Will Smith is still the Fresh Prince, but this version of Bel-Air is fraught with more drama than comedy.

Jabari Banks plays Will Smith, a fictional version of the actor’s comic Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character. And though this Will is one part lovable goofball and center of attention, he also has a dark side we never really saw on the classic NBC sitcom.

It’s almost impossible to rate Bel-Air on its own merits without comparing it to its predecessor. What’s the same? Will is still a troubled yet inherently likable character, who lives with his single mom in Philadelphia. He gets in “one little fight” that isn’t really his fault, but causes him no end of trouble, When he gets shipped to Bel-Air to live with his aunt and uncle, he experiences the same amount of culture shock: his distant relations are seriously well-off.

Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) is running for district attorney and Aunt Viv (Cassandra Freeman) is a professor, and both are kind to Will but cautious of the trouble he’s going to cause them. Cousin Hilary (Coco Jones) is a social media influencer, not an empty-headed socialite, and she befriends Will quickly, as does the cute youngest cousin Ashley (Akira Akbar), who exists on the periphery of the family.

Then there’s cousin Carlton (Olly Sholotan), and this is where the new show sharply diverges from its earlier version. This Carlton is instantly on guard with Will, protecting his turf from his interloping cousin. And this Carlton isn’t a goofy loser – he’s a popular athlete and big man on campus, who doesn’t want to share the spotlight.

Will infiltrates Carlton’s world, and in no time he has gotten chummy with his ex-girlfriend Lisa (Simone Joy Jones), become a success in athletics, and seems to be taking Carlton’s place as favorite child in the household. All of this makes Carlton very, very angry.

This Carlton is a straight-up villain. He snorts cocaine (though he claims it’s Xanax) and his friends are the stereotypical overprivileged white a**sholes, who plant drugs on Will and want to be able to say the n-word without consequences. He’s ruthless, humorless, and probably won’t be doing an iconic dance to a Tom Jones song.

Will’s trouble in Philadelphia is much more serious here too: Will fires a gun (in the air) when a pick-up basketball game devolves into a brawl. He gets arrested and only his uncle’s connections get him out of jail without any future repercussions, as long as relocates from Philly to California. The leader of the gang he runs afoul of vows to find Will and make him pay, and Will’s predeliction for finding the spotlight makes this easy: he goes viral for his success on the basketball court.

This and other changes make the show a totally different experience than the original: issues of racism and classism are directly addressed here, and the violence is not implied when fights break out. The dialogue is littered with profanity, which makes it feel more natural, once you get past the shock. But perhaps the most jarring change is the absence of the iconic theme song; perhaps it wouldn’t fit with this new dramatic take, but it is sorely missed.

Still, the acting is good: Sholotan seethes with menace whenever he’s on-screen, and Banks is a good foil; his Will is multi-faceted – part hot-headed clown, part over-achiever, and part abandoned child. Jones plays Hilary as anything but an empty-headed social climber; her character sees injustice and sacrifices to end it. And Uncle Phil remains the heart of the show; his character aches for the pain Will has suffered but won’t allow him to use it as an excuse to blow up Will’s life or theirs.

Bel-Air started life as a fan-submitted trailer of a dramatic version of the comedy, which came to the attention of Will Smith. Morgan Cooper, who created the trailer, was tasked with developing the concept into a full-fledged show with the help of Malcolm Spellman, TJ Brady and Rasheed Newson. And while this take will require viewers to adjust their expectations of the show (and maybe play the old Fresh Prince them on their own time), it’s a show worth watching.

The first three episodes are available to stream on Peacock now and new episodes will drop weekly.