DJ Jazzy Jeff (Jeff Townes) and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith) in 1986. David Corio/Redferns/Getty Images Logo text Now this is a story all about how the real Fresh Prince’s life got flipped, turned upside down.
Westbrook Studios, the company co-founded by Will Smith, is developing a scripted series about the rise of hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, aka Jeff Townes and Smith. The project, titled 215, is the first in a partnership between Westbrook and private equity firm The Malar Group that will have the two companies developing a slate of films and TV series together.
The show will track Smith’s early life in Philadelphia (215 is a reference to the area code for the city) and his teaming up with DJ Jazzy Jeff in the 1980s to “chase a record deal, money and a way out as the city’s hip-hop scene takes off,” as the show’s description puts it. “Along the way they deal with label meetings, hometown loyalty, sudden fame and the friendships that hold them together, or almost don’t.”
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A writer is not yet attached to the project.
“Westbrook has always been focused on developing stories with strong characters, distinctive worlds and a clear point of view,” said Terence Carter, president of television for Westbrook Studios. “215 is especially meaningful to us because it draws from the rise of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince and celebrates Philadelphia during such a defining era in the city’s late ’80s/early ’90s hip-hop scene. The Malar Group shares our approach to storytelling, and this partnership gives us the opportunity to build a slate together with intention, beginning with a project rooted in friendship, ambition and the integrity of this specific time and place.”
Malar Group CEO Sayan Navaratnam added, “We’re excited to partner with Westbrook Studios on a slate of film and television projects driven by distinctive creative vision and exceptional storytelling. 215 caught our attention immediately. It’s the untold origin story of a show that audiences around the world have connected with for decades, but at its heart, it’s about two people who believed in each other, overcame extraordinary odds and built something that endured. 215 marks the start of a broader collaboration with Westbrook Studios, and we look forward to this project and the stories still to come.”
Westbrook’s previous scripted shows include Bel-Air — a dramatic remake of the Smith-led sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — Cobra Kai and ABC’s Women of the Movement. On the film side, it has a Night of the Living Dead remake, Netflix’s Fast & Loose and I Am Legend 2 on deck.
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