The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz |
| Starring | Will Smith James Avery Janet Hubert-Whitten Alfonso Ribeiro Karyn Parsons Tatyana M. Ali Joseph Marcell Daphne Maxwell Reid Ross Bagley |
| Theme music composer | The Fresh Prince in association with A Touch of Jazz, Inc. |
| Opening theme | "Yo Home to Bel Air", performed by The Fresh Prince |
| Composer(s) | Quincy Jones |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 148 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Quincy Jones Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Kevin Wendle (Season 1) Winifred Hervey (Seasons 2–3) Gary H. Miller (Season 4, Episode 1–Season 5, Episode 15) Cheryl Gard (Season 5, Episodes 16-25) Jeff Pollack Will Smith (Season 6) Benny Medina |
| Producer(s) | Werner Walian Lisa Rosenthal Joel Madison Leilani Downer Joanne Curley-Kerner Joel Markowitz |
| Production location(s) | Hollywood Center Studios Hollywood, California (1990–1991) Sunset Gower Studios Hollywood, California (1991–1993) NBC Studios Burbank, California (1993–1996) |
| Camera setup | Videotape; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | The Stuffed Dog Company Quincy Jones Productions (1990-1993) (seasons 1-4) Quincy Jones/David Salzman Entertainment (1993-1996) (seasons 4-6) NBC Productions |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Original release | September 10, 1990 – May 20, 1996 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Contents
Development[edit]
Medina pitched the idea to Quincy Jones, who had just signed a TV deal with Time-Warner. Jones was impressed by the idea and arranged a meeting with NBC chief Brandon Tartikoff. Medina wanted Will Smith to portray him in the show. Smith was well known by then as his music career as The Fresh Prince had put him in the main stream radar. After Tartikoff subsequently communicated he was interested in the show, Medina tracked down Smith who, at the time, was in the East coast, and asked him to get on the first plane to the Los Angeles area for a rushed casting session as Tartikoff said he wished to make sure Smith could act before advancing the project further.
Given the tight schedule of some of the parties involved, the casting for Smith and final detailing of the show's concept took place at Jones' 57th birthday party in his home.[3][4]
Smith says that mid celebration Jones had a group of people reconfigure his furniture in the livingroom to simulate a casting room and after Tartikoff was satisfied with Smith’s performance contracts were signed on the spot to get the show started and bind Smith to the project.[4]
Less than two months later the pilot episode began taping on May 1, 1990.[5] Season 1 first aired in September 1990, and ended in May 1991. The series finale was taped on Thursday, March 21, 1996.[6][7]
The theme song "Yo Home to Bel Air" was written and performed by Smith under his stage name, The Fresh Prince. The music was composed by Quincy Jones, who is credited with Smith at the end of each episode. The music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is based on a similar chord structure.
Plot[edit]
The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street-smart teenager, West Philadelphia "born and raised". While playing street basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of people, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his aunt and uncle in the opulent neighborhood of Bel Air, Los Angeles.Will's working-class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper-class world of the Banks family – Will's uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will's cousins: Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley.
The premise is loosely based on the real-life story of the show's producer Benny Medina.[8]
Cast and characters[edit]
Main[edit]
Recurring[edit]
Episodes[edit]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Nielsen ratings[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Rank | Rating | ||||
| 1 | 25 | September 10, 1990 | May 6, 1991 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 2 | 24 | September 9, 1991 | May 4, 1992 | 22 | 14.3[A] | ||
| 3 | 24 | September 14, 1992 | May 10, 1993 | 16 | 14.6[B] | ||
| 4 | 26 | September 20, 1993 | May 23, 1994 | 21 | 13.7[C] | ||
| 5 | 25 | September 19, 1994 | May 15, 1995 | N/A | N/A | ||
| 6 | 24 | September 18, 1995 | May 20, 1996 | N/A | N/A | ||
Crossovers and other appearances[edit]
During the fall 1991–1992 season, NBC gained two hit television shows to anchor their Monday night lineup (Blossom aired immediately after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air). To gain popularity between the two shows, Will Smith appeared in the Blossom episode "I'm with the Band" as himself under his rap stage name, The Fresh Prince. That same season, Karyn Parsons appeared in the Blossom episode "Wake Up Little Suzy" as Hilary Banks. Parsons also appeared in the Patti LaBelle sitcom Out All Night as Hilary.In the House and Fresh Prince were both executive-produced by Winifred Hervey, David Salzman and Quincy Jones. During the second season's first episode, Alfonso Ribeiro and Tatyana Ali appeared as their Fresh Prince characters (Carlton and Ashley Banks) in the crossover episode "Dog Catchers". Later that season, James Avery (Phillip Banks) appeared as a mediator in the episode "Love on a One-Way Street".
In the Season 4 episode "My Pest Friend's Wedding", James Avery and Daphne Maxwell Reid (Vivian Banks) guest starred as Dr. Maxwell Stanton's parents (Stanton was played by Ribeiro). Both Avery and Reid portrayed the parents of Ribeiro's Fresh Prince character. Joseph Marcell, who played the wisecracking Geoffrey Butler on Fresh Prince, appeared as an officiating minister in the same episode.
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