In 1990, Will Smith became a television star when The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered on NBC, but his rise to fame had actually begun years earlier on the other side of the country.
Now that story is headed to television.
Westbrook Studios and The Malar Group announced on Tuesday, Oct. 6, that they are developing 215, a new scripted series based on Smith’s early life and his rise alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff as the Grammy-winning hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince.
The series will take viewers back to West Philadelphia in the late 1980s, before Smith became the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and eventually one of Hollywood’s biggest actors.
According to the announcement, 215 follows a quick-witted teenage rapper, the DJ who becomes his musical partner and the friends who help them pursue their dreams as Philadelphia’s hip-hop scene takes off.
The group will navigate record deals, money, hometown loyalty and sudden fame, with friendship and ambition at the heart of the story.
What is Will Smith’s New Series ‘215’ About?
The title 215 comes from the telephone area code associated with Philadelphia, where Smith was born and raised and where he met Jeffrey Allen Townes, better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Together, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince broke through in the late 1980s with songs including “Girls Ain’t Nothing but Trouble,” “Parents Just Don’t Understand” and “A Nightmare on My Street.”
In 1989, “Parents Just Don’t Understand” earned the pair the first-ever Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance. Smith was still just 20 years old.
The new series will explore the period when Smith and Townes were trying to turn that early success into something bigger, against the backdrop of Philadelphia’s late-’80s hip-hop scene.
Terence Carter, president of television at Westbrook Studios, said 215 is particularly meaningful to the company because it draws from the rise of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince while celebrating Philadelphia during a defining period in hip-hop.
Sayan Navaratnam, CEO of The Malar Group, called the project an “untold origin story,” saying that at its core, it is about “two people who believed in each other, overcame extraordinary odds and built something that endured.”
Of course, that partnership ultimately extended well beyond Smith and Townes’ early music career.
Townes appeared repeatedly on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Smith’s friend Jazz throughout the sitcom’s six-season run. The pair also continued performing together over the years, even as Smith’s acting career took him from television to blockbuster movies.
215 is the first project announced under a new partnership between Westbrook Studios and The Malar Group to finance and develop a slate of film and television projects.
The series is currently in development. No cast, network or streaming home, production date or premiere date has been announced.
Related: 37 Years Ago Today, Rap Won Its First Grammy Award
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