The year 2020 has flipped and turned our lives upside down—specifically, our sense of time. How do I know this? Well, the general shock of “OMG we’re getting old!” that accompanies a story about a nostalgic piece of art, event, or famous person has been exacerbated.
Celebrating 30 years, Westbrook Media has announced The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion, which will be an unscripted special reminiscing on the series as a whole as well as the social impact it had. Thirty years?! Wow, it’s been that long?! Then again, 2020 has also been 30 years, so what do I even know anymore?
The reunion will tape on the actual 30th anniversary of the series’ premiere in 1990, Sept. 10.
Here’s the detailed scoop, from a press release sent to The Root:
Bringing the Banks family back together, series star Will Smith will be joined by series regulars Tatyana Ali, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Daphne Maxwell Reid and Alfonso Ribeiro as well as the recurring DJ Jazzy Jeff, for a funny and heartfelt night full of music, dancing, and special surprise guests, in honor of the series that ran for six seasons and 148 episodes.
Marcus Raboy (Laugh Aid, Whitney Cummings: Can I Touch It?) will direct the special, which will be executive produced by Rikki Hughes, who will serve as showrunner, as well as Miguel Melendez, Lukas Kaiser, and Brad Haugen for Westbrook Media.
From the list, it looks like all of the usual suspects will be in the building, though, of course, we will miss the presence of the late James Avery. We’re sure the cast has a very heartfelt tribute for him in the works, though.
I’d be remiss to not mention the obvious here—obviously, only light-skinned Aunt Viv (Reid) will be joining the special. Still, it would be peak 2020 if Janet Hubert made a surprise appearance. Seriously, imagine Hubert entering the building doing the choreography from her epic dance sequence.
Plus, the timing is perfect business-wise as Smith has a new project to promote. We recently reported the fact that the rapper-turned-actor is producing a drama reboot of the popular sitcom.
I’m looking forward to catching up with the Banks family! The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion special will air exclusively on HBO Max (where you can already watch the series on-demand) around Thanksgiving.