History Series / BelAir

The story is pretty similar to the original: Will Smith (Creator/JabariBanks) is a child growing up in the rough inner city of Philadelphia who, through a series of unfortunate choices, has a run-in with the law that puts him on the bad side of some dangerous people.

** In the original, the reason Will was sent away was because he got into a minor scuffle with some bullies on the basketball court and it's PlayedForLaughs with him being spun around in the opening[[note]]It later gets resolved when Will returns to Philadelphia wishing to reclaim his "rep" only to find that the bully has turned over a new leaf, is helping youths avoid the same pitfalls, and sincerely apologizes for his behavior[[/note]]. In the reboot, the fight is much more serious with Will throwing the first punch, pulling out ''a gun'' when things escalate and firing it into the air, and getting violently arrested at the end. The gangster who attacked Will, Rashad, is also an incredibly dangerous person who wants Will '''dead''' after the incident; this is the reason why Vy opts to get him out of town in the first place.

** Jazz's affection for Hilary is mutual here, and the two get along far better. Eventually, [[spoiler: they begin a romantic relationship]].

** In ''Fresh Prince'', Jazz was head-over-heels for Hilary, but she hated him. In 'Bel Air' they end up liking eachother quite quickly and are officially dating by the end of the second season premiere.

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: While ''The Fresh Prince'''s Phillip Banks wasn't ugly per se, he had a serious weight problem and looked his age. Here, Phillip is played by the quite fit and handsome Creator/AdrianHolmes, who looks very good for a middle-aged man.
** The same can even be applied for Lou, who was played by a pudgy Creator/BenVereen in ''The Fresh Prince'' episode and is played by a leaner Creator/MarlonWayans this series.

* AdaptationalRelationshipOverhaul:
** In this continuity, Lisa is Carlton's ex-girlfriend. [[spoiler:This leads to some major tension with Will once he starts hitting it off with her.]]
** In the original series Phil and Geoffrey were employer and employee, nothing more, with Geoffrey often being roped into Uncle Phil's antics against his will. In this continuity, the two are basically best friends, with Phil getting advice from Geoffrey over late night drinks.
** Jazz's affection for Hilary is mutual here, and the two get along far better. Eventually, [[spoiler: they begin a romantic relationship]].
** The Wilkes and Banks families are much closer here than in the original series, with it being stated that prior to her death, the late Gayle Wilkes was like a sister to Vivian. In ''Fresh Prince'', the two families didn’t know each other until Lisa and Will started dating.
* AdaptationExpansion: Will's backstory (first shown in the sitcom's title sequence) is expanded into an entire prologue here. We get to see much more of his life in West Philadelphia, along with the events leading up to his big Bel-Air trip.
* AdaptationNameChange:
** Geoffrey's surname goes from Butler in the original series to Thompson. Since he was upgraded from butler to house manager and the MeaningfulName joke does not apply anymore, the change is understandable.
** Coach Smiley, Bel-Air Academy's basketball coach, is now named Johnson.
** In ''Fresh Prince'', the guy who fought Will on the basketball court was named Omar; here, his name is Rashad.
** Lisa's late mother (and Fred's late wife) was named Yvonne in ''Fresh Prince''; here, she was named Gayle.
** Grandma Banks' name is Nita, as opposed to the original series' Hattie.

** The same can even be applied for [[Creator/MarlonWayans Lou]], who was played by a pudgy Creator/BenVereen in ''The Fresh Prince'' [[Recap/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAirS4E24PapasGotABrandNewExcuse episode]].

* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: The Season 1 finale finally introduces [[spoiler: Will's father Lou (played by Creator/MarlonWayans), who had only been alluded to throughout most of the season.]]

** Once Connor makes a racist remark about Carlton, Carlton proceeds to publicly tell his friend to apologize for his offensive remarks - and as Carlton makes clear, he doesn't just mean what was said to him, but all of his racist (not just limited to black) and homophobic jibes. When Connor refuses, it's made clear to him that rest of the student body (Whites included) side with Carlton on the matter.
* FalseFriend: Connor to Carlton. The two initially appear to be very tight, Carlton defends Connor after Will attacks him for saying the N-word and the two work together to ostracize Will in school after he beats them up during the pool party. However in Episode 7 it is revealed that Connor is extremely racist and looks down on Carlton for being black. After Carlton finally gets tired of his comments and breaks his wrist in retaliation, Connor makes Carlton into a social pariah, much like the two did Will. While Connor attends Carlton's build up party, it's made clear that Connor sees nothing he's said or done wrong and calls him "whack" when he asks for an apology, leaving Carlton and many of the rest of the students (who are on Carlton's side).

** In the original sitcom, Carlton was a dork and his brief attempt to play a sport was unsuccessful. This Carlton's is a popular student and skilled lacrosse player. While Carlton was implied to be a popular kid in the beginning of the original series, this was an InformedAttribute at best, and he was quickly retconned to be an unpopular loser to create a contrast to Will. Also, his original character never had any athletic skills, since he's shown to be inept at basketball since the first season, and he's never shown playing other sports, including lacrosse.

** Geoffrey. In the original series he was mainly comic relief. Here he's a genius who's well connected with the LA underground and can apparently order hits on Philadelphian drug dealers. He's also been upgraded from the Banks' butler to their house manager.

The story is pretty similar to the original: Will Smith (Jabari Banks) is a child growing up in the rough inner city of Philadelphia who, through a series of unfortunate choices, has a run-in with the law that puts him on the bad side of some dangerous people.

To protect him, his mother sends him to her sister's family, the Banks', who live in the posh Los Angeles suburbs of Bel-Air. Reunited with his aunt Vivian (Creator/CassandraFreeman), uncle Philip (Creator/AdrianHolmes), and his cousins, Carlton (Olly Sholotan), Hilary (Coco Jones) and Ashley (Akira Akbar), along with meeting their house manager, Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola), Will finds himself having to navigate through a setting much different from the hood life he left behind.

Despite butting heads with his uncle on how to conduct himself, Will tries his best to stay true to himself amidst the rich lifestyle while staying out of trouble, befriending Jazz (Jordan L. Jones), a local teen who shares his interests and lifestyle. But just as he's settling in, it starts to become clear that trouble may have followed him from Philly...

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: While ''The Fresh Prince'''s Phillip Banks wasn't ugly per se, he had a serious weight problem and looked his age. Here, Phillip is played by the quite fit and handsome Adrian Holmes, who looks very good for a middle-aged man.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Throughout Season 1, [[ItsAllAboutMe Carlton]] cannot stand Will being in his life and has schemed to get him out of the house. However, he soon warms up to Will and in the Season 1 Finale, [[spoiler: Will leaves the Banks' house out of frustration and betrayal of being lied to his whole life by Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil... and ''Carlton'' is the one desperately begging him to stay.]]

* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: The Season 1 finale finally introduces [[spoiler:Will's father Lou (played by Creator/MarlonWayans), who had only been alluded to throughout most of the season.]]

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Throughout Season 1, [[ItsAllAboutMe Carlton]] cannot stand Will being in his life and has schemed to get him out of the house. However, in the Season 1 Finale, [[spoiler: Will leaves the Banks' house out of frustration and betrayal of being lied to his whole life by Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil...and ''Carlton'' is the one desperately begging him to stay.]]

To protect him, his mother sends him to her sister's family, the Banks', who live in the posh Los Angeles suburbs of Bel-Air. Reunited with his aunt Vivian (Creator/CassandraFreeman), uncle Philip (Creator/AdrianHolmes), and his cousins, Carlton (Olly Sholotan), Hilary (Coco Jones) and Ashley (Akira Akbar), along with meeting their butler, Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola), Will finds himself having to navigate through a setting much different from the hood life he left behind.

* AdaptationalNationality: The sitcom's Geoffrey Butler was London-born, while the reboot's Geoffrey Thompson was a native of Jamaica before ''moving'' to London.

** Geoffrey's surname goes from Butler in the original series to Thompson.

* NamedByTheAdaptation: Lisa's mother, who was not even mentioned in the original series, is still absent in person (due to [[spoiler:being officially dead]]) but is now acknowledged and called Gayle.

** Will and Jazz do their signature slap-and-snap handshake from the original series, this time with a forearm clash between the hand slap and the finger snap.

* BrokenAce: This version of Carlton is a popular ClassRepresentative and BigManOnCampus, a respected leader to his friends, a good student and also a good lacrosse player. That said, he also struggles with anxiety and has a drug problem, exacerbated by his bitter rivalry with Will.

** Creator/JamesAkingbola, the reimagined Geoffrey, previously played the son of the original Geoffrey, Creator/JosephMarcell, on an episode of ''Series/DeathInParadise''.
** Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley in the original series, plays Ashley's teacher in this one.

** Daphne Maxwell Reid[[note]]''Fresh Prince''[='=]s second Aunt Viv[[/note]] and Vernee Watson-Johnson[[note]]''Fresh Prince''[='=]s Vy[[/note]] appear in "Can't Knock the Hustle" as members of the Art Council Board of Trustees, whom Vivian meets with about a possible fellowship. Their names, respectively, are Helen and Janice, which were the names of Aunt Viv and Vy's sisters in the original series. In addition, one painting that Vivian shows Helen is of a silhouetted figure who greatly resembles the late James Avery.

* AdaptationalNameChange: Grandma Banks' name is Nita, as opposed to the original series' Hattie.

** The same can even be applied for Lou, who was played by a pudgy Creator/BenVereen in the ''The Fresh Prince''. This version is a bit more slimmer.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Throughout Season 1, [[ItsAllAboutMe Carlton]] cannot stand Will being in his life and has schemed to get out of the house. However, in the Season 1 Finale, [[spoiler: Will leaves the Banks' house out of frustration and betrayal of being lied to his whole life by Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil...and ''Carlton'' is the one desperately begging him to stay.]]