Fuller House Boss Defends Premiere's 'Playful' Joke About M.I.A. Olsen Twins: 'The Door Is Always Open'
Fuller House‘s series premiere might contain a joke at the Olsen Twins’ expense — neither actress wanted to return as Michelle — but series creator Jeff Franklin insists there’s no bad blood between them.
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“It wasn’t meant to be a dig; it was meant to be playful,” Franklin told reporters Sunday at the Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena. “We all tried to persuade them to come and play; they decided not to at this time. We’re hopeful that at some time in the future, they might change their minds and reprise Michelle. We only need one of ’em. We still love them, and the door is always open.”
Moving onto more pleasant topics, Franklin considers Fuller‘s pilot — which drops Feb. 26, along with the rest of Season 1 — to serve as the long-lost Full House series finale.
“I wanted to create an episode that was for the fans, that was in essence the last episode of Full House that we never got to do,” he explained. “We wanted to combine that with setting up the new show.”
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Added executive producer Robert Boyett, “I think the show came to a sort of natural end. The ultimate decision was the network’s. Our show was a family show, which was quite expensive to produce. … For us, we felt that some of our actors were really ready to move on. We sat down and talked about it like a family. It felt like the right thing to do. We left it open-ended.”
But don’t get too attached to seeing that entire family — sans the Olsen Twins and “Comet” — under one roof; the original cast members’ visits become “more sporadic” after Episode 1.
“As the show goes along, it’s great to have the guys and Aunt Becky come through now and then, because it’s a family,” Franklin added. “But this is a show that’s centered around [DJ, Stephanie and Kimmy].”
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“I have been approached at least two or three times a year [by Warner Bros. TV] for some follow-up on Full House,” Boyett revealed. “I hated reunion shows, and didn’t want to do a reunion show. Mostly, they are lousy. I felt if something worthy came along, we might do something in the future The right idea finally came along, thanks to Jeff. We thought [the concept of Fuller House] was very timely.”
Your thoughts on Fuller House‘s rapidly approaching premiere? Drop ’em in a comment below.
Reporting by Vlada Gelman
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