Ron Tom/NBCU Photo Bank(LOS ANGELES) — This is a story all about how The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast reunited for the sitcom’s 30th anniversary.
Will Smith shared photos of the one-time reunion special for HBO Max, which was recorded Thursday, exactly 30 years after the show’s September 10, 1990 premiere.
The reunion special, described as “a funny and heartfelt night full of music, dancing, and more special surprise guests,” is set to air around Thanksgiving, according to HBO Max.
The first photo, staged on a set recreating the Bank’s home, features Smith, 51, with the entire cast of series regulars: Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley; Karyn Parsons, who played Hilary; Joseph Marcell, who played Geoffrey, the family’s butler’ Daphne Maxwell Reid, aka Aunt Viv; and Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton. Also there is Smith’s rap partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff.
The one person missing, of course, is Uncle Phil himself, James Avery, who died in 2013 at the age of 68.
A second photo features Smith in what appears to be a lively chat with Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv. Hubert played the character for the first three seasons before Reid took over.
HBO Max says the the meeting is the first time Smith and Hubert spoke directly to one another in 27 years, sitting down for what’s described as “a candid conversation.” The two have famously been at odds since Hubert’s departure from the show.
The Fresh Prince featured Smith playing a fictionalized version of himself, a teen from West Philadelphia sent to live with his rich Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv in their Bel Air, California mansion with their children — Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley. It ran for six seasons and airing 148 episodes before it ended in 1996.
No word yet on when the reunion special will air on HBO Max.
By Carson Blackwelder
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