Back in the ’90s, Will Smith once looked at his kingdom because he was finally there, and sat on his throne as the Prince of Bel Air. Cut to the roaring 2020s and we’re all sitting on our thrones (well, maybe just the porcelain thrones, after eating burritos)...in lockdown.
Continuing his streak as the best Instagram user in the universe, Smith recently became transparent, showing off his pandemic body. You know, the thing that most of us can relate to—gaining weight during the COVID-19 lockdown, commonly known as the Quarantine 15. It was a peak “Celebrities! They’re Just Like Us!” gossip magazine moment.
“I’m gonna be real wit’ y’all—I’m in the worst shape of my life,” Smith wrote in the caption. Well, as you know, Smith doesn’t do anything just because—on Tuesday, we realized this pic was part of a larger campaign to promote a new show on YouTube! In a six-part unscripted series, the 52-year-old actor-rapper will be taking us along on his fitness journey.
This announcement is actually part of YouTube’s big announcement, introducing us to its new slate of content, including an intimate docuseries with Alicia Keys celebrating the 20th anniversary of her debut album Songs in A Minor.
From the press release sent to The Root:
Best Shape of My Life [working title] - Premieres next year
This new six-part fitness unscripted series from Westbrook Media and YouTube Originals is the story of Will Smith, looking up one day to find himself in middle age, rebuilding his body into the best shape of his life and getting his groove back along the way. This is the fun, funny, inspirational, wildly adventurous, and deeply entertaining story of Smith challenging himself to improve every aspect of his fitness, from agility to power to recovery and more, teaming up with guests including pro athletes, scientists and experts, and top YouTube creators. The series is being directed and show run by Dexton Deboree, the visionary creative behind Unbanned and forthcoming Promiseland. This project marks Will Smith’s second project with YouTube Originals. In his first, “Will Smith: The Jump,” he accepted the ultimate challenge to bungee jump from a helicopter over the Grand Canyon on his 50th birthday for charity in 2018, resulting in nearly 18M views in the first 48 hours.
Noted [working title] - Premieres This Summer
While ramping up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Songs in A Minor and heading into the studio to record her 8th and most personal record to date, GRAMMY Award-winning singer-songwriter, producer, and author Alicia Keys invites her fans to peer into her world like never before. In partnership with Westbrook Media, Keys serves up “Noted,” a four-part, intimate performance docuseries comprising breathtaking visual displays of introspection. Informed by life defining memories and meaningful conversations with loved ones, Alicia will bring you into a whole new experience combining the documentary and performance worlds in a way you’ve never quite before seen.
Other content to look forward to include a docu-series produced by Migos called Ice Cold (premiering this summer), a new special called Recipe for Change (premiering June 16) honoring Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and executive produced by LeBron James’ Springhill Company, and a series documenting the impact race and socioeconomic status has on public health called Barbershop Medicine (premiering this summer).
We may not know which body this summer is getting (spoiler alert: the one we want to give it!), but we do know we have a lot of content to get into on YouTube.