Parents' Guide to Bel-Air

Bel-Air is enjoyable enough as a dramatic reboot of the popular '90s sitcom starring Will Smith. In its new iteration, it's definitively edgier and more adult, with characters like Carlton snorting cocaine instead of doing the "Carlton Dance" and characters saying the "N" word. And while Smith cursed a little on the '90s show, the profanity is definitely more liberal in this version. Perhaps it's to differentiate from its fun-loving predecessor, perhaps it's to anchor it more in these more turbulent, social media-era times. Regardless, the overall effect cements Bel-Air squarely in the "young adult" type of drama.

This isn't to say that updated and coarser language is all the show has going for it. Indeed, the idea of fleshing out the sitcom into a drama provides writers more avenues to take on different aspects of Blackness that aren't totally centered around stereotypes, although some clichés certainly still exist within the characters' DNA. And centering Will's character more into Philly culture might potentially make the character much more realistic (but again, tropes of the Philadelphia inner city might make some viewers tired). Occasionally, the show's penchant for working classic lines from the original theme song into spoken dialogue is cringe-worthy, but, overall, Bel-Air isn't as much of a miss as you'd expect. It actually engages while having room for improvement as the season goes on.