness and vulnerability while also injecting enough reality and aspiration to keep you hooked.
In a landscape so starved of quality Black elite representation, “Bel-Air” will be hard to put down. A Season 4 renewal should come as no surprise.
“Bel-Air” Season 3 premieres Thursday, Aug. 15, on Peacock.