Bel-Air

:

Season 1
  • Network: Peacock
  • Series Premiere Date: Feb 13, 2022
Season #: 4, 3, 2, 1
User Score
2.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 20 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 20
  3. Negative: 14 out of 20
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User Reviews

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  1. supermalik987
    Apr 14, 2023
    4
    I don't why would want to new adaptation of the Fresh prince of bel air .
    Because they think it will make money and bearly anyone talks about this show . Everything about this show is some high school fan fiction. Charlton is on drugs . Ashley is bearly in the show so I don't know why she even in this version. Hilary did an Olnyfans . This new version of Uncle Phil sucks . Nothing about    I don't why would want to new adaptation of the Fresh prince of bel air .
    Because they think it will make money and bearly anyone talks about this show . Everything about this show is some high school fan fiction. Charlton is on drugs . Ashley is bearly in the show so I don't know why she even in this version. Hilary did an Olnyfans . This new version of Uncle Phil sucks . Nothing about this live up to the James . Jeffrey he may not or know someone to kill someone for Will . You know the EP when Will dad makes an appearance was emotional . Well they did it one last episode of season 1 and it was bad . But this MA and we gotta swear and say the N word because this mature. The olny thing I did like it was Jazz and Aunt Viv was was good. If this was an new IP no one would care.    … Expand
  2. Jagkings5
    Mar 13, 2022
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I loved the original Fresh Prince, so I tried going into this reimaging (I didn't say reboot, for reasons I'll get into) of the original show with some optimism. Reboots aren't inherently bad but they're inherently lazy, so there has to be some good effort made to make it interesting.

    Pros: The show is pretty much tossing subtext out the window and it's far more surreal in its portrayal of Will's background, Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv's relationship, and the overall portrayal of Will shifting from two different households. Geoffrey is essentially a partner with Phil and goes much further than just being a butler (think of Doug from House of Cards, he goes around collecting information and stomping out anything threatening Phil's political campaign and family), which I really like.

    Cons: Carlton is rewritten so drastically from the original there's no comparison. He's insecure, obnoxious, manipulative, with no regard for his family unless it's advancing his own goals. Plus he has a drug addiction (to xanax), but the show doesn't really delve into his drug addiction. It's brought up in scenes, and in the first episode, but it's only shown briefly, and not even Uncle Phil/Viv talks about it. Maybe a later episode would address this, but I wish it wasn't glanced over so easily. Hilary is a bit annoying when she's a typical social media influencer, but off social media she is portrayed pretty well.

    But the big con is the show isn't original enough. There are millions of shows that talks about drug addiction, unhappy marriages, racism, police brutality, etc. Not to mention it's originating from a format that isn't even original, considering the original Fresh Prince can easily be streamed on HBO Max. If the show wants to surprise me, it needs to bring something unique, which I just keep finding missing on the show. Say all you want about Euphoria, but at least that show had a realistic portrayal of the struggles a drug addict go through, something completely glanced over in Bel Air.

    The show keeps me enjoyed and it's by no means bad, but there's just a lack of originality with it. Only Carlton turning into a villain on the show surprised me.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
58

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 27
  3. Negative: 1 out of 27
  1. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    May 25, 2022
    50
    About as fresh as the fourth season of a teen melodrama on The CW, albeit with rougher language. ... Still, it's early days, and whenever Banks pours on Will's charm, one can hope Bel-Air will rediscover some of the original series' sense of fun. [14 - 27 Feb 2022, p.7]
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  2. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Doreen St. Félix
    Mar 23, 2022
    40
    “Bel-Air” is correctly circling around the ugliness in Black politics, but it’s too fearful of being misunderstood, or misrepresented, by its viewers. ... The show understands drama as ominous scores, leaden dialogue, and unnecessary cliffhangers.
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  3. The Times
    Reviewed by: Carol Midgley
    Feb 15, 2022
    60
    The best thing about it is Jabari Banks, who brings his own charisma to the Will Smith role. He is required to turn in a "deeper" performance. Also good are the action scenes the basketball games and gang scenes but whether that will be enough for former fans to watch a whole, morally earnest series spinning off a 30-yearold sitcom we'll see.
    Read full review
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