Expand / Collapse search
☰

'Bel Air,' the reboot of 'The Fresh Prince,' puts dramatic spin on 'Carlton'

By
Updated  February 14, 2022 9:03am EST
Entertainment
FOX 5 NY

Olly Sholotan is new Carlton in Bel Air

Actor Olly Sholotan puts a dramatic spin on Carlton Banks in the new series, Bel Air.

NEW YORK - Now, this is a story all about how... 

The ‘Fresh Prince' is remixed and re-imagined in the new dramatic series 'Bel-Air’ which starts streaming on Peacock Sunday night after the Super Bowl.

Alfonso Ribeiro made us laugh and learn life lessons as Carlton Banks in the original ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,’ which premiered over 31 years ago, but now Olly Sholotan is taking a more serious iteration of Carlton.

'Bel-Air' came to be after ‘Fresh Prince’ fan and director Morgan Cooper made a concept trailer for what the ‘Fresh Prince’ would look like as a drama. The trailer went viral online, eventually making its way to Will Smith. Will loved it, and teamed up with Cooper to bring the series to life under his Westbrook production company.

Get breaking news alerts in the free FOX5NY News app!  |  Sign up for FOX 5 email newsletters

The series is filled with all of your favorite characters like DJ Jazzy Jeff now simply: ‘Jazz’ (Jordan l. Jones) and Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes), and a young Will played by Jabari Banks.

Sholotan talked about taking on the iconic role of Carlton with a dramatic twist. He said the fan trailer blew him away.

"And then months later, it gets announced that Will Smith is turning it into a show with Westbrook. And I emailed my manager and I was like, "Hey, I want to get seen for this. Like, I don't care who, you know, even if it's just someone in the background."

"And then months later, I got an audition for Carlton and I remember the moment I read the script, I was like that I can do that. I love the direction that they're going with this character."

RELATED: Will Smith goes undercover as Lyft driver in Miami

And that direction was much different from the original.

"What I think is so beautiful about this version is it explores different facets to the characters, right? And in the original ‘Fresh Prince,’ you know, a lot of Carlton struggles were played for laughs. But in this one, we do sort of challenge the idea of what happens when you come from a world of privilege, but don't see yourself in the black skin that you exist in, in America. And how does that impact the way you see yourself in your own race and your other people?" said Sholotan.

RELATED: 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' to be rebooted as a drama

And Sholotan can act, sing (proof from his latest single Lie to Me.) 

But is he a triple threat? Can he pull off the Carlton dance? You’ll have to watch to find out. Bel-Air streams on Peacock Sunday night after the Super Bowl.