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Fresh Prince of Bel-Air special reunites Will Smith and original Aunt Viv after decades-long feud

Photo credit: Will Smith/HBO Max
Photo credit: Will Smith/HBO Max

From Digital Spy

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion that nobody ever expected to happen... is actually happening, as Will Smith and the original Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert, have seemingly buried the hatchet.

HBO Max is planning a Fresh Prince reunion special to air later this year and on Thursday (September 10), Smith posted two behind-the-scenes pictures.

The first shot featured the cast on set of the old Banks Mansion, with Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Aunt Viv No.2), DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jazz), Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary) and Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey) all taking part. James Avery – aka Uncle Phil – died in 2013.

But – even cooler – the second image Smith shared was of just him and original Aunt Viv Janet Hubert, sitting down on camera together for the first time in 27 years.

Photo credit: Will Smith - Instagram
Photo credit: Will Smith - Instagram
Photo credit: Will Smith/HBO Max
Photo credit: Will Smith/HBO Max

"Today is exactly 30 YEARS since The @FreshPrince of Bel-Air debuted! So we're doin' something for y'all… a for real Banks Family Reunion is comin' soon to @HBOmax!" Smith captioned the photos.

It's widely known that Hubert has had a long-standing feud with Smith and their on-set issues caused her early exit from the show. She played Aunt Viv in the first three seasons before leaving in 1993.

Hubert wrote about her broken relationship with Smith in her 2009 book Perfection Is Not a Sitcom Mom. That year, she complained that she was "demonised" following her departure, and in 2017, she criticised the cast after being snubbed from a reunion.

So, the picture above of Smith and Hubert is a pretty big deal and it looks like the pair have finally made peace!

Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images
Photo credit: NBC - Getty Images

Related: Whatever happened to the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast?

The Fresh Prince reunion is expected to air around Thanksgiving on HBO Max, but there's no confirmed date just yet.

Meanwhile, a dramatic reboot of the '90s sitcom – simply titled Bel-Air – is in the works and recently got picked up for two seasons.


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