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But within that family, no two characters were entirely alike, even if many of their circumstances were similar (and privileged). The show started when Smith’s self-titled character went to live with his well-off aunt and uncle in California, which already showcased a Black family in a unique way. Black culture was not depicted as a monolith - nor a stereotype

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“It felt like it was a show - it wasn’t a TV show, it was a show,” Ribeiro said. Smith himself would grab a microphone and get everyone’s hands in the air, as well.

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To keep the energy up for all involved, there was a basket on set full of tambourines, sticks and other items that could be used to hype up the crowd. The vibe extended to the live studio audience, too, who “would come to the taping like they were going to a club,” Smith recalled. The party vibe was something that brought everyone together and got them pumped to perform, but they also brought it down with inspiration speeches at times, too. “You’d just start following like the Piped Piper,” said Parsons. Saying she was so nervous during preparation and production for the pilot that she was “praying for an earthquake,” she added that what ended up making her more nervous on the show’s tape night was Smith silently repeating her lines back to her on-set, something he had been doing during rehearsals.

When asked for early memories of the show, it was the first thing Karyn Parsons, who played Will’s cousin Hilary Banks, called out. Here are the top 7 things learned from HBO Max’s “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” reunion: Smith admits to being a line-mimickerĪ few years ago a popular thread on Reddit discussed Smith’s apparent mouthing of other performers’ dialogue in scenes in the hit 1990s sitcom. “Yes it’s fun to watch, but the idea of it translates to so many different places,” said Will Smith. You were a puppet who was told what to do, ‘Say this line, move over here.'”īut by having a Black family on-screen, millions of audience members around the world tuned in and saw themselves reflected - or tuned in and saw a Black family that was just like their own family.

“As an actor, you never had a voice - you never had a voice in the room.

“The idea that we, as a Black show on TV - one of three at the time - there weren’t really us in the writers’ room,” said Alfonso Ribeiro.