Parents' Guide to

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

By Lucy Maher, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Good-natured sitcom that the family can enjoy together.

TV Nickelodeon , Syndicated , TeenNick Comedy 1990
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV Show: Scene #1
  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV Show: Scene #2
  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV Show: Scene #3
  • The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV Show: Scene #4

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 20 parent reviews

bparks1986
bparks1986 Parent of 5 and 10-year-old
November 7, 2022
age 11+

Season 1 is great for the family, but Season 2 forward is aimed at teenagers/adults

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air still holds up as one of the best sitcoms of its day. The first season is especially good as a family show. Yes, there are some infrequent damns and hells, but otherwise there are a lot of good lessons for children. However, the second season marks a turning point in the content where it is non-stop sexual innuendo and direct explicit references to sex. I had no issues with my 9 and 4 year old kids watching the first season, but after a few episodes into the second season we unfortunately had to stop watching. This show is rated TV-G, but even the first season's language alone warrants a TV-PG. I personally would rate the second season on at TV-14 because of the sexual comedy, much like Friends is a bit leniently rated as TV-PG.

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
mylalovesminecraft
mylalovesminecraft Parent
June 3, 2021
age 11+

Well... Very good show.

Hell yeah! I would love to watch more of this because it's super funny and well scripted. Plus, on some episodes It may become sad. But otherwise than that, It's a really good TV show if you agree. Anyways, there's some stuff I would like to talk about first... this show is appropriate for kids and there's no sex scenes... but there's characters who keeps repeating the sex words but just only the word sex and nothing else. There's no strong swearing here just a few swearing like: "ass" "damn" "sex" and "hell" but unlike that they don't say ass that much and a few other words. Second of all, fresh prince includes kissing scenes a lot and fake acted boyfriend/girlfriend and husband/wife on here. But these kissing scenes are not from bed because again fresh prince does not do sex on bed here or anywhere In the show. Also, there's a bit violence that does not include blood or anything. Third thing, there's drinking/drug/ and smoking on the episodes. But there's too many role models does not do drugs and one of the episodes Includes a sad part of having drugs and what it can do to you and yourself. Now, the smoking part is where grown folks smoke and smoking cigars which we totally have a lot of that from the show plus drinking but does not get drugged after that. Since this is a PG TV Show I would recommend it to anybody that is 11+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
1 person found this helpful.
See all 20 parent reviews

What's the Story?

THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR is a feel-good sitcom about a streetwise teenager from Philadelphia who throws the serene life of his well-off relatives for a loop when he goes to live with them in Bel-Air. Will Smith -- back in the days when he was half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince rather than a blockbusting action hero -- plays Will, an outspoken inner-city Philly teen whose mother sends him to live with his Aunt Vivian (first played Janet Hubert-Whitten and later by Daphne Maxwell Reid) and Uncle Philip Banks (James Avery) and their three spoiled kids: Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Hilary (Karyn Parsons), and Ashley (Tatyana Ali). As Will assimilates into his new surroundings, he learns about the good life and adapts to the Banks' carefree lifestyle -- and also teaches his rich relatives that life isn't all about how much money you have in the bank.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (20 ):
Kids say (80 ):

Parents can feel good about letting older tweens and young teens tune in to this sitcom. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air originally ran on NBC for six seasons in the mid-'90s and is now available on DVD and in syndication. Although there's some bawdy humor -- in the episode in which Will and Carlton start high school, for example, it's evident that their hormones have gone into overdrive, and they're not afraid to hit on every girl who walks by -- each episode leaves viewers with a powerful lesson on how to live life with dignity and grace. What's more, the Banks family is intact and portrayed positively.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how to handle situations you're not used to. How does Will deal with being a fish out of water in his new environment in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

  • Questions about coping with high school are also relevant. What kind of peer pressure can teens expect to encounter? What should they expect when they start dating?

  • How do the characters in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air demonstrate compassion and humility? Why are those important character strengths?

TV Details

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