Hilary Banks is trading the Banks mansion for New York City. Probably will just be in a NYC penthouse, though.
Get this, Peacock is developing Hilary, a dramatic spinoff of Bel-Air starring Coco Jones as the eldest Banks daughter, with Girls Trip and Harlem creator Tracy Oliver attached as writer and showrunner. If the project moves forward, it would become Peacock’s first scripted original series spinoff.
The story picks up with Hilary accepting an unexpected job offer from celebrity chef Yvonne Durand. She makes an impulsive move to New York, determined to establish herself without leaning on her family’s wealth, connections or name.
The city quickly introduces her to a different kind of pressure, where career ambitions, relationships and friendships carry consequences she did not anticipate.
Westbrook Studios, founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, is producing alongside Universal Television. Jones remains at the center of the story, while the move to New York opens the door for an entirely new ensemble. Familiar faces from Bel-Air could still appear as guest stars.
The timing gives the spinoff a natural launch point. Bel-Air recently completed its four-season run after transforming The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into a serialized drama built around identity, class, family and the cultural collision between West Philadelphia and Los Angeles privilege.
Jones’ Hilary became one of the clearest examples of that reinvention. The character evolved from the original sitcom’s fashion-obsessed daughter into a culinary creator and influencer fighting for independence while navigating sponsorships, family expectations and her own ambitions.
That foundation makes New York an intriguing next chapter. Hilary already knows what it means to live inside someone else’s version of success. Now she gets to find out who she is when the Banks name cannot open every door.
For Peacock, the project also offers a way to keep Morgan Cooper and Will Smith’s modernized Fresh Prince universe alive without simply repeating the original series. This time, Hilary gets the city, the spotlight and the chance to build something entirely her own.