The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air - wikipedia The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air Created by Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Starring Will Smith James Avery Janet Hubert - Whitten Alfonso Ribeiro Karyn Parsons Tatyana M. Ali Joseph Marcell Daphne Maxwell Reid Ross Bagley Theme music composer The Fresh Prince in association with A Touch of Jazz, Inc. Opening theme `` Yo Home to Bel Air '', performed by The Fresh Prince Composer ( s ) Quincy Jones Country of origin United States Original language ( s ) English No. of seasons 6 No. of episodes 148 ( list of episodes ) Production Executive producer ( s ) Quincy Jones Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Kevin Wendle ( Season 1 ) Winifred Hervey ( Seasons 2 -- 3 ) Gary H. Miller ( Season 4 -- 5 ) Cheryl Gard ( Mid-Late Season 5 ) Jeff Pollack Will Smith ( Season 6 ) Benny Medina Producer ( s ) Werner Walian Lisa Rosenthal Joel Madison Leilani Downer Joanne Curley - Kerner Joel Markowitz Production location ( s ) Hollywood Center Studios Hollywood, California ( 1990 -- 1991 ) Sunset Gower Studios Hollywood, California ( 1991 -- 1993 ) NBC Studios Burbank, California ( 1993 -- 1996 ) Camera setup Videotape ; Multi-camera Running time 23 minutes Production company ( s ) The Stuffed Dog Company Quincy Jones Productions ( 1990 - 1993 ) ( seasons 1 -- 3 ) Quincy Jones / David Salzman Entertainment ( 1993 - 1996 ) ( seasons 4 -- 6 ) NBC Productions Distributor Warner Bros. Television Distribution Release Original network NBC Picture format 480i ( SDTV ) Original release September 10, 1990 ( 1990 - 09 - 10 ) -- May 20, 1996 ( 1996 - 05 - 20 ) External links Website The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air is an American sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street - smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his wealthy aunt and uncle in their Bel Air mansion after getting into a fight in his home town. In the series, his lifestyle often clashes with the lifestyle of his relatives in Bel Air. The series ran for six seasons and aired 148 episodes. Contents 1 Development 2 Plot 3 Cast and characters 3.1 Main 3.2 Recurring 4 Episodes 5 Crossovers and other appearances 6 Syndication 7 Home media 8 Awards and nominations 9 Possible reboot 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links Development The characters of The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air. From top left : Hilary Banks, Geoffrey, Vivian Banks, Carlton Banks. From bottom left : Ashley Banks, Philip Banks, Will Smith. In December 1989, NBC approached Will Smith, a popular rapper during the late 1980s. The pilot episode began taping on May 1, 1990. Season 1 first aired in September 1990, and ended in May 1991. The series finale was taped on Thursday, March 21, 1996. The theme song `` Yo Home to Bel Air '' was written and performed by Smith under his stage name, The Fresh Prince. The music was composed by Quincy Jones, who is credited with Smith at the end of each episode. The music often used to bridge scenes together during the show is based on a similar chord structure. Plot The theme song and opening sequence set the premise of the show. Will Smith is a street - smart teenager, West Philadelphia `` born and raised ''. While playing street basketball, Will misses a shot and the ball hits a group of people, causing a confrontation that frightens his mother, who sends him to live with his aunt and uncle in the opulent neighborhood of Bel Air, Los Angeles. Will 's working - class background ends up clashing in various humorous ways with the upper - class world of the Banks family -- Will 's uncle Phil and aunt Vivian and their children, Will 's cousins : Hilary, Carlton, and Ashley. The premise is loosely based on the real - life story of the show 's producer Benny Medina. Cast and characters Main article : List of The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air characters Main Actor / actress Character Seasons 5 6 Will Smith Will Smith Main James Avery Philip Banks Main Janet Hubert - Whitten Vivian Banks Main Daphne Maxwell Reid Main Alfonso Ribeiro Carlton Banks Main Karyn Parsons Hilary Banks Main Tatyana M. Ali Ashley Banks Main Joseph Marcell Geoffrey Butler Main Ross Bagley Nicholas `` Nicky '' Banks Main Recurring Actor / actress Character Seasons 5 6 DJ Jazzy Jeff Jazz Recurring Vernee Watson - Johnson Viola `` Vy '' Smith Recurring Michael Weiner Kellogg Lieberbaum Recurring Lisa Fuller Toni Recurring Jenifer Lewis Helen Smith Recurring Charlayne Woodard Janice Smith Recurring Perry Moore Tyriq `` Ty '' Johnson Recurring Brian Stokes Mitchell Trevor Collins - Newsworthy Recurring Tyra Banks Jacqueline `` Jackie '' Ames Recurring Nia Long Beullah `` Lisa '' Wilkes Recurring Episodes Main article : List of The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air episodes Season Episodes Originally aired Nielsen ratings First aired Last aired Rank Rating 25 September 10, 1990 ( 1990 - 09 - 10 ) May 6, 1991 ( 1991 - 05 - 06 ) N / A N / A 24 September 9, 1991 ( 1991 - 09 - 09 ) May 4, 1992 ( 1992 - 05 - 04 ) 22 14.3 24 September 14, 1992 ( 1992 - 09 - 14 ) May 10, 1993 ( 1993 - 05 - 10 ) 16 14.6 26 September 20, 1993 ( 1993 - 09 - 20 ) May 23, 1994 ( 1994 - 05 - 23 ) 21 13.7 5 25 September 19, 1994 ( 1994 - 09 - 19 ) May 15, 1995 ( 1995 - 05 - 15 ) N / A N / A 6 24 September 18, 1995 ( 1995 - 09 - 18 ) May 20, 1996 ( 1996 - 05 - 20 ) N / A N / A Crossovers and other appearances During the fall 1991 -- 1992 season, NBC gained two hit television shows to anchor their Monday night lineup ( Blossom aired immediately after The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air ). To gain popularity between the two shows, Will Smith appeared in the Blossom episode `` I 'm with the Band '' as himself under his rap stage name, The Fresh Prince. That same season, Karyn Parsons appeared in the Blossom episode `` Wake Up Little Suzy '' as Hilary Banks. Parsons also appeared in the Patti LaBelle sitcom Out All Night as Hilary. In the House and Fresh Prince were both executive - produced by Winifred Hervey, David Salzman and Quincy Jones. During the second season 's first episode, Alfonso Ribeiro and Tatyana Ali appeared as their Fresh Prince characters ( Carlton and Ashley Banks ) in the crossover episode `` Dog Catchers ''. Later that season, James Avery ( Phillip Banks ) appeared as a mediator in the episode `` Love on a One - Way Street ''. In the Season 4 episode `` My Pest Friend 's Wedding '', James Avery and Daphne Maxwell Reid ( Vivian Banks ) guest starred as Dr. Maxwell Stanton 's parents ( Stanton was played by Ribeiro ). Both Avery and Reid portrayed the parents of Ribeiro 's Fresh Prince character. Joseph Marcell, who played the wisecracking Geoffrey Butler on Fresh Prince, appeared as an officiating minister in the same episode. Syndication The series was produced by NBC Productions in association with the Stuffed Dog Company and Quincy Jones Entertainment ( later Quincy Jones - David Salzman Entertainment in 1993 ). After the show was released to syndication in 1994, the series was distributed by Warner Bros. Television, which continues to distribute the show worldwide ( although NBCUniversal does own the series ' copyright ). WGN America was the first cable channel to acquire the series in 1997 and TBS acquired the series a year later, in 1998 ; both channels carried the series until the fall of 2003, though TBS reacquired the series in 2007. The theme song was shown in the original TBS run, but after TBS re-acquired Fresh Prince in 2007, the opening credits were truncated and the theme song was removed and replaced with the instrumental version used as the show 's closing theme. These versions also re-added portions of scenes cut from the original syndicated prints for some episodes, particularly those from Seasons 3 to 6. TBS continued to air the series up until September 2014, when Viacom Media Networks reaquired the rights to the series. Reruns also aired on WPIX - TV back to back weeknights at 6 pm and6 : 30 pm EST from 1994 until 2000, on weekdays 5 pm from 2000 to 2005, and sometimes on weekends, until 2007. The series was still rerunning on The WB 's affiliation WPIX - TV until 2006. The series aired on Nick at Nite, from 2006 to 2009 and moved to Disney XD. In July 2009, Disney XD acquired the rights to the series, though it was quickly moved from prime time to late night, and only episodes from Seasons 1 to 3 are aired, mainly because those episodes are more appropriate for young viewers as they do not contain as many mature themes, sexual content and strong language as later episodes. In August 2010, Disney XD stopped airing the show. ABC Family ( now called Freeform ) acquired the series in September 2008, though airing all 148 episodes ; originally airing exclusively on Saturday nights, the series was added to ABC Family 's weekday line up in late 2009. On September 29, 2014, Disney / ABC 's rights to the show expired. Viacom Media Networks got the series back. In October 2014, Viacom Media Networks also gave the series to BET, and it would also air on Centric. It was previously aired on MTV 's retro block. The series is also re-aired on VH1. On November 2, 2015, the series started airing on the Family Channel in Canada. On January 1, 2017, the series was added to Netflix in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 2014, Fresh Prince of Bel - Air started airing again in Nickelodeon 's block night channel, Nick at Nite. In 2017, the series began from the beginning on the 5 * channel in the UK. MeTV will start airing the show in September 2018. Home Media Warner Home Video has released the complete series, seasons 1 to 6, on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 1 to 4 have been released in Regions 2 and 4. Seasons 5 to 6 have been released in Region 2 in Germany, and in the complete series boxset in the United Kingdom. DVD name Ep # Release dates Region 1 Region 2 Region 4 The Complete First Season 25 February 8, 2005 February 21, 2005 April 13, 2005 The Complete Second Season 24 October 11, 2005 November 21, 2005 March 1, 2006 The Complete Third Season 24 February 14, 2006 June 26, 2006 August 9, 2006 The Complete Fourth Season 26 August 8, 2006 January 22, 2007 December 6, 2006 The Complete Fifth Season 25 May 11, 2010 June 18, 2010 2018 The Complete Sixth & Final Season 24 April 19, 2011 May 6, 2011 2018 The Complete Series 148 April 12, 2011 Awards and nominations Awards Outcome Recipient ( s ) Year ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards : Top TV Series Won Quincy Jones Will Smith DJ Jazzy Jeff 1994 Emmy Awards : Outstanding Individual Achievement in Lighting Direction for a Comedy Series Nominated Art Busch Golden Globe Awards : Best Performance by an Actor in a TV - Series -- Comedy / Musical Nominated Will Smith 1994 Best Performance by an Actor in a TV - Series -- Comedy / Musical Nominated Will Smith 1993 Image Award : Outstanding Comedy Series Nominated 1997 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Won Alfonso Ribeiro Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated Will Smith 1997 Outstanding Youth Actor / Actress Won Tatyana M. Ali 1997 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated Janet Hubert - Whitten 1991 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated Nia Long Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated Daphne Maxwell Reid Kids ' Choice Awards : Favorite Television Actor Nominated Will Smith Favorite Television Show Nominated Favorite TV Actress Won Tatyana M. Ali NCLR Bravo Awards : Outstanding Television Series Actor in a Crossover Role Nominated Alfonso Ribeiro TP de Oro : Best Foreign Series ( Mejor Serie Extranjera ) Nominated Best Foreign Series ( Mejor Serie Extranjera ) Won 1994 Teen Choice Awards : Choice TV Show : Throwback Nominated 2017 Choice TV Show : Throwback Pending 2018 TV Land Awards : Best Broadcast Butler Nominated Joseph Marcell Favorite `` Fish Out of Water '' Nominated Will Smith Young Artist Awards : Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten -- Television Won Ross Bagley Best Performance by an Actor Under Ten in a TV Series Won Ross Bagley 1995 Best Youth Comedienne Nominated Tatyana M. Ali 1994 Best Young Actor Guest Starring in a Television Series Nominated Larenz Tate 1993 Best Young Actor Guest Starring or Recurring Role in a TV Series Nominated Tevin Campbell Best New Family Television Comedy Series Won 1991 YoungStar Award : Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy TV Series Won Tatyana M. Ali 1997 Possible reboot On August 13, 2015, it was reported that a reboot of the show was in development by Overbrook Entertainment, with Will Smith serving as a producer. In August 2016, during a promotional interview with the E ! television network, for his then upcoming film Suicide Squad, Smith denied that a reboot was in development, saying that it would happen ``... pretty close to when Hell freezes over. '' Notes Jump up ^ Tied with Empty Nest Jump up ^ Tied with Hangin ' with Mr. Cooper and The Jackie Thomas Show Jump up ^ Tied with Dave 's World References Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air ''. TV.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Jump up ^ Coker, Cheo Hodari ( May 20, 1996 ). `` Good Night, ' Prince ' ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Jump up ^ Rohter, Larry ( September 17, 1990 ). `` ' Fresh Prince of Bel Air ' Puts Rap in Mainstream ''. The New York Times. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Jump up ^ Wolf, Matt ( February 11, 1991 ). `` ' Fresh Prince ' makes Marcell changed man ''. Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. Retrieved January 2, 2014. Jump up ^ Cerone, Daniel. `` Rap 's Prince Soon to Be TV Royalty ? ''. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 September 2014. Jump up ^ `` The Hollywood Minute ''. CNN. Cable News Network Inc. Retrieved 20 September 2014. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2007 - 10 - 25. Retrieved 2007 - 10 - 23. Jump up ^ Brooks, Tim ; Marsh, Earle ( 2007 ). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946 - Present ( Ninth Edition ). Ballantine Books. p. 1693. ISBN 978 - 0 - 345 - 49773 - 4. Jump up ^ citation needed Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air DVD news : Announcement for The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air - The Complete 6th Season ''. TVShowsOnDVD.com. May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on January 15, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The : The Complete First Season DVD @ DVD Empire ''. Dvdempire.com. February 8, 2005. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air - The Complete First Series DVD : Amazon.co.uk : Will Smith, James Avery, Janet Hubert - Whitten, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell : DVD ''. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The - The Complete 1st Season ( 5 Disc Set ) @ EzyDVD ''. Ezydvd.com.au. April 27, 2005. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The : The Complete Second Season DVD @ DVD Empire ''. Dvdempire.com. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air - The Complete Second Series DVD : Amazon.co.uk : Will Smith, James Avery, Janet Hubert - Whitten, Alfonso Ribeiro, Karyn Parsons, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ellen Falcon : DVD ''. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The - The Complete 2nd Season ( 4 Disc Set ) @ EzyDVD ''. Ezydvd.com.au. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The : The Complete Third Season DVD @ DVD Empire ''. Dvdempire.com. February 14, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air - The Complete Third Season DVD : Amazon.co.uk : Will Smith, James Avery, Karyn Parsons, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana M. Ali, Joseph Marcell : DVD ''. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The - The Complete 3rd Season ( 4 Disc Set ) @ EzyDVD ''. Ezydvd.com.au. August 9, 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The : The Complete Fourth Season DVD @ DVD Empire ''. Dvdempire.com. August 8, 2006. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` The Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air - Series 4 ( DVD ) : Amazon.co.uk : Will Smith : DVD ''. Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Buy Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The - The Complete 4th Season ( 4 Disc Set ) @ EzyDVD ''. Ezydvd.com.au. December 6, 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Fresh Prince Of Bel - Air, The : The Complete Fifth Season DVD @ DVD Empire ''. Dvdempire.com. November 5, 2010. Retrieved March 25, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Awards for The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air ''. Imdb.com. Retrieved August 7, 2008. Jump up ^ Lovett, Jamie ( August 13, 2015 ). `` Will Smith Producing A Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Reboot ''. Comicbook.com. Retrieved August 13, 2015. Jump up ^ `` '' Fresh Prince of Bel - Air '' Reboot in the Works - thenewbenjamin ``. thenewbenjamin. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Jump up ^ Loughrey, Clarisse ( August 2, 2016 ). `` Will Smith says Fresh Prince of Bel - Air reboot will happen when ' hell freezes over ' ''. The Independent. Retrieved August 4, 2016. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air. The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air at epguides.com The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air on IMDb The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air at TV.com The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air Episodes 5 6 Characters Will Smith Theme song `` Yo Home to Bel - Air '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Fresh_Prince_of_Bel-Air&oldid=853902518 '' Categories : The Fresh Prince of Bel - Air 1990s American black sitcoms 1990s American sitcoms 1990 American television series debuts Will Smith 1996 American television series endings American college television series English - language television programs American high school television series Metafictional television series NBC network shows Television series by Warner Bros. 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Question: who was the fresh prince of bel-air based on
Answer: the show's producer Benny Medina