The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, and the festivities will only continue when the reunion special hits HBO Max. With so much history baked into the show, there’s a lot for the cast to discuss. Alfonso Ribeiro has spoken a bit about the special, but he’s now opening up about one of its best moments. He also happened to weigh in on the chances of a reboot featuring the original cast.
Alfonso Ribeiro recently spoke about the fact that the special will set aside to honor the late James Avery, who viewers came to know affectionately as “Uncle Phil.” Ribeiro called his TV dad the backbone of the show and said that his absence makes the chances of a continuation series relatively slim:
We do an amazing tribute to the late great James Avery. He was the backbone of that show… Listen, without James Avery I can’t see [an original cast reboot] ever happening. I believe, truly, let the past stay the past.
Ribeiro’s sentiments to Yahoo! are sure to be shared by a number of fans, as James Avery’s performance as Philip Banks was integral to the show. While the character did engage in his own share of shenanigans, his intelligence and love for his family helped to ground the sitcom. The cast surely miss him, but Ribeiro previously explained that when they discussed him during the special, positivity overcame any sadness the group may have felt.
All in all, Alfonso Ribeiro seems to have enjoyed catching up with his co-stars. Though when speaking about it, he mentioned that the special was pretty chill since the cast gets together quite often. This is definitely true, as the group loves to connect and show love to each other whenever they can. Still, he’s happy that the world will pretty much get to see what they do all of the time.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion is bringing together Ribeiro, Will Smith, Tatyana M. Ali, Daphne Maxwell Reid, Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Most notably, one segment of the show will also feature the long-awaited reunion between Smith and original Aunt Viv actress Janet Hubert. Although Ribeiro confirmed that he and his co-stars did not take part in that segment of the show, he is happy to see that Smith and Hubert were able to get together to hash things out.
There’s certainly a lot to look forward to when it comes to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion. One can only imagine the great behind-the-scenes stories we’re going to hear. I would personally be interested to learn what the cast’s personal favorite episodes are. Let’s hope this question and more are revealed when the special finally arrives.
And before the reunion drops on HBO Max, you can stream all six seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air now.
