Bel-Air is about to enjoy the Fresh Prince’s past.
TVLine has learned that Daphne Maxwell Reid and Vernie Watson-Johnson, who played respectively Aunt Viv and Viola “Wai” Smith during the original Fresh Prince series, respectively, will be guest stars in a dramatic reimagining of Peacock.
Both actresses will appear in Episode 9 – the penultimate installment of season 1 – which airs Thursday, March 24 on The Peacock. They will play members of the Board of Trustees of the Arts Council; Reed will play Helen and Watson-Johnson will play Janice.
Watson-Johnson appeared in 15 episodes of The Fresh Prince as Will’s mother. More recently, her television work has included Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory and ongoing appearances on General Hospital and Bob Harts Abishola. Meanwhile, Reed famously replaced Janet Hubert as Fresh Prince Viv’s aunt after Hubert had filled the role for the show’s first three seasons. In November 2020, during a cast reunion hosted by HBO Max, Hubert and Will Smith emotionally ended their 27-year feud, with Hubert candidly explaining why her departure from Fresh Prince was so painful.
Peacock’s Bel-Air still has four rookie episodes left, with the finale set for March 31st. The reboot, which has Smith among its executive producers, previously received a two-season order on the streamer back in September 2020.
Check out two more photos from Reed and Watson-Johnson’s guest visit below, then leave a comment with your reaction to their casting.
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