‘Bel-Air’ bolsters its cast with five new stars ahead of season 2

Bel-Air is about to get five new residents. The Peacock reboot of the ’90s sitcom starring Will Smith is coming back for season two, and there’s going to be a lot more drama this time around.

The five new cast members are: Diandra Lyle (Secrets of Sulphur Springs) will play Erika Baker; Justin Cornwell (The Umbrella Academy) will play Lamarcus Alton; Nicholas Duvernay (Purple Hearts) is Drew; Reno Wilson (Good Girls) as James Lewis and Al-Shabazz Jabateh (Prime Day Show) portrays Hudson, per Deadline.

Star Jabari Banks will be back to play Will in a reboot that utilizes the bones of the sitcom but is based on a popular fan film from director Morgan Cooper. Season two finds Will at a fork in the road in his life. Someone new enters his life and disrupts the new one he’s built in Bel-Air.

He has to deal with this as well as what he did to the Banks family at the end of season one. However, he and Carlton will grow closer despite their differences and Hilary becomes more of an authoritative figure in the world of business. Also returning are series regulars Adrian Holmes (Philip Banks); Olly Sholotan (Carlton); Coco Jones (Hilary); Akira Akbar (Ashley Banks); Cassandra Freeman (Vivian Banks); Simone Joy Jones (Lisa); Jordan L. Jones (Jazz) and Jimmy Akingbola (Geoffrey).

One of the cast members from the original show will be back too – Tatyana Ali, who portrayed Will’s sister Ashley in the original show. She’ll be playing Ms. Hughes, an educator at Bel-Air Academy.

While the show hasn’t been a knock-out cultural defining hit (yet), it’s been favorably received and sits with a 65 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score that’s five points higher. Critic Amon Warmann from Empire Magazine said the show was “a bold reimagining that maintains the essence of the original show while exploring important social themes from an authentic, Black perspective.”

While incredibly popular at the time, the original show has been criticized as of late for being a Black family created and produced by white writers. It also doesn’t necessarily stand up too well to modern sensibilities, either. Smith in the original was fairly misogynistic; he would catcall women constantly and interrupt them from whatever they were doing to either ask for their number or hit on them.

Regardless, Will’s down-to-earth charm and charisma not only carried the show but provided a good role model for young people everywhere. It also acted as a springboard to Smith’s movie career, which was humming along nicely until he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022.

Bel-Air new season premieres on February 23 on Peacock. New episodes drop every Thursday.