DJ Jazzy Jeff & Will Smith’s Origin Story Coming To TV With “215” Series
Originally published by AllHipHop Read the original
Will Smith is bringing his West Philly roots back to the small screen with a brand new scripted series that’s gonna tell the real story of how he and DJ Jazzy Jeff built something legendary from nothing.
The project, called “215” after Philadelphia’s iconic area code, is being developed by Smith’s production company Westbrook Studios alongside investment firm The Malar Group, and it’s shaping up to be something special.
This isn’t just another nostalgia play. The show’s gonna dig into the grind of the late 1980s, when two kids from West Philadelphia tried to break through in a scene that wasn’t exactly rolling out the red carpet for them.
Label meetings, staying true to where you came from, the chaos of sudden success, and the friendship that held it all together. That’s the real story here.
Terence Carter, who runs television for Westbrook Studios, explained why this project matters so much to the company.
“Westbrook has always been focused on developing stories with strong characters, distinctive worlds and a clear point of view,” he said, adding that “215 is especially meaningful to us because it draws from the rise of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and celebrates Philadelphia during such a defining era in the city’s late-’80s/early-’90s hip-hop scene.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will explore how these two friends navigated everything from industry pressure to personal loyalty.
This partnership marks the first collaboration between Westbrook and The Malar Group, with both companies planning to develop more films and television projects together.
Westbrook Studios has already proven it can tell Hip-Hop stories the right way.
The company produced Bel-Air, the dramatic reimagining of the classic sitcom that gave audiences a grittier, more authentic take on the material.
Beyond that, Westbrook’s got “Cobra Kai,” “Women of the Movement,” and upcoming films like “I Am Legend 2” and Netflix’s “Fast and Loose” in the pipeline.