Bel-Air

Impressive realization of that speculative trailer. ... “The Fresh Prince” provides “Bel-Air” a solid foundation that manages at once to honor the original — and not just in the way that Will wears a ball cap sideways and his Academy jacket lining out — while taking it somewhere new; it’s more exploration than exploitation.

The reboot is a good antidote to a show like Euphoria that demands viewers piece together a lot of scattered images, dialogue and ideas to find a cohesive story. But Cooper and the show’s team of writers and directors are competent enough that we can simply enjoy ourselves.

Even without it looking back, Bel-Air’s slick confidence makes it a compelling series in its own right.

A bold reimagining that maintains the essence of the original show while exploring important social themes from an authentic, Black perspective.

Nobody asked for a dark, dramatic reimagining of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," which makes the new series fitting that description, "Bel-Air," better than it has any right to be. Premiering Super Bowl Sunday on NBC's streaming service Peacock, the opening episodes establish a catchy beat, with the main question being how long they can sustain it.

This new take bucks the odds and plays for audiences new and old, proving the resilience of a premise that works even when the approach is “flipped turned upside down.”

In its 2022 iteration, Bel-Air capitalizes on the two things dominating television today: nitty-gritty realism, and nostalgia.

It’s off to a solid start, with good performances and a story that fits well in today’s television landscape.

[A] series that actually isn't bad. ... Much as there is to like about "Bel-Air," including and not limited to its style and a soundtrack mixing '90s hip-hop classics with modern-day vibes, the three episodes available to review never rise to the level of essential viewing.

“Bel-Air” becomes a familiar mix of shows like “The O.C.,” “Empire,” and even “Gossip Girl.” (To wit: “Bel-Air” features “Empire” writer Malcolm Spellman on its EP roster and shares at least two writers, JaNeika and JaSheika James, with HBO Max’s “Gossip Girl.”) The dialogue can be snappy, even as it’s committed to saying the quiet part loud (i.e. rejecting subtext for much blunter text).