EXCLUSIVE: Bel-Air became Peacock‘s first breakout hit when it launched on Feb. 13, 2022. Four and a half years later, it may become the NBCUniversal streamer’s first scripted original series to get a spinoff. Peacock is developing Hilary, a Bel-Air offshoot centered on Will Smith‘s (Jabari Banks) cousin, played on the mothership by Coco Jones who is set to headline the potential new series as the title star.
Hilary is written by Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip, Harlem), who is new to the franchise. It comes from the studios behind Bel-Air, Will Smith’s Westbrook Studios and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.
In the proposed spinoff, after accepting an unexpected job offer from celebrity chef Yvonne Durand, Hilary Banks (Jones) impulsively moves to New York determined to prove herself beyond her Bel-Air connections — only to find that success, friendship and love in the city come with a cost she never anticipated.
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The premise gives Hilary a fresh start and a different path than the one charted in the series finale of Bel-Air which saw the talented chef move back to Los Angeles from Costa Rica to launch her own cafe. The spinoff is more in line with the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which Hilary also moved to New York.
Bel-Air, which wrapped its four-season run in December, is a reimagining of the classic 1990s Will Smith sitcom based on Morgan Cooper’s short fan film of that name.
Jones and Oliver executive produce Hilary alongside Will Smith, Terence Carter, David Boorstein and Miguel Melendez of Westbrook Studios, Benny Medina, Andy Borowitz, Susan Borowitz, Morgan Cooper, the Jeff Pollack trust and the Quincy Jones estate.
In addition to her role on Bel-Air, Jones also appeared in Netflix’s Vampires vs. the Bronx and, most recently, Malcom D. Lee’s psychological thriller Strung. She also has in the can upcoming romantic comedy That’s Her. As a musical artist, Jones released her debut album Why Not More? which earned her a nomination for best R&B Album at the 2026 Grammys. She repped by WME, M88 and Ziffren Brittenham.
Oliver became the first Black woman to write a film that grossed more than $100 million with the 2017 Girls Trip. Her feature credits also include Little, The Sun Is Also a Star and The Blackening. In TV, she created and executive produced the series First Wives Club and Harlem. Oliver has in the works The Wedding Date, a movie for Netflix based on Jasmine Guillory’s book, Girls Trip 2, The Blackening 2, the holiday film Deck the Y’alls starring Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain as well as thriller drama series Paper Gods at Netflix and Not a Happy Family at Starz. She is repped by CAA, Artists First and Myman Greenspan Fox.
Rosy Cordero contributed to this report.
