Bel-Air Season 2 - Everything You Need To Know

Streaming service Peacock has produced several original series since its arrival on the digital content scene, with a lineup that includes shows like "Girls5eva," "One of Us Is Lying," and "Rutherford Falls."

Among these, Peacock's most successful exclusive series is "Bel-Air, according to Deadline. The show originated with Morgan Cooper, who first rose to fame with a viral video that imagines the 90s sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" as a drama. The video's popularity eventually netted him a meeting with Will Smith, who famously portrayed the original version of the iconic Fresh Prince.

That meeting led to the creation of "Bel-Air," which features new versions of the principal characters from the classic sitcom. Smith and Cooper, meanwhile, serve as executive producers, and "The 100," "Narcos," and "The Chi" writers and frequent collaborators Rasheed Newson and TJ Brady share co-showrunner duties. The show's first season finale aired on March 31, 2022, and Season 2 was already green-lit from the get-go, meaning that the show's continuation was always a sure thing. Here's everything we know about the upcoming second season so far.

Season 1 of "Bel-Air" premiered on February 13, 2022, and the show concluded its initial 10 episode run on March 31, 2022. Fortunately for fans of the series, they won't have to wait very long at all to see what happens next to characters like Will, Hilary, Carlton, and Geoffrey. The first three episodes of "Bel-Air" Season 2 will premiere on Peacock on February 23, 2023 (via IndieWire). After that, the following seven episodes will hit the streamer on a weekly basis.

The plot of "Bel-Air" Season 2 is being kept largely under wraps, but we do have an idea of certain storylines that will assuredly factor into the show's next chapter. Some relationship drama might be on the horizon for Hilary and Jazz, for instance, as Coco Jones told Distractify that the couple will experience some issues in Season 2. "There is some drama [in Hilary and Jazz's relationship]. I don't want to give it away. Because I was shook for sure. But I will say that someone from Hilary's past comes into play, and it kind of throws everything off," the actress said.

Furthermore, Jones revealed that there will be some family tensions coming up as well. "There definitely will be some more push and pull between Hilary and Viv," Jones said. "And then also some surprising instances where Hilary is kind of leading in the advice and teaching her mom things." 

Geoffrey, meanwhile, will most likely return to the Banks' home after he was fired in Season 1. And, based on where Season 1 of "Bel-Air" left off, viewers might also see Will find a job and Ashley in a relationship.

Virtually the entire main cast of "Bel-Air" is expected to return for its second season, including Jabari Banks as Will Smith, Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks, Coco Jones as Hilary Banks, and Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks. Akira Akbar (Ashley Banks), Cassandra Freeman (Vivian Banks), Jordan L. Jones (Jazz), Simone Joy Jones (Lisa), and Jimmy Akingbola (Geoffrey) are all likewise slated to return. Marlon Wayans, who portrays Will's biological father Lou, may also be back for the show's second season, per an interview with Deadline, as will a briefly appearing star of the original "Fresh Prince": Tatyana Ali will be back as junior high English teacher Mrs. Hughes (via TVLine).

As for new characters, Variety reports that Brooklyn McLinn of "Cloak and Dagger" will play basketball scout Doc Hightower, Jazlyn Martin of "This Is Us" will play Jackie, and Riele Downs of "Darby and the Dead" will play Yazmin. Plus, rapper Saweetie will appear briefly as herself.

Director Morgan Cooper told Philly Voice that he was excited for the upcoming season and what the actors are going to show us all. "Just know that it's full of twists and turns," he said. "It's gonna be a wild ride and the potential of this show is immense and a big part of that is because of how incredible this cast is. They can do anything we throw at them. They're ready to do it. It's just the beginning, so stay tuned."

"Bel-Air," the dramatic reimagining of the sitcom "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," boasts as much drama behind the scenes as it does on screen. As of October 2022, "Bel-Air" has employed more showrunners — five in all — than it has produced seasons of content. According to Variety, initial showrunner Chris Collins departed "Bel-Air" months before Season 1 hit Peacock. Then Diane Houston took over day-to-day production, and then she left and was replaced by writer-producer duo T.J. Brady and Rasheed Newson. Deadline reported in May 2022 that Brady and Newson would look after "Bel-Air" Season 2, but by October 2022, they'd departed the production entirely over artistic differences. They'll still be credited executive producers, while Season 1 writer and co-executive producer Carla Banks-Waddles (who previously wrote for "Good Girls" and "That's So Raven") will step into the role of sole showrunner for "Bel-Air" Season 2.

Peacock released the first real trailer for "Bel-Air" Season 2 on January 19, 2023, which lightly hints at where the plot might be headed in Season 2. It's apparent that Will Smith has a lot on his mind — he's still coping with a Season 1 revelation, that his father didn't abandon him, but was actually in prison. He's still seeking guidance from fired Banks staffer Geoffrey, who advises Will that "A real man doesn't avoid hard things. He faces what scares him." By that logic, and via a rapidly fired off assortment of clips, Will is apparently scared of a lot of things. He doubles down on pursuing basketball, starring on the Bel-Air school team where he's scouted for the pros and approached by an agent while also making a lot of money hustling playground games — a likely dangerous option.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Banks family are preoccupied with work issues, relationship problems, and identity concerns, particularly Carlton, so tired of trying to fit in and win favor at his prep school that he winds up in a brutal fist-fight. The trailer also promises the presence of a familiar face: Tatyana Ali, Ashley on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," pops up as an inspiring teacher who tells her "Bel-Air" Ashley successor, "Don't anyone try to change you."

Will Smith served as an executive producer on Season 1 of "Bel-Air," and Deadline has confirmed he's staying on for Season 2 as well. Any project in which Smith was involved at the time of the infamous 2022 Oscars slap incident was, notoriously, put in jeopardy, as the actor was subject to considerable backlash. For example, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix put Smith's "Fast and Loose" on the back burner after the incident in question. Additionally, Smith's sequel to "Bright," also for Netflix, was canceled not long after the Oscars drama (via Esquire), but there has been no official word on whether or not this decision was directly related to the slap. 

"Bel-Air" fans can rest assured that Smith isn't going anywhere, which makes sense given that his run on the original incarnation of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" seems to be so near and dear to his heart.

Prior to the debut of "Bel-Air" Season 2, the drama's home of Peacock announced that the gritty reimagining of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" was the streaming service's highest rated original series to date, according to TVLine. No actual viewing stats were made public, but the show apparently brought in more new subscribers and generated more time spent on Peacock than any other show. 

It's looking more and more like "Bel-Air" is the signature show for the still-emerging Peacock, and the streamer wants to be in business with the series for as long as possible. In March 2023, with Season 2 still unfolding in the form of weekly uploaded episodes, Peacock felt strongly enough about the numbers and potential for "Bel-Air" that it ordered a Season 3 renewal. According to Variety, this is the first time Peacock has had to make a decision about the show's future, as it ambitiously ordered two seasons when it picked up the show back in 2020. No word yet on when exactly Season 3 will debut — only that it's virtually guaranteed to happen at some point.

Prospective new viewers or existing fans interested in catching up "Bel-Air" Season 1 before its second season begins airing can do so on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock, where the show remains an exclusive, original series. Of course, Season 2 will stream exclusively on Peacock as well upon its eventual 2023 release.

Meanwhile, those who might want to watch old episodes of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" inspired by the current incarnation of "Bel-Air" entering into the present-day zeitgeist have a few possible options. Streaming service HBO Max currently hosts all six seasons of "The Fresh Prince," in addition to an hour-plus reunion special, making this arguably the most straightforward method for streaming episodes of the classic sitcom. Viewers uninterested in an HBO Max subscription, however, can simply purchase individual episodes or seasons on most major digital video marketplaces like iTunes.