John Stamos helped spearhead the Netflix Full House revival, Fuller House , but before that, the actor actually didn’t watch his 80s ABC sitcom for 20 years! In an interview with People , John Stamos revealed that he didn’t watch Full House at all after the series ended its eight-season run in 1995.
“I’m not kidding you, I’ve literally not seen a show in about 20 years. When we started to work on the spin-off, Jeff [Franklin] and I said, ‘Let’s watch a few episodes.’ We got through about three minutes, and I was like, ‘Turn it off! I can’t deal with that hair!’ “
Although he took a 20-year hiatus from Full House , Stamos did get a little nostalgic as he reviewed episodes of the classic comedy series before he teamed up his former cast mates to shoot the new spin-off series for Netflix.
“I watched the pilot for the first time in 20 years. And I laughed my a** off. I thought it was really funny. I forgot all the stuff; I mean, I walk in and say [to Danny], ‘Your baby’s a pig.’ “
John Stamos added that rewatching the old series provided a few other benefits because he was able to steal stuff from it for Fuller House . John also described his relationship with Full House fans as much more “intimate” as it was back in the day thanks to the use of social media.
While fans never forgot about Full House (the sitcom’s successful syndication stint have made it possible to relive the Tanner clan’s stories over and over again for the past two decades), John Stamos’ revelations about how he never watched the show mirror some of his co-stars comments.
According to the Huffington Post , Fuller House star Candace Cameron Bure said she didn’t think about Full House or her character, D.J. Tanner, much at all after the show wrapped in 1995.
“I didn’t think about D.J. after the show ended. I never gave it a second thought.”
In addition, John Stamos’ Full House and Fuller House co-star Jodie Sweetin (middle Tanner daughter, Stephanie, on the show), said she did not rewatch the show’s nearly 200 episodes after it was canceled by ABC.
“Fans always ask about that stuff. It’s like we must go home and watch all 192 episodes every night. But honestly, Stephanie? I have no idea. I never thought about it.”
Luckily, fans did think about it, so the Fuller House spin-off was a welcome reward for viewers who waited two decades to find out what happened to Uncle Jesse, Deej, and the rest of the gang. The spin-off follows D.J, Stephanie and childhood pal Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber) as they move in together to raise D.J.’s three sons after the death of her husband.
It’s a good thing Stamos watched the old episodes and stole some ideas for it. Otherwise, Fuller House could have gone down a very different path. In an interview with USA Today , John Stamos said producers originally had ideas for a totally different Fuller House spin-off .
“In the beginning, there was a lot of talk of having the girls move into an apartment and do a ‘ Sex and the City’ kind of thing. We thought of everything. Then we were like, ‘No, we have to rebuild that house. The house is a character.’ “
Diehard fans are grateful the showrunners decided to keep the Tanner sisters in San Francisco, and rebuild the original set and use the same props.
Watch the video below to see John Stamos talking about how the Fuller House cast stays so young looking 20 years later.
[Photo By Emma McIntyre/Getty Images]