Warning: This post contains spoilers for Bel-Air.
The Bel-Air reboot series has a completely new cast portraying the iconic characters, but the opening scene features a perfect hidden tribute to the original Uncle Phil and his actor James Avery. Peacock’s Bel-Air is a dramatic reimagining of the culture-defining 1990s sitcom series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which followed a teenager from West Philadelphia moving in with his aunt and uncle in their Bel-Air mansion. The family sitcom was notable for its exploration of Black culture and class issues in America, with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air leaving a lasting impact on the culture of an entire generation, particularly in its characters Will, Carlton, and Uncle Phil.
While Bel-Air features none of the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast, the series makes a few nods to its influential predecessor. One such nod occurs in Bel-Air episode 1, which has a hidden connection to the original Uncle Phil, who was portrayed by the late James Avery. Fresh Prince’s Uncle Phil is one of the most celebrated sitcom characters of all time, with many viewers looking up to him as a father figure. In the Bel-Air reboot, Uncle Phill’s appearance and personality are fairly different, but the series still finds ways to pay homage to the legendary figure.
The opening scene of Bel-Air features a short intro that shows the opening titles with a black background before fading into the new Will Smith (Jabari Banks) waking up. As Bel-Air episode 1 fades in, the intro to rapper J. Cole’s 2015 hit song “No Role Modelz” plays, with the lyrics “first things first” playing before the song abruptly cuts off. The first line of J. Cole’s song has become significant in pop culture with rap music, particularly for the remainder of the line that Bel-Air cuts off. The rest of the first line of “No Role Modelz” is “First things first rest in peace Uncle Phil/ For real you the only father that I ever knew.” The song was released shortly after the death of James Avery in December 2013, so the hit was an especially poignant tribute to the legacy of both Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s Uncle Phil character and his actor James Avery.
Uncle Phil was much more than just a no-nonsense sitcom father, as his heartwarming relationship with Fresh Prince’s teenage Will Smith and the rest of his family made him a surrogate father for so many young viewers at home. As J. Cole’s song says, the fictional Uncle Phil was the only father he ever knew, which stems from the rapper’s youth of his father abandoning him as a child. Uncle Phil’s presence as an inspirational father was also made clear in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air series itself when he became a surrogate father to Will, with one of the most emotionally charged scenes in the entire series seeing Will break down to Phil about why his father never wanted him. In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’s season 6 finale, Phil tells Will that he will never lose him because Will is his son, “end of story.” Uncle Phil may as well have been talking to the viewers at home who might have worried about losing his presence as a consistent father figure when the show finished.
Bel-Air’s hidden tribute to James Avery’s Uncle Phil in the opening scene is also an incredible way of indirectly connecting the original series to the new reimagining. The very first moment in Bel-Air brings old viewers back to memories of the iconic sitcom, then immediately jumps into the new dramatic version. The inclusion of J. Cole’s song is also a perfect reminder of the profound impact The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has had on the larger culture, even modern-day rap songs that were released nearly 20 years after the original show’s finale. While the serious telling of Bel-Air makes the series extremely different from that of the 1990s sitcom, little nods to the original like the opening scene remind viewers that Peacock’s show is aware of its roots.
New episodes of Bel-Air stream every Thursday, with episode 4 releasing on February 17 on Peacock.