‘Bel-Air’ Adds Five To Season 2 Cast Of Peacock Reboot

Denise Petski
·4 min read
2

EXCLUSIVE: Peacock has rounded out the recurring cast for Season 2 of Bel-Air with newcomer Al-Shabazz Jabateh (Prime Day Show), Nicholas Duvernay (Purple Hearts), Diandra Lyle (Secrets of Sulphur Springs), Justin Cornwell (The Umbrella Academy) and Reno Wilson (Good Girls).

Bel-Air, based on Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film that reenvisions the 1990s Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air as a drama, hails from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television, part of Universal Studio Group. In its first season, it became Peacock’s most streamed original series.

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Set in modern-day America, Bel-Air follows Will’s (Jabari Banks) complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. As these two worlds collide, Will reckons with the power of second chances while navigating the conflicts, emotions, and biases of a world far different from the only one he’s ever known.

Jabateh will play Hudson, Duvernay will portray Drew, Wilson will play James Lewis, Lyle will portray Erika Baker and Cornwell will play Lamarcus Alton.

Season two picks up with Will at a crossroads as a new figure comes into his life who challenges what he’s learned in Bel-Air and competes for control of his influence. He juggles this while navigating his home life with the Banks family and trying to rebuild the trust that was broken at the end of last season. We’ll see Will and Carlton’s brotherhood start to evolve as they grow closer, but still challenge each other about their differences. We’ll also see Hilary evolve as she becomes more of a boss in her influencer world and how that spills over into her relationship with Jazz, and also highlight the relatable struggles around Viv and Phil balancing marriage and family while trying to forge their own career paths and reconnect to the things that are important to them.

In addition to Banks, the series regular cast includes Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks; Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks; Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks; Coco Jones as Hilary Banks; Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks; Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey; Jordan L. Jones as Jazz and Simone Joy Jones as Lisa.

As previously announced Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley in the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, will appear in season 2 as Ms. Hughes, a teacher at Bel-Air Academy who mentors Ashley (Akira Akbar).  Also previously announced was a Season 2 cameo from Grammy nominated recording artist Saweetie, along with recurring cast Brooklyn McLinn (Cloak & Dagger, Blackish), Jazlyn Lopez Martin (This Is Us, All American: Homecoming) and Riele Downs (Darby and The Dead, Henry Danger).

Banks Waddles, who also serves as showrunner and writer, executive produces with Morgan Cooper, Anthony Sparks, Malcolm Spellman, Will Smith, Terence Carter, James Lassiter, Miguel Melendez, Benny Medina, Quincy Jones, Andy & Susan Borowitz, TJ Brady & Rasheed Newson.

Season 2 of Bel-Air premieres on February 23 with new episodes every Thursday.

Jabateh, who also can be seen in the final season of FX’s Snowfall, is repped by manager Myles Williams and Jayson Kinslow at MMV Agency.

Duvernay, whose recent credits include Netflix’s Purple Hearts and recurring roles on CW’s The Winchesters, BET’s Assisted Living and ABC’s The Rookie, will soon be seen in feature film Perfect Addiction. He’s repped by A3 Artists Agency, Gravity Hill Agency (Southeast), and Moxie Artists Management.

Lyle is a series regular on Emmy-nominated Secrets of Sulphur Springs, which is entering its third season on Disney Channel. She previously recurred on American Woman and NCIS and also was a series regular on single-camera comedy Beauty and the Baller. Lyle is repped by BRS/Gage and Impact Artists Group.

Wilson is maybe best known for his role as Officer Carl McMillan opposite Melissa McCarthy and Billy Gardell on CBS’ Mike and Molly. His other television credits include Heist, Blind Justice and Showtime’s The Hoop Life. Wilson is repped by A3 Artists Agency and More/Medavoy Management.

Cornwell most recently appeared on The Umbrella Academy and also starred in NBC’s The InBetween. He’s repped by Anonymous Content and UTA.

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