Will Smith & DJ Jazzy Jeff '215' Leads Westbrook-Malar Slate — SkimNews
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- Westbrook Studios and The Malar Group (founded by Sayan Navaratnam) have launched a new film and TV partnership, with '215' as the first scripted project emerging from the deal.
- '215' is a scripted series based on Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff's early life, following a quick-witted teenage rapper, his DJ, and their friends chasing a record deal as Philadelphia's hip-hop scene takes off in the late '80s and early '90s.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince sold over 5 million records and produced hits including 1989's 'Parents Just Don't Understand' and 1991's 'Summertime.'
- '215' marks the second scripted take on Smith's origin story, following Peacock's 'Bel-Air'—a reimagined 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' that ran for four seasons.
- Under the partnership, The Malar Group will fund projects developed and produced by Westbrook Studios as part of a broader slate.
- Terence Carter, Westbrook's President of Television, said the project celebrates Philadelphia during 'a defining era in the city's late-'80s/early-'90s hip-hop scene.'
Why it matters: Westbrook now has a funded production partner in Malar Group to develop multiple projects, starting with a property tied to an origin story that already proved bankable across four seasons of Peacock's 'Bel-Air.' For Smith, this extends the Fresh Prince IP into a second scripted home; for the market, it confirms continued investor appetite for nostalgia-driven hip-hop biopics.
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