'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' star Daphne Maxwell Reid on Aunt Viv 3.0 as she returns to 'Bel-Air'

In 1993, Daphne Maxwell Reid entered the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, continuing the role of the iconic Vivian Banks “Aunt Viv” on the show, and now she’s back with an appearance on this week’s episode of the new Bel-Air series.

“It was an honour,” Reid told Yahoo Canada. “It's a totally different project, I play a totally different character and I just had a ball working with this great young talent.”

“The storyline that we started way back in the Fresh Prince is basically a fish out of water story. We did it as a half-hour comedy, it was of its time,...it's not transferable to these times because a lot of things are different. But their reimagining of it as a dramatic series with the same basic fish out of water story is brilliantly created [and] of its time.”

Bel-Air marks the third iteration of Vivian Banks, “Aunt Viv 3.0” as Reid says, who has been a bonafide TV icon since the 1990s. First with Janet Hubert, then Reid and now Cassandra Freeman.

“Each person has brought their own sensibilities and personal essence to the character,” Reid explained. “Cassandra is bringing a combination of both of us but it's her characterization of Aunt Vivian, and I honour her characterization as anybody honours mine or Janet’s.”

Ultimately, this new reimagining of the Fresh Prince narrative speaks to what Reid identifies as a core reason why the 1990s series was both successful during its run but has had that lasting power as a cultural phenomenon.

“I think because of the way it was written as a universal story for families and I think the way it was crafted with each individual member of the family having a different point of view,” she explained. “It applies to any family.”

“Some things we pointed out that were funny happened to other families and some things that were poignant or things that people found difficult to talk about, we were able to handle on Fresh Prince, but the main draw and life of that show is based on the energy and the charisma of Will Smith.”

Even as a young actor, Reid identified that Smith had that sustainable star power.

“I saw it because I saw his concentration on the business side of show business,” she said. “I also learned and appreciated his loyalty to the people who support him and who helped him make the decisions that he makes.”

“He would come to rehearsals and give 150 per cent performance and we're walking around going, ‘let’s save that for shoot day’... He never minimized what he was doing, it was always to the max, and his life he has lived, reaching for what is next because of the excitement that he has for growth. I think it's brilliant and it was recognizable.”

Daphne Maxwell Reid's memorable role as a hooker in 'Linc's'

While Fresh Prince may be what Daphne Maxwell Reid is most widely known for, the actor, with a career spanning more than 40 years, identified that the role her husband, Sister Sister actor Tim Reid, says is the best acting she has ever done was in the 1998 to 2000 series Linc's as Eartha, created by her husband and Susan Fales-Hill, acting alongside Steven Williams, Golden Brooks and Pam Grier.

The comedy/drama was focused on Russell A. Lincoln “Linc” (Williams) who owns a Washington, D.C. bar/restaurant that’s a spot for a wide range of patrons, including politicians, prompting discussions on race, sex and politics.

“I played a hooker with a stock market portfolio,” Reid said. “I was the one with all the information because I was getting it from the senators and the judges with whom I was sleeping, and I was able to disseminate the information to my friends and benefited from it.”

“I had the best time doing that role because I think all of us has a little bit of that cheeky in us, and we'd like to express it but it's really not a thing that you do on a regular basis, unless you're in the business. But it really was fun to play that kind of character and have those great lines that I got to play.”

'A wonderful look at a segment of our culture that people didn't get to see otherwise'

Another series Daphne Maxwell Reid worked on, acting alongside her husband, was Frank’s Place, which is consistently regarded as the show that really innovated and pushed the boundaries of what a sitcom could be in 1997 and 1998, receiving three Emmy Awards but lasting only one season.

The comedy/drama is centred around Ivy League professor Frank Parrish (Tim Reid) who inherits a New Orleans restaurant. While his initial plan was to sell it and leave the city as quickly as possible, Frank falls under a voodoo curse that keeps him around. Many have said this show was ahead of its time in terms of being funny, while tackling issues of classism and racism.

“It was such a wonderful look at a segment of our culture that people didn't get to see otherwise and it was so richly done, and we had the presence of wonderful, established actors who really didn't get a shot otherwise,” Reid said. “It was just a marvellous experience and one that we cried when it got canceled, because it got picked up for a second season but politics got in the way.”

In the book “Tim & Tom: An American Comedy in Black and White,” Tim Reid reveals that Walter Cronkite told him that the last episode “The King of Wall Street” about a junk bond trader upset then-CBS CEO Laurence Tisch and impacted the show’s future.

“I think that show is of its time and it would have done well for years if we had maintained the same writers and producers because there was a sensibility to this show that was not common for sitcoms,” Reid said.

“So it started a new genre, but I don't look back to say what would have happened because if that had gone on all the next things that happened would [have been impacted]. So I've enjoyed the ride.”