the fresh prince of bel-air is an american television series. it is a sitcom that aired on nbc from september 10, 1990, to may 20, 1996 for six seasons. it is set in bel air, los angeles, and stars will smith as the "fresh prince". at the beginning he lives with his mother in poverty in philadelphia. in the first episode he moves to bel air to live with his rich aunt, uncle and cousins. it was nominated for two golden globe awards. the show was also successful outside of the united states, and was on the uk channel bbc2 from 1991 to 2004.