All the Nostalgic "Fresh Prince" Nods in "Bel-Air"

Updated on March 24, 2022 at 2:20 PM

Peacock

"Bel-Air" is a major departure from Will Smith's "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." The Peacock series — which stars Jabari Banks as Will, Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks, Cassandra Freeman as Aunt Viv, Olly Sholotan as Carlton, Coco Jones as Hilary, and Akira Akbar as Ashley — premiered on Feb. 13, with the first three episodes dropping at once. The reboot takes on a more serious tone as Will gets into a fight with a gang member, which ends up landing them both in jail. Luckily, Will is able to get out thanks to a bailout from Uncle Phil, but he still has a target on his back. As a result, Will is forced to leave Philly.

Although "Bel-Air" feels like a completely different series than the 1990s hit comedy, there are moments of nostalgia for the OG fans, like Smith being behind the theme song, Will's mom, Vy (April Parker Jones), sending him to Bel-Air after "getting in one little fight," and Will becoming friends with Jazz (Jordan L. Jones). Keep reading for all the different "Fresh Prince" Easter eggs in "Bel-Air."

"Bel-Air" Episode 1: "Dreams and Nightmares"

Will's mom, Vy, tells her son he has all the makings of being a prince, he just needs to accept his crown. The affirmation is a nod to Will being "The Fresh Prince."
Will's friend in Philly is named Tray (SteVonte Hart), a nod to Ice Tray (Don Cheadle) in the original series.
Will tells Aunt Viv, "I got in one little fight and my mom got scared," which is why he was sent to Bel-Air. The quote is from the original theme song to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" when Will says, "I got in one little fight and my mom got scared / She said, 'You're movin' with your auntie and uncle in Bel-Air.'"
Will isn't able to fit in at his first party in Bel-Air, a reference to how out of place he felt in the original.
Hilary is a food influencer, despite her disastrous attempts to cook in "The Fresh Prince."

"Bel-Air" Episode 3: "Yamacraw"

Will flips his Bel-Air Academy jacket inside out after getting mustard spilled on him. In the original series, Smith's Will did the same and continued to wear it like that throughout the show.
Uncle Phil is running for LA District Attorney. In the original series, he runs for Superior Court Judge.
Uncle Phil is still from Yamacraw, North Carolina.
Carlton still hopes to get into Princeton University.
Hilary dropped out of college, except this time it's to pursue her cooking career.
Carlton does cocaine (intentionally), a reference to an episode when the OG Carlton accidentally does speed found in Will's locker.

"Bel-Air" Episode 4: "Canvass"

Jazz flirts with Hilary, and she subtly seems to flirt back. In contrast, Jazz had a major crush on Hilary in "The Fresh Prince," but was constantly rejected.
Jazz owns a record store and has a strong love for hip-hop, just like DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Hilary discovers Will knows how to play the piano, a nod to the improvised scene in "The Fresh Prince" pilot when Smith played a classical number as Uncle Phil was eavesdropping.

"Bel-Air" Episode 5: "PA to LA"

Aunt Viv flys Tray out to visit Will because he's homesick, just like she does with Ice Tray in the original series. However, Ice Tray sparks up a romance with Hilary during his visit — something the reboot doesn't rehash.
Will discusses his emotional distance from Tray with Aunt Viv. In "Bel-Air," Will is upset that Tray thinks he's changed from who he was back in Philly, and Aunt Viv validates that trauma is bound to affect people in different ways. In "The Fresh Prince," Aunt Viv doesn't like Ice Tray because of his budding romance with Hilary, and she voices how Will is essentially more polished than him. In both, however, Will defends their friendship, noting all the hardships they've been through since childhood.
Will calls Carlton "C," a term of endearment he uses in the original series. In "The Fresh Prince," Will also calls Carlton "C Note" in reference to his love of Broadway.
Will decides to stay in Bel-Air despite his mom's wishes, noting his new opportunities, friendships, and finishing out the school year. In the original series, his mom asks him to move back to Philly after graduating high school, but he decides to stay for college.

"Bel-Air" Episode 6: "The Strength to Smile"

Lisa's father, Fred Wilkes (Joe Holt), gets remarried after her mother's death. In "Bel-Air," he marries Angela (Scottie Thompson), who's pregnant, in contrast to "The Fresh Prince" when Fred marries Will's mom, Vy, during what was supposed to be Will and Lisa's wedding.

"Bel-Air" Episode 7: "Payback's a B*tch"

Jazz defends Hilary against her boss, and they kiss. In "Bel-Air," the musician and chef share a steamy makeout before Hilary manages to track down her boss, Kylo, who leaked a sexy tape of her cooking. She didn't intend to release the video, so when she manages to find him at a party, Jazz confronts him and demands to have it taken down. Ultimately, Hilary decides to keep it up after getting praised for representing unapologetically sexy Black women. In "The Fresh Prince," Hilary lands a job as an assistant to actress Marissa Redman (Queen Latifah). When Will and Jazz decide to visit her at the office, Marissa demands Hilary set her up with her cousin or lose her job. Will agrees under the condition that Hilary goes out with Jazz. In the end, Jazz stands up to Marissa on behalf of Hilary, and she kisses him on the cheek as a thank you.
Lisa tells Will she was named after her great-aunt and that her first name is actually Beulah and her middle name is Lisa. The same is true in the original series.

"Bel-Air" Episode 8: "No One Wins When the Family Feuds"

Will's mom, Vy, comes to visit for his 17th birthday. Throughout the trip, she and Aunt Viv are constantly bickering back and forth over the best things for Will and Viv's privileged life in Bel Air. Although the scenes in "Bel-Air" aren't the exact same as "Fresh Prince," Vy and Aunt Viv had constant disputes in the original series.
Amid Uncle Phil's bid to become District Attorney, Vy contemplates telling Will about his father. The choice is met with scrutiny from Uncle Phil. While discussing the issue with Geoffrey (Jimmy Akingbola) over a boxing session, Uncle Phil's right-hand man suggests that Will deserves the truth. He adds that he wished his son knew as well. This is the first time in "Bel-Air" that Geoffrey mentions his son. In "Fresh Prince," Geoffrey's (Joseph Marcell) son, Frederick (Craig Kirkwood), made a surprise arrival to the Bel Air mansion. He conned the butler into money after claiming he needed money to go to a school for the same profession as his dad. He also stole money from Will. Geoffrey and Frederick were able to make amends in the end. It's unclear if we'll see his son in "Bel-Air."
Vy shares a little insight into Will's father Lou, who abandoned their family when he was 5 years old. After Will is persistent in wanting to know about his father, Vy says he was a "half-assed dreamer" who always had a scheme. "Bel-Air" teases that there's much more to the story, such as the possibility that Vy, Aunt Viv, and Uncle Phil "had something to do with Lou's absence. Aside from the latter note, the plot lines up with the narrative in "Fresh Prince" thus far.
Will and Carlton finally had a heart-to-heart moment on "Bel-Air." After seeing their mom's decades-long feud erupt, the teens vowed to not let their issues escalate to that level. Carlton explains that Will's arrival was his last straw because he was under so much pressure to be "perfect" in academics and sports for Uncle Phil's campaign. To make matters worse, Will dated his ex-girlfriend Lisa. After they got candid about their feelings, the pair seem to be headed towards the friendship between Will and Carlton that "Fresh Prince" fans know and love.

"Bel-Air" Episode 9: "Can't Knock the Hustle"

Uncle Phil loses his election as a result of corruption. In "Bel-Air," Fred, Uncle Phil's Democratic opponent for district attorney, is told by Judge Carl Robertson (Dorian Harewood) that he helped bail Will out of jail and wipe his record after the fight he had in Philly. Fred planned to use that information in an all-or-nothing debate against Phil to become the sole Democratic candidate, so Phil dropped out of the election to prevent that information from becoming public. In "The Fresh Prince," Uncle Phil loses his election for superior court judge to Robertson (Sherman Hemsley), who runs a dirty campaign. Robertson ends up dying of a heart attack after Will confronts him, and Phil is eventually appointed superior court judge. It's unclear if "Bel-Air" will have that same twist.