WATCH: Jabari Banks, Olly Sholotan, And Akira Akbar Discuss The Impact Of Peacock’s ‘Bel-Air’

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Ahead of its premiere on August 15, three of the show’s biggest stars spoke on the new season, their character’s development, and more.

Transcript

00:00Season three, it's going to be steamy, right?

00:02It's going to be super, ooh, it's going to be sexy.

00:04And I remember there was one day Akira was like,

00:06oh my God, you want to come watch the scene that I have?

00:08And we were like, no, I don't want to see it.

00:10I don't want to be there.

00:12I want to be as far away from set as possible.

00:14Yeah.

00:15Yeah, it's such, you know.

00:17We're going to have summer a lot.

00:19You guys are going to be very excited for what I got planned.

00:24Seems you got a lot of free time.

00:25You might want to pick up some hours at the country club.

00:28What were your expectations for season three?

00:30I was expectant of a lot of fun, some drama, some comedy.

00:38And I think it definitely hit all my expectations this season.

00:42Yeah.

00:43That wasn't a great answer.

00:45I mean, because I know they told, oh, OK, I'll go for it.

00:47You guys, well, going into this, what did you think?

00:51You guys knew it was going to be out of this school year.

00:54It's going to be summer time, right?

00:55They told you that before.

00:56We're going to try something different.

00:58What are your thoughts?

00:59What do you think they were going to have you guys do?

01:02I mean, I know, yeah, going into the season,

01:04they had told us from middle of season two,

01:06they're like, here's the thing, next season, summer.

01:09And so it's really cool because we knew we were going

01:11to get to be out of school.

01:13And what's really great about being out of school

01:15is we get to visit locations.

01:16We get to go to the beach.

01:18We get to do this.

01:19I know Viv and Phil, at some point,

01:21go on a trip to Mexico, you know what I'm saying?

01:23And honestly, they told us that we were going to have

01:26a lot of our clothes off.

01:27And so we were also looking forward to that.

01:31You were looking forward to that.

01:32Okay, fine.

01:33Just, I was looking forward to that.

01:35That's right.

01:36And get shape-shaped.

01:37Yeah, exactly.

01:41Ali, last year, your character went through

01:43some heavy stuff, you know?

01:45Going through some of that stuff,

01:48dealing, how do you, you know, with somebody,

01:50I would imagine you had some people that really

01:52came up to you and it resonated with them.

01:55I mean, one of the most impactful experiences I had,

01:59it was during the season two press run.

02:02And I was just at a flea market

02:04and this family had come up to me.

02:06And they were like, hey, you know,

02:08I could tell they loved the show

02:09and they wanted to take pictures.

02:10And there was sort of this little shy black kid,

02:13like there, and you know, I'd, hey, what's up, man?

02:16Like, you know, you like the show.

02:17And just, you know, it gets really quiet.

02:19And he was like, you're the first black boy

02:22I've ever seen cry on TV.

02:25And, you know, that's how important art is, right?

02:29Showing this little kid that it's okay

02:31to experience the full range of your emotions.

02:34And so I think that speaks to how important our show is.

02:37Even like that scene with you and Marlon,

02:40like, you know, I know that resonated with you.

02:42You know, that was a serious moment,

02:44but it was like, how are you?

02:45No.

02:48I'm just, I'm just joking, bro.

02:49It's late, it's late in the night.

02:51Okay, let's talk about Ashley a little bit

02:53and all the layers she has.

02:55Tell me what it's like you're going into season three

02:57about helping you grow as a young actress.

03:00Yeah, no, I feel like season three

03:02has definitely brought a lot of different things for me.

03:05It explored Ashley's creativity and music and friendships.

03:10While she's still navigating her sexuality,

03:14I also felt like it brought a seriousness

03:16trying to figure out her family and what's really going on.

03:20So I like playing with that side of Ashley.

03:25You two sitting here, when she says the word sexuality,

03:27what goes to your minds as like kind of the big brother?

03:29Yeah, see, absolutely not.

03:32So that's the thing, because they had told us, right?

03:34Season three, it's going to be steamy, right?

03:36It's going to be super, ooh, it's going to be sexy.

03:38And I remember there was one day Akira was like,

03:41oh my God, you want to come watch the scene that I have?

03:43And we were like, no, I don't want to see it.

03:45I don't want to be there.

03:46I want to be as far away from set as possible.

03:49Yeah, yeah, it sucks, you know, it sucks, man.

03:53But also on a serious tip, on a serious tip,

03:55you know, I think it is important to showcase

03:57young, healthy, black loves.

03:59And I think that the show, you know,

04:02we showcase the wide gamut and the wide spectrum of that.

04:06You know, everything from baby Ashley finding her way

04:10in navigating her sexuality to Will, you know,

04:13when Lisa and Jackie, to even Carlton and Amira,

04:16it's a really cool spectrum of love that we get to show.

04:18Yeah.

04:19We got the big man here today.

04:20What is it like having Will Smith, you know,

04:24with you guys and is he coming to set

04:26and being around you guys, you know,

04:28and getting in with the show?

04:30I mean, Will's just the coolest dude,

04:32you know what I mean?

04:34And it's so funny too, because he's so giving.

04:37And not that you don't expect it,

04:39because on one hand, it's just like, he's the Will Smith.

04:42So I remember before I met him, I was like,

04:44I don't know, like, is he going to look me in the eye?

04:46And, you know, like the first day we all met him,

04:49he was like, you all are here for a reason.

04:52And you guys are going to go on the craziest journey

04:54of your lives, but hold on to each other.

04:56And throughout that, you know, he's come in,

04:58he's checked in on us and it's just really dope.

05:01Like at any point in time, we just text Will to be like,

05:03hey, Will, I'm really confused about how this works.

05:07And he's like, it's all right.

05:08This is how it is.

05:09This is so cool.

05:10This is an amazing resource.

05:11Amazing resource.

05:12What advice would you give a younger Jabari

05:14if they're playing Will?

05:16If a younger Jabari was playing Will?

05:18I mean, I know, what would you give yourself?

05:19What advice would you give your younger self?

05:21Oh, that they're playing Will.

05:23I'd probably say, trust yourself, trust your instincts

05:27and just show up every day.

05:30You know, there's going to be things in this life

05:32that, you know, take you away from, you know, your passion

05:35or try to take your passion away from you.

05:37But as long as you, you know, stay grounded

05:39and stay focused on the goal,

05:41that's probably what I'd tell myself.

05:42Just, you know, stay focused.

05:44Last question, why do you think Bel Air

05:45has resonated with the Black community so much?

05:49It's real.

05:50You know, I think it touches on real things

05:54that are happening.

05:56Give me a chance to say that.

05:56Say that.

05:57Yeah, set it up for me, right.

05:59I think Bel Air has resonated so much with Black audiences

06:03because it's real, right?

06:04These are real stories and these are real experiences

06:08that people are going through.

06:10And the fact that, I mean, how many times

06:13do people come up to you and they're like,

06:14yo, like, I feel like you're my cousin.

06:16Yeah, yeah.

06:17You know what I'm saying?

06:18And that's specifically like 40 to 50 year old women.

06:22Like, yeah, you're my nephew.

06:23Yeah.

06:24I've never met you before.

06:26But I think that's so beautiful

06:28about the impact of our show.

06:30The writers have really crafted some characters

06:33that feel familiar to everyone,

06:36that they feel empathy for and they feel love for.

06:39It's incredible.

06:40Yeah, same.

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