In a welcomed bit of news during these trying times, Will Smith has announced that the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special will start streaming tonight on HBO Max. The special wasn’t set to drop until Thursday, but Smith says (jokes?) that he pulled some strings and got the streaming service to bump up the date.
“Because I know y’all have waited long enough, I told @hbomax to give the people what they want and drop the #FreshPrinceReunion early!” Smith wrote on Instagram. “See you tonite at 5pm PT/8pm ET!!”
Along with his announcement, Smith included a promo video for the reunion special, which you can see below:
Last week, HBO Max released the official trailer, and the whole crew was back: Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey), Daphne Maxwell Reid (the second Aunt Viv), Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), and DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz). In a surprising move for anyone who’s familiar with their Fresh Prince history, the original Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert, also appears in the special by having a heart-to-heart conversation with Smith. It was the first time the two have spoken in over 27 years after Hubert left the show, but it’s an end to the bad blood between her and Smith. So it’ll be interesting to see how that resolves.
Unfortunately, James Avery, the larger than life Uncle Phil, will not be in the special after passing away in 2013. But his presence is felt throughout the special and the trailer that features Smith reminiscing about filming the classic “How come he don’t want me, man?” scene with Avery. “I’d fall into his arms at the end of the scene and he’s holding me and the shot pans off, and he whispered in my ear, ‘Now that’s acting,'” Smith said.
(Via Will Smith on Instagram)
