It’s been 31 years since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air first aired, launching Will Smith’s acting career and putting the “Carlton Dance” on our pop culture radar. The show, which ran for six seasons on NBC, turned into a lasting mage-hit, and is now getting a reboot titled Bel-Air starring Houston’s own Olly Sholotan, who is reprising the role of Carlton Banks.
Although Sholotan always knew he wanted to be in front of the camera, music was his first love. “I grew up in Nigeria until I was ten years old, and I wanted to be a musician. I listened to Michael Jackson and Motown records all the time,” says Sholotan. “My family had one Michael Jackson CD that I listened to constantly.”
Fast forward several years, and Sholotan, who is still a musician at heart, is also a graduate of Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) and the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television. Although Bel-Air will be his television debut, he is a producer, songwriter, and performer who has starred in two movies.
Sholotan first started thinking about Bel-Air when Morgan Cooper, a Fresh Prince superfan, created a YouTube trailer for a new darker version of the show, which went viral. He then learned Will Smith was on board as an Executive Producer for a reboot based on the viral video and called his management team to get him an audition. “I never thought I would be cast as one of the main characters, but I knew I wanted to be on the series even if it was just a recurring role as a pizza delivery guy,” says the actor who currently lives in Los Angeles. “I auditioned, got a callback, did a couple of chemistry reads, and found out I got the part. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.”
From all accounts, Bel-Air will be a very different version of the original sitcom. Although all the original characters will be represented, the youthful pop energy is replaced by a much darker and grittier take on their different points of view. “I can’t emphasize it enough, this is a completely different show. It is a tear-jerker, and we touch on some heavy subjects,” says Sholotan. “The original sitcom was from the point of view of Will Smith’s character. This version is as if you went into each character’s diary, but it definitely builds upon the legacy that we have been given.”
Bel-Air, cast entirely over Zoom in the middle of the pandemic, will make its streaming debut on Peacock on Feb 13, 2022. It has already been picked up for two seasons, giving audiences a chance to fall in love with the new characters just like they did with the original show. “We have some big shoes to fill, but I think that everyone in the cast is genuinely very close, and we all support each other in our roles. We are standing on the shoulders of giants, and we can either let that intimidate us or motivate us. It is an honor to take the reins from such great performers, and I am so excited to hear what people think.”