Full House is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three daughters, eldest Donna Jo Margaret (D.J. for short), middle child Stephanie and youngest Michelle in his San Francisco home. It aired from September 22, 1987 to May 23, 1995, broadcasting eight seasons and 192 episodes.
While never a critical success, the series was consistently in the Nielsen Top 30 (from season two onward) and continues to gain even more popularity in syndicated reruns, and is also aired internationally. One of the producers, Dennis Rinsler, called the show "The Brady Bunch of the 1990s". For actor Dave Coulier, the show represented a "G-rated dysfunctional family".
A sequel series, Fuller House, premiered on Netflix on February 26, 2016, and ran for five seasons, concluding on June 2, 2020.
Premise
After the death of his wife Pam, sports anchor Danny Tanner recruits his brother-in-law (Pam's younger brother) Jesse, a rock musician, and Joey, his best friend since childhood who works as a stand-up comedian, to help raise his three young daughters in San Francisco—DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. Over time, the three men, as well as the girls, bond and become closer to one another.
In season two, Danny is reassigned from his duties as a sports anchor by his television station to become co-host of the morning show, Wake Up, San Francisco, and is teamed up with Nebraska native Rebecca Donaldson. Jesse and Rebecca ("Becky") eventually fall in love and get married in season four. In season five, Becky gives birth to twin sons, Nicholas ("Nicky") and Alexander ("Alex").
Main cast
John Stamos as Jesse Katsopolis
Bob Saget as Danny Tanner
Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone
Candace Cameron as D.J. Tanner
Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie Tanner
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as Michelle Tanner (seasons 2–8; recurring season 1) Lori Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis (seasons 3–8; recurring season 2) Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler (seasons 5–8; recurring seasons 1–4) Scott Weinger as Steve Hale (seasons 6–7; guest seasons 5 & 8) Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as Nicky and Alex Katsopolis (seasons 6–8; recurring season 5)
Production
Casting
The producers' first choice to play the character of Danny Tanner was Bob Saget. Saget was not available to appear in the pilot due to his commitment as an on-air contributor to CBS's The Morning Program. The producers instead cast actor John Posey to play Danny. Posey only appeared in the show's unaired pilot; which is included on the DVD release of Season 1.
John Stamos's character was originally named Jesse Cochran; Stamos reportedly wanted his character to better reflect his Greek heritage, so producers decided to change the character's surname to Katsopolis (beginning with season two).
To comply with child labor laws, twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley were cast to alternate in the role of Michelle during tapings. The girls were jointly credited as "Mary Kate Ashley Olsen" in seasons two through seven because the producers did not want audiences to know that the Michelle character was played by twins. The sisters occasionally appeared together in fantasy sequences. Full House was one of the few shows on TV where a baby character grew up in front of the cameras, with viewers witnessing all the development stages of the twin actresses. Saget recalled he would often get complaints from the child actors' moms because he wouldn't watch his language while on stage. Jodie Sweetin was spotted in a guest spot on the show Valerie. Lori Loughlin was hired in 1988 for a six-episode romance plot with "Uncle Jesse" but ended up staying until the end of the show.
All seven of the original cast members remained with the show through its entire eight-year run, with five characters added to the main cast along the way. D.J.'s best friend Kimmy was a recurring character in seasons one through four, who was upgraded to a regular in season five. Rebecca originally appeared for six episodes in season two; producers decided to expand her role and made her a regular the following season. After marrying Jesse, they have twins Nicky and Alex, who make their debut in season five. As babies, the children were played by Daniel and Kevin Renteria, and in season six, the roles of the twins were succeeded by Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit. The last main character added was Steve Hale, who was D.J.'s boyfriend in seasons six and seven. He was played by Scott Weinger.