the Fresh Prince cameos are a nice reminder of the source material.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air starred Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself. The series focuses on Will’s life after moving from West Philly to live with his rich aunt, uncle, and cousins in Bel-Air, California. The Fresh Prince’s Banks family became one of the most popular 1990s sitcom families, making appearances from the original cast in Bel-Air exciting and nostalgia-fueled. Bel-Air also doesn’t rely too much on cameos and appealing to people’s nostalgia, having become a success in its own right, which makes them even more special when they happen.

4 Vernee Watson-Johnson

Viola "Vy" Smith

Most of Bel-Air season 1 was spent establishing the series as more of a re-imagination of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air than a remake. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that there wasn’t a cameo from an original Fresh Prince cast member until Bel-Air season 1's second-to-last episode. Vernee Watson-Johnson was one of two Fresh Prince actors to appear in Bel-Air season 1, episode 9, playing Helen. Watson-Johnson played Viola “Vy” Smith, Will’s mom, in a recurring role throughout The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Vy was the oldest of the Smith sisters, and when Will got in a fight with a local gang member in West Philly, she sent him to live with her younger sister, Vivian, and her family in Bel-Air. Since Fresh Prince is set in Bel-Air, Vy didn’t appear often but was still an integral part of the series and story. She was portrayed as stubborn, leading to clashes with Viv and their youngest sister, Janice. Even in her most frustrating moments, Vy always had Will’s best interest at heart.

Watson-Johnson appeared in Bel-Air as Helen, a member of the Neeman Artistic Foundation that awards Aunt Viv with a fellowship. She shares her scene with Daphne Maxwell Reid, who played Aunt Viv in the later seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This reunited the main Smith sisters in Bel-Air. Though she didn’t get to interact with the new Vy, it was a nice way to blend the shows without distracting from Bel-Air’s story or feeling forced.

3 Daphne Maxwell Reid

Aunt Viv

As aforementioned, Daphne Maxwell Reid played Aunt Viv in the final three seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Reid was added to the cast in The Fresh Prince season 4 when she replaced the original Aunt Viv, Janet Hubert. The decision was controversial, as Hubert’s pregnancy, which was written into the series, allegedly violated her contract, with a supposed feud with Will Smith also contributing to her firing, but Hubert revealed the truth in the Fresh Prince reunion. She also met Reid for the first time in a monumental moment for the cast and viewers.

There were some notable differences between the two portrayals of Aunt Viv, with Reid taking on a more ive, demure role when compared to Hubert’s more independent Aunt Viv. This made Reid’s Bel-Air storyline as Janice fitting. Janice was the Neeman Artistic Foundation’s executive director, and while she initially championed Aunt Viv in Bel-Air, she eventually became controlling and stifled her artistic visions. This put them at odds in Bel-Air, with the reboot making an interesting choice to make Reid’s character a villain.

Fortunately, Janice and Aunt Viv came to an understanding in Bel-Air. When Janice was fired as the foundation’s executive director and Aunt Viv was offered the position, she planned to fight against it and ruin the foundation and Aunt Viv’s reputation. However, Aunt Viv convinced her not to. She was inspired by Janice as an artist and businesswoman, making her see that she wasn’t being replaced but was instead ing the torch. This also represented a touching ing of the torch from Reid to Cassandra Freeman, who plays Aunt Viv in Bel-Air.

2 Tatyana Ali

Ashley Banks

Tatyana Ali played Ashley Banks for all six seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She was the youngest Banks child until Aunt Viv gave birth to Nicky in The Fresh Prince season 3. Ashley was a pre-teen in The Fresh Prince season 1 and the show followed her growth into her teenage years and all the changes that came with that. She was the most accepting of Will when he first arrived in Bel-Air, and he became a role model and another older brother to her.

Sometimes this backfired, with Ashley becoming rebellious in her teenage years, leading Uncle Phil to see Will as a bad influence on her. In Bel-Air, Tatyana Ali's character formed a close relationship with the new version of Ashley’s character. Ali played Mrs. Hughes in Bel-Air, Ashley’s teacher who was fired for not adhering to the school’s curriculum after she gave Ashley extra reading materials. This material featured works by Black authors, as Mrs. Hughes felt the curriculum wasn’t diverse enough.

Ashley and other students protested Mrs. Hughes’ firing in Bel-Air season 2, but Mrs. Hughes took a job in Chicago to be closer to her family. Ali had a recurring role in Bel-Air, making her The Fresh Prince cast member with the largest role in the reboot. In an interview with PEOPLE, Ali called her time on Bel-Air a “360-degree moment” and shared that she “bawled” after filming a scene in which Mrs. Hughes gives Ashley words of wisdom. Their scenes often felt like an older version of Ashley talking to her younger self.

1 Joseph Marcell

Geoffrey Butler

Joseph Marcell played the unofficial member of the Banks family in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, their butler, aptly named Geoffrey Butler. Geoffrey was born in London and was often used as comic relief, with his sarcasm and cynicism as his main character traits. He didn’t approve of Will when he first arrived, though he took issue with everyone in the Banks family due to their laziness and dependence on him. Still, he loves and cares about them, taking pride in helping take care of the house and those who live there.

Geoffrey is the character most different from his Fresh Prince counterpart in Bel-Air. Instead of being the Banks family's butler, he is the house manager whose duties extend far beyond keeping the house presentable. This is how Joseph Marcell’s character, Roman, someone from Geoffrey’s past life in London, fits into Bel-Air season 3’s storyline. Geoffrey has been running from his past in Bel-Air ever since he left England on bad with his former “organization.”

The organization and Roman wanted Geoffrey to return to London to pay his “debts” to them, threatening his son, Frederick. Geoffrey paid Roman off to protect Frederick and stay in Bel-Air, giving Marcell just a one-episode arc in Bel-Air. Marcell’s role as Roman was a major change from his role as Geoffrey, representing the changes between the shows. Bel-Air showrunner Carla Banks Waddles shared with The Hollywood Reporter the difficulty of getting Marcell, a working actor in London, to California to film his scenes. Luckily, everything worked out and the two Geoffreys got to go head-to-head.

Sources: PEOPLE, The Hollywood Reporter