BuzzSugar

The Results Are In: Recast "Fresh Prince of Bel Air"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 15:31:21 -0700

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

It's true that Will Smith and the rest of the gang on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" made that show the lovable comedy it was, but the recast lists you all submitted for this week's recast challenge would definitely make for an interesting show if it were to be remade! I very much enjoyed the idea of Chiwetel Ejiofor as Geoffrey, which several of you suggested. I also liked Livience's pick of Bow Wow (formerly Lil Bow Wow) for the part of Will, and cashmere80's idea of Merrin Dungey as Vivian. Meekie53's pick for Chi McBride as Uncle Phil is so perfect, it turns out McBride actually made an appearance on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in 1992! And finally, a shout-out to pinkflats: Congratulations on reaching gold status while submitting a recast list for this challenge! You always have some great ideas, pinkflats.

As for my favorite list overall, however, this week it comes from LaLa0428! To see who LaLa0428 picked, along with a new cast photo, read more

LaLa0428's cast:
Will - Corbin Bleu
Philip Banks - Steve Harvey
Vivian Banks - Holly Robinson-Pete
Carlton Banks - Orlando Brown
Ashley Banks - Keke Palmer
Hilary Banks - Christina Millian
Geoffrey - DL Hughley
Jazz - Omarion

And the new Jazz:

Recast "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 14:26:06 -0700

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

I recently woke up with the theme song to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" dancing in my head - and I couldn't shake it ("Iiiiiiin West Philadelphia, born and raised/On the playground was where I spent most of my days..."). I took that as a sign that "Fresh Prince" should be our next recast challenge. If you were to recast this TV show with present-day actors, who would you choose for the lead roles? Who could fill Will Smith's shoes as... Will Smith? And what about Will's stern Uncle Phil and little cousin Ashley? Most of all, who could play dorky Carlton or the clueless Jazz (DJ Jazzy Jeff)?

Relive your fondest memories of "Fresh Prince" and try to picture new actors rounding out the cast. Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, July 10, complete with a "new" cast photo. To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Characters to recast:
Will (Will Smith)
Philip Banks (James Avery)
Vivian Banks (Janet Hubert-Whitten, Daphne Reid)
Carlton Banks (Alfonso Ribeiro)
Ashley Banks (Tatyana Ali)
Hilary Banks (Karyn Parsons)
Geoffrey (Joseph Marcell)
Jazz (Jeffrey A. Townes)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt