Member-only story
‘Fresh Prince’ Reunion Marks the Return of Black Excellence and OG Aunt Viv
Now, this is a story all about how TV got flip-turned upside down, three decades ago, by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The show remains one of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1990s and launched a young Will Smith into superstardom. Now, HBO Max has released the trailer for its November 19 broadcast of a 30th-anniversary special reunion of the show’s cast members. And there’s a surprise: the appearance of actress Janet Hubert, aka the original Aunt Viv.
Hubert played Will’s aunt for the first three seasons of the show, after which she was reportedly fired and replaced by actress Daphne Reid for the remaining three seasons. Yet, despite the two actresses’ equal tenure on the series, it is Hubert’s portrayal of Aunt Viv that many Fresh Prince fans see as the “real” version of the character. Her replacement by Reid also remains cited as a possible example of colorism in media.
As writer Joseph Milord wrote in a 2017 story for Elite Daily:
[Hubert is] granted a respect and reverence…
