Exclusive: The Cast Of ‘Bel Air’ Plays Personality Game, Talks Character Growth & Shares What To Expect In Season 2 [Video]

The Peacock series Bel Air won the hearts of its viewers after being released in 2022. In this reimagined version of the hit 90s series, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, director Morgan Cooper re-introduces the world to the original characters, including Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv, Hilary Banks, Jazzy Jeff, Ashley Banks, Geoffrey, and, of course, Will. Exactly one year later, Bel Air will return to our livingrooms for its second season.

In an exclusive interview with Baller Alert, Cooper shared how he felt about the pressures of returning. “I love pressure, and we embrace pressure here at Bel Air to constantly raise the bar and the quality of our work and our storytelling. I’m proud to say that we’ve done that with season 2. People are in for a beautiful, wild, crazy ride that culminates into an explosive season finale.”

In season one, each character brought their storyline and attribute that left us on a cliff episode after episode while surrounding themselves around Will and his next decision.

Producer and showrunner Carla Banks Waddles shared how she put her signature touch on season two.

“I know we were dealing with this ensemble cast, and it’s such a great cast. I really wanted to be able to look at all of their stories individually, look at this season as a 10-episode movie, and take all the characters on their individual journeys,” said Waddles.

Season one’s finale left off with Will deciding whether with the Banks family home is right for him, as he also battled hurt from his dad and his love interest, Lisa.

“When we pick up on Will and Lisa’s story, I think Will feels like he jumped into everything too soon. Lisa was the first person he met who made him feel a sense of home. Then, Lou, he’s always looming in the shadow in Will’s life, and he affects Will’s day-to-day decisions and how he experiences hardships,” said Jabari Banks, who plays Will’s character in the series.

Hilary and Jazz’s relationship was also a fan favorite.

Coco Jones, who plays Hilary, shared how their relationship will grow in season two.

“I can say that with my relationship with Jazz, I think there’s a growth of vulnerability and making decisions out of fear. Hilary is such a boss when it comes to her career, but when it comes to Jazz, it’s intimidating to go public and to make that commitment to have other people’s opinions weigh it and the possibility to be hurt,” said Jones.

Ashley, on the other hand, steps into herself in season two. Cooper shared that viewers will see more of her activist spirit.

Akira Akbar, who stars as Ashley, shared, “This season, Ashley hits a big milestone turning 13, and I really think we see her mature, especially in how she stands up for herself.”

Olly Sholotan, who stars as Carlton Banks, Adrian Holmes, who stars as Uncle Phil and Jimmy Akingbola, who plays Geoffrey, all shared why it is essential to see their characters played on television.

“These characters are a representation of the world we live in and the culture and the community. We take a lot of pride and responsibility in this platform that people can learn from our show and the situations that our characters are put in,” said Holmes.

At the end of season one, we’re left wondering if Geoffrey will return to the Banks’ residence after being fired by Uncle Phil.

Jimmy shares that “family doesn’t have to be blood. Geoffrey is like a brother to Phil. He’s uncle G. Season two is going to allow us to explore if Phil and Geoffrey can recover from this.”

Family seems to follow the cast on and off set. The camaraderie between the cast exudes through their answers and interactions with one another. When asked who was the life of the party, the entire cast agreed it was Jordan who plays Jazzy Jeff. When asked who was serious and about their business, everyone agreed that Coco Jones and Adrian fits that description.  Jordan was also given the Jokester title along with Cassandra, while Jabari was labeled the emotional cast member by Olly Sholotan.

Season two of Bel Air is scheduled to air on February 23rd on Peacock.