Will Smith Joins Coco Jones for Surprise Performance of 'Summertime' as “Bel-Air ”Cast Celebrates Season 3 Release
The 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' star joined 'Bel-Air' cast members as they celebrated the show's return with an event in Los Angeles on August 1
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Coco Jones and Will Smith perform at 'Bel-Air' season 3 event.Will Smith joined Coco Jones on stage at a Los Angeles event celebrating the season 3 release of Bel-Air on Thursday, Aug. 1
Smith and Jones belted out the actor's 1991 smash hit "Summertime" together
Cast members Jabari Banks, Olly Sholotan, Jimmy Akingbola, Adrian Holmes, Akira Akbar, Jordan L. Jones and Simone Joy Jones were also in attendance
The Bel-Air cast is getting into the spirit of summer ahead of the show's third season.
To celebrate the Peacock drama, which returns with its latest instalment on August 15, the show held a summer BBQ with cast members at the Universal Studios Backlot in Los Angeles on Thursday, August 1.
PEOPLE was in attendance as guests were treated to a performance by Coco Jones, who sang her new single “Here We Go.” She then invited Will Smith, who is an executive producer on the show, up for a surprise performance, with the pair belting out his 1991 smash hit "Summertime."
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Will Smith performs at 'Bel-Air' season 3 event.Related: Welcome to 'Bel-Air' ! See First Look Photos of Peacock's Dramatic Reboot Starring Jabari Banks
Cast members Jabari Banks, Olly Sholotan, Jimmy Akingbola, Adrian Holmes, Akira Akbar, Jordan L. Jones and Simone Joy Jones were also in attendance at the event.
Set in contemporary Los Angeles, Bel-Air revisits The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a fresh approach and dramatic lens, following Will’s (Jabari Banks) journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the sprawling, lavish mansions of Los Angeles' Bel-Air neighborhood.
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Coco Jones and Will Smith perform at 'Bel-Air' season 3 event.The third season finds Will on summer vacation. “Being a part of the Banks family has given him a new perspective – it isn’t just about wealth, it means that Will now has options to lean into other things that excite him and has the privilege to dream bigger,” according to the synopsis.
"As Will makes an exciting pivot, he finds a partner in Carlton (Olly Sholotan), who desperately wants to leave his life of addiction behind and rebuild his damaged reputation," it adds.
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Will Smith and Coco Jones perform at 'Bel-Air' season 3 event.Related: What the Cast of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' Is Up to Now
"While the dynamic duo has a lot of exciting wins, working together also reveals fundamental differences in their backgrounds and worldviews," the synopsis continues. "Can a partnership of such extremes work? Pressure at work and home will also pose challenges for Viv (Cassandra Freeman) and Phil (Adrian Holmes). How does a couple hold strong when their lives are at sea? Hilary’s (Coco Jones) romantic journey with LaMarcus will face some shocking hurdles, and Ashley’s (Akira Akbar) views on romance will start to blossom as she comes of age the summer before she starts high school, and Geoffrey’s (Jimmy Akingbola) London past will come a little too close to home.”
Executive producer and writer Morgan Cooper previously said in 2022 that the show's producers sought to position Bel-Air as a drama so it could “stand on its own.”
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(l-r) Jimmy Akingbola, Adrian Holmes, Jabari Banks, Olly Sholotan, Simone Joy Jones, Coco Jones, Akira Akbar at the Lot on August 1, 2024."With this dramatic reimagining, we wanted to create a show that stands on its own while honoring the spirit and innovation of the original series," he said in a statement. "Because Bel-Air is a drama, we're able to really peel back the layers of these characters and themes in a way that you simply couldn't do 30 years ago in the half-hour sitcom format."
Cooper also promised that the series would feature more serious, prevalent themes about race.
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Jordan L. Jones, Jimmy Akingbola, Adrian Holmes, Coco Jones, Will Smith, Jabari Banks, Simone Joy Jones, Akira Akbar, Olly Sholotan at the Lot on August 1, 2024."We're able to go have tough conversations that challenge perspectives,” he continued. “At its core, Bel-Air is a celebration of the Black experience through the perspective of a family.”
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The first three episodes of Bel-Air season 3 drop on August 15 on Peacock.
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