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This Is A Story All About How ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’ Has A Reunion On The Way

The special hits Stan this Thursday, Nov 19.

The trailer for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion Special on Stan has dropped, meaning we're this much closer to finally learning the (behind-the-scenes) story all about how Will Smith and his fictional family the Banks' lives got flipped-turned upside down when the show became a runaway smash in the '90s.

Will Smith shared the trailer for the reunion on his Instagram, writing: "These are the people who made me the man I am today. And I couldn't let this day go by without marking the occasion."

In the trailer, Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Daphne Maxwell Reid (second Aunt Viv), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey), DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz) and, of course, Will Smith, catch up in the old set. Janet Hubert, who originated the role of Aunt Viv, and who Will Smith famously hasn't spoken to in 27 years, will also be there, so that should be interesting. The trailer shows the cast spilling details about The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to mark its 30th anniversary. 

Exhibit a: Smith, who was a rapper at the time, reveals, "Nobody ever asked me if I could act." (To which, Carlton, er, Ribeiro quips, "And you couldn't.")

Later, the trailer sees Smith share an emotional story about James Avery who played Uncle Phil and tragically passed away in 2013 from complications after open-heart surgery. 

"James Avery was this 6'4 Shakespearean beast, and I wanted him to think I was good," says Smith. "I fall into his arms at the end of the scene [in which Will's character asks why his dad doesn't want him], and he's holding me. And the shot pans off, and he whispered in my ear, 'Now, that's acting.'" 

Tatyana also touches on how important the show was in the Black community at the time. "Our show meant Black excellence to people," she says. "The excellence was the way that we loved each other."

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion, along with every other episode of the original series (cheers Stan), hits Stan Australia on November 19.

Catch the trailer here: 

Written by Sangeeta Kocharekar, an American-born, Sydney-based writer at MTV. Photos from her pre-COVID-19 days as a travel writer are here.

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