Peacock’s breakout hit Bel-Air is making a change at the helm for Season 2, which is currently in production. Carla Banks Waddles has been promoted to showrunner. She takes over for TJ Brady and Rasheed Newson who have stepped down from the role over creative differences. The duo remain executive producers on the series, from Westbrrok Studios and Universal Television. The series is taking a brief hiatus as the showrunner transition is taking place.
Former Good Girls EP Banks Waddles, who is under an overall deal at Universal Television, was a co-executive producer on Season 1 of Bel-Air. She is being elevated to executive producer, along with taking over showrunner duties for Season 2.
Bel-Air, based on Morgan Cooper’s popular fan film that reenvisions the 1990s Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air as a drama, hails from Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television, part of Universal Studio Group. In its first season, it became Peacock’s most streamed original series.
Set in modern-day America, Bel-Air is a serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the 90’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that leans into the original premise: Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.
Banks Waddles, Morgan Cooper, Malcolm Spellman, Will Smith, Terence Carter, James Lassiter, Miguel Melendez, Benny Medina, Quincy Jones, Andy & Susan Borowitz, Brady & Newson serve as executive producers, along with Anthony Sparks, who joined for Season 2.
