Will Smith (Wild Wild West, Men in Black, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) is developing new television series inspired by his early music career with DJ Jazzy Jeff (Strange Days, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Parent Trap). According to ScreenRant, Smith’s Westbrook Studios is developing 215, a scripted series centered on the duo’s rise to fame in Philadelphia’s hip-hop scene.
215 will follow the early years of Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff as they attempt to secure a record deal and achieve financial success during the growth of Philadelphia’s hip-hop and rap scene. The series will explore the pair navigating record label meetings, their loyalty to their hometown and the effects that sudden fame could have on their friendship.
The project dramatizes the real-life musical partnership between Smith, then known as the Fresh Prince, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, which lasted from 1984 to 1994. The duo sold more than 5.5 million albums in the United States and received honors from the Grammy Awards, Soul Train Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and American Music Awards.
Their songs included “Parents Just Don’t Understand,” “A Nightmare on My Street,” “Summertime,” “Boom! Shake the Room” and “Yo Home to Bel-Air,” which became the theme song for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was loosely inspired by real events and became Smith’s breakout television role. DJ Jazzy Jeff also appeared throughout the sitcom as Jazz, appearing in 47 episodes. The original series later inspired Peacock’s dramatic reimagining of Bel-Air, which ran for four seasons. Bel-Air starred Jabari Banks (Bad Genius, American Dream: The 21 Savage Story, Please Return Your Cart), Cassandra Freeman (Inside Man, Luke Cage, Atlanta), Coco Jones (Good Luck Charlie, Let It Shine, Strung), among others.
215 will be the first project developed under a new partnership between Westbrook Studios and The Malar Group, founded by Sayan Navaratnam. The Malar Group will fund a slate of television and film projects developed with Westbrook Studios.
Westbrook Studios President of Television Terence Carter said the project is particularly meaningful because it draws from the rise of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince while highlighting Philadelphia’s hip-hop scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Casting for 215 has not yet been announced, and the series is not currently attached to a network or streaming service.