Bel-Air: Can The Peacock Streamer Support A Spin-Off

Despite mixed reviews, Peacock seems to have a hit on their hands with Bel-Air. The reimagining of the 90s classic, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air takes new audiences and old audiences down a different path. Despite the similar plot and characters, Bel-Air favors more of the dramatic approach over the comedy the original leaned on. Although it currently has fans divided on the new direction, there are plenty of developments in the drama that we can’t wait for the show to dig a little deeper on.

One of the biggest changes Bel-Air makes is the relationship with Geoffrey Butler. Yes, he was the butler and his last name was the butler. However, in the 2022 version, Geoffrey’s role with the family has a whole new wrinkle to it. As Mark points out in the article below, Geoffrey is more of the right-hand man to Uncle Phil rather than just the hired help.

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So much of the character is changed from the original show, we can’t help wonder how we got here. If the show goes on for multiple seasons, will we get his backstory? More than likely there will need to be at least a flashback episode for the writers to explain why they went this route with the character, but let’s do one better. Since streaming is ever popular and studios can take more of a risk, could the writers of Bel-Air write the character strong enough to support a spin-off for Geoffrey’s character?

The hardest part about having a character with so much mystery behind their backstory is how to fit them in without taking away from the main story. Too often when writers go back in a flashback episode they come off as fillers while we wait for the next big plot point. With shows like Chicago Fire spinning off Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, is NBC bold enough to take a chance and develop a backstory for a fan favorite of the original series?

As it stands, Jimmy Akingbola is nailing the role of Geoffrey Butler with a strong performance. If they can take a chance, make him the voice-over narrator of the show or run a split timeline between his younger days before the Banks family. Clearly, Geoffrey has a role with the family for a reason and we may never get the full story without taking away the focus of Bel-Air.

However, with a creative group of writers, a show about how a young man becomes the go-to confidant of one of the more powerful families is an interesting setup. Despite the new show not being an original idea, a spin-off could set up backstories without the distraction. Can NBC and Bel-Air get creative enough to support two shows from the same concept?