The upcoming reboot series Bel-Air is officially set to launch episode 1 on Super Bowl Sunday, 2022. The show is an updated take on the Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which originally aired on NBC from 1990-96. The series followed his character - also named Will Smith - as a West Philadelphia teen who moves in with his upper-crust relatives in the Bel-Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. The original series also starred James Avery as Philip Banks, Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks, Karyn Parsons as Hilary Banks, Tatyana M. Ali as Ashley Banks, with Janet Hubert and Daphne Maxwell Reid as Vivian Banks.

Peacock is developing Bel-Air as a more dramatic, modernized spin on the classic series, inspired by Morgan Cooper's 2019 fan short film. Last August, Smith himself teamed with Cooper to bring the new series to life. Jabari Banks is the new young actor portraying "Will Smith," with Adrian Holmes, Cassandra Freeman, Olly Sholotan, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar, Jimmy Akingbola, Jordan L. Jones, and Simone Joy Jones filling out the rest of the cast. Bel-Air has already been greenlit for seasons 1 and 2.

Related: Can The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Work Without Will Smith?

Per DeadlineBel-Air, which is an hour-long program, will air its first episode on Sunday, February 13, 2022. This is the same day as Super Bowl LVI, which will take place in Inglewood, California's SoFi Stadium and feature a halftime show headlined by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. The show will then continue airing the remainder of its episodes on a weekly basis.

Will Smith reclines on a couch from Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Super Bowl Sunday has long been an important premiere date for series looking to draw massive ratings from football fans sticking around after the end of the game, which is typically broadcast on either NBC, Fox, or CBS depending on the year. In previous years, this coveted timeslot has gone to series running special episodes, like the two-part Friends season 2 episode "The One After the Super Bowl" in 1996 or The Office season 5's star-studded "Stress Relief" in 2009, which featured Jack Black, Jessica Alba, and Cloris Leachman. Networks have also used that timeslot to launch new series, including Undercover Boss in 2010, 24: Legacy in 2017, and The Equalizer this year.

Given that this is a streaming- rather than network series, Bel-Air can't count on gaining numbers merely from people keeping their televisions tuned in after the game. However, NBC will likely run a campaign for the reboot during the telecast's legendary commercial breaks. This method has succeeded for a streamer in the past, as when Netflix used a Super Bowl commercial to announce the surprise drop of their sci-fi film The Cloverfield Paradox after the game in 2018.

Next: Is Fresh Prince’s Bel Air Reboot Too Serious?

Source: Deadline