Fuller House

Andrea Barber

Michael Campion

Elias Harger

Soni Nicole Bringas

Dashiell and Fox Messitt

Robert L. Boyett

***Fuller House*** is an American family sitcom and sequel to the 1987–95 television series *Full House*, airing as a Netflix original series. It was created by Jeff Franklin, and is produced by Jeff Franklin Productions and Miller-Boyett Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television. The series centers around D.J. Tanner-Fuller, a veterinarian and widowed mother of three sons, whose sister and best friend—the mother to a teenage daughter—provide support in her sons' upbringings by moving in with her.

Most of the original series ensemble cast have reprised their roles on *Fuller House*; some in regular roles, with others in special appearances. However, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who alternated in the role of Michelle Tanner on *Full House,* do not appear in the first season.

Netflix ordered an initial 13 episodes which were released on February 26, 2016 worldwide. On March 2, 2016, the series was renewed for a second season, and production for the second season began on May 5, 2016.

## Premise

Like the original series, the show is set in the same house in San Francisco, California.[5] Recently widowed D.J. Tanner-Fuller is a veterinarian and the mother of three young boys. After the sudden death of her husband, Tommy, who was following his hazardous duties as a firefighter, D.J. accepts the help of her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy to move in and take part in raising her three sons, 13-year-old Jackson, 7-year-old Max, and baby Tommy Jr. Kimmy's teenage daughter Ramona also moves in.[3]

## Cast

### Main

Main article: List of Full House and Fuller House characters

* Candace Cameron Bure as Dr. D.J. Tanner Fuller, a widowed mother who has a full time job as a veterinarian[6]
* Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner, D.J.'s younger sister, who leaves her life in London and as a traveling DJ to help D.J. raise her kids[7]
* Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler, D.J.'s best friend and owner of a party planning business, who moves in with D.J. and Stephanie to help them raise D.J.'s kids[8]
* Michael Campion as Jackson Fuller, D.J.'s mischievous 13-year-old son who often engages in reckless stunts[9][10][11]
* Elias Harger as Max Fuller, D.J.'s 7-year-old son[12]
* Soni Nicole Bringas as Ramona Gibbler, Kimmy's 13-year-old daughter[10]
* Dashiell & Fox Messitt as Tommy Fuller, Jr., D.J.'s infant son[10]
* Ashley Liao as Lola, Ramona's best friend and Jackson's love interest (recurring: season 1; main: season 2)[13]
* John Brotherton as Dr. Matt Harmon, co-worker and love interest of D.J. (recurring: season 1; main: season 2)[14]
* Juan Pablo Di Pace as Fernando, Kimmy's ex-husband and Ramona's father (recurring: season 1; main: season 2)[15][16]
* Scott Weinger as Steve Hale, a podiatrist and D.J.'s ex-boyfriend, who tries to get back with her after his unsuccessful marriage; also the owner of Comet Jr. Jr. (recurring: season 1; main: season 2)[17][16]

### Recurring

* John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis, D.J. and Stephanie's uncle (Danny's brother-in-law of his first marriage); the music composer for *General Hospital*[18]
* Lori Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson-Katsopolis, Jesse's wife and aunt to D.J. and Stephanie, who leaves San Francisco to co-star with Danny on *Wake Up USA* in Los Angeles[19]
* Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone, a Vegas comedian[20]
* Bob Saget as Danny Tanner, D.J. and Stephanie's father, who leaves San Francisco for Los Angeles to star in the new talk show *Wake Up USA*[20]
* Robin Thomas as Dr. Fred Harmon, Matt's father and the owner of Harmon Pet Care, D.J.'s employer

### Guest stars

* Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as Nicky and Alex Katsopolis, Jesse and Rebecca's twin sons, who both spent six years in college with plans to open a fish taco truck together[21]
* Eva LaRue as Teri Tanner, Danny's wife[21]
* Lanny Cordola and Gary Griffin, original members of Jesse and the Rippers
* Maksim Chmerkovskiy as himself
* Valentin Chmerkovskiy as himself
* Macy Gray as herself
* Tyne Stecklein as Mandy
* Ryan McPartlin as Tyler, a brief potential love interest of D.J.
* Hunter Pence as himself
* Michael Sun Lee as Harry Takayama, Stephanie's childhood friend who is a CPA[22]
* Steve Talley as Darren, a brief love interest of Stephanie
* Isaak Presley as Bobby Popko

## Production

### Development

In August 2014, reports circulated that Warner Bros. Television was considering a series reboot. John Stamos, who had an ownership stake in the show, headed up the attempt to get the series back into production. Creator Jeff Franklin returned as executive producer and showrunner with the collaboration of original executive producers Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett under their Miller-Boyett Productions label.[23]

In April 2015, it was reported that Netflix was close to closing a deal to produce a 13-episode sequel series tentatively titled *Fuller House*. A representative for Netflix said that the report was "just a rumor."[23][24] In response to the report, Bure tweeted, "While you all ponder over whether the *Fuller House* show is true or is an April Fools joke, check out [link to her upcoming TV movie]", and Stamos tweeted, "Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see."[25] On April 20, he appeared on *Jimmy Kimmel Live*, confirming the spin-off series had been green-lit by Netflix.

In a parallel to the original series, *Fuller House* focuses on D.J., who is a recently widowed mother of three boys, with her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy moving in to help raise the boys. The series starts off with a special episode featuring a Tanner family reunion.[26][27] On April 21, Netflix confirmed the series was in development.[28] Filming of the series began in July 2015 and lasted until November 2015.[3][29] In December 2015, the series' release date was revealed as February 26, 2016.[10] Later in the month, Carly Rae Jepsen revealed she and Butch Walker recreated the *Full House* theme song, "Everywhere You Look" (which was originally performed by Jesse Frederick, who co-wrote the song with Bennett Salvay), for the series as its opening theme.[30]

### Casting

In addition to Cameron Bure, Sweetin, and Barber reprising their roles, the other main roles went to Michael Campion, Elias Harger, and Soni Bringas, as their children: Jackson and Max Fuller, and Ramona Gibbler, respectively.[12] It was disclosed that John Stamos would have a recurring role as Jesse Katsopolis and would also be producing.[18] Other original main cast members who would be reprising their roles periodically are Lori Loughlin as Becky Katsopolis, Bob Saget as Danny Tanner, and Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone.[19][20][31][32] Dylan and Blake Tuomy-Wilhoit also make an appearance reprising their roles as Nicky and Alex Katsopolis, respectively.[21] On April 19, 2016, it was announced Ashley Liao, who plays Ramona's best friend, had been upgraded to a series regular.[13]

Additional cast members recurring regularly throughout the series include Juan Pablo Di Pace, playing Kimmy's husband, Fernando, and Scott Weinger, reprising the role of Steve Hale, D.J.'s high school boyfriend.[17][33] Eva LaRue portrays Danny's wife Teri,[21] and Michael Sun Lee makes an appearance as the adult version of Nathan Nishiguchi's character, Harry Takayama, who was Stephanie's childhood friend.[15][22]

Shortly after announcing the spin-off series, it was uncertain whether Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who shared the role of Michelle Tanner, would choose to participate.[34] The Olsen twins ultimately rejected the offer because Ashley has not acted in years with no intentions to restart, and Mary-Kate initially considered the part but later declined as it was not feasible with her fashion career at the time.[22][29][35][36][37] Subsequently, the producers decided to have Michelle reside in New York City, where she is highly focused on her fashion enterprise.[38] By January 2016, they asked the Olsen twins' younger sister, Elizabeth, if she had any ambitions to take the part of Michelle, but she ultimately declined as well.[39] Nonetheless, the producers are still prodding the Olsen twins to return and are confident that one of the twins will decide to reappear during the second season.[40][41]

## Episodes

Netflix ordered an initial 13 episodes which were released on February 26, 2016. Shortly following the premiere, the series was renewed for a second season on March 2.[42] The first episode of season 2 is titled "Welcome Back".[43][44]

## Reception

### Reviews

*Fuller House* received generally negative reviews, with most noting the series was very derivative of its source material and was oriented toward fans of the original show. On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a rating of 33%, based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "After the initial dose of nostalgia, *Fuller House* has little to offer to anyone except the original series' most diehard fans."[45] On Metacritic the series has an average score of 35 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[46]

Dan Fienberg of *The Hollywood Reporter* panned the show, calling it "a mawkish, grating, broadly played chip off the *Full House* block." He also added that "It's doubtful that there will be a more painful 2016 TV episode than the *Fuller House* pilot, which takes an inexcusable 35 minutes to establish a plot that is just an inversion of the original *Full House* premise."[47] David Weigand of the *San Francisco Chronicle* reacted similarly, writing: "The episodes are predictable because they’re unoriginal and the writing is painful. The canned laughter is perhaps the greatest reminder of the 'good old days'. If only all those recorded voices had something legitimate to laugh at."[48] Maureen Ryan of *Variety* wrote that the show "continually goes to the well of having cute kids mug for the camera as they practically yell their lines, and just a little of its self-congratulatory, blaring obviousness goes a long way."[49]

Parents have complained that the reboot is not family friendly because it includes cursing and references to sex and drugs.[50]

In a more positive review, Verne Gay from *Newsday* wrote that the show is like "*Full House 2.0*" and that while it has the "same premise, same vibe, mostly same cast", it is "a winner, strictly for fans."[51]