After three seasons of watching Will Smith search for identity and belonging in Bel-Air, Jabari Banks says his character finally feels at home in the show’s final season.
“I think he has reached the point now where he definitely feels like he belongs in Bel Air and having to leave is the hardest part,” he tells ABC Audio. “Finding a place where you’re like, ‘OK, I finally fit in. I finally think I got a hang of this thing’ and then everything changes again.”
Jabari says it’s a storyline fans can relate to.
“I think so many people can resonate with that in life in general. … As soon as you get comfortable, life throws something at you where you are like, it’s another thing,” he says, noting Will leans on his loved ones to get through the ebbs and flows of life.
“I think he’s at the point now in his life where he’s accepting that there’s always going to be something,” Jabari says. “And so as long as he has his family with him, I think he can get through anything.”
One of Will’s family members is cousin Carlton Banks, played by Olly Sholotan. Olly says season 4 completes his character’s story, one that’s seen fans go from hating to loving Carlton.
“I think the thing I’m the most proud of is the fact that I was able to introduce audiences to a version of Carlton that quite frankly they did not like. … He was selfish. He had sacrificed so much of himself to fit in that he just rubbed everyone the wrong way,” Olly says. “It’s been a really incredible thing to see how audiences have come along with him. … And now they’re rooting for him.”
He teases there’s a “really big plot point in [Carlton’s] evolution” in the show’s final season.
Bel-Air season 4 premieres Monday on Peacock.
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