TV's Tanners return in Netflix's 'Fuller House'

The situation is the same, but the characters ... well, actually, they haven't changed all that much.

One of the most popular shows in ABC's "TGIF" comedy lineup during its 1987-95 run, "Full House" gets the chance to maintain not only the same feel but the same day as Netflix brings back the Tanner family with all 13 first-season episodes of the sequel series "Fuller House" Friday, Feb. 26. While original stars John Stamos (also an executive producer), Bob Saget, Dave Coulier and Lori Loughlin will appear, the focus is on younger returnees: Candace Cameron Bure, Jodie Sweetin and Andrea Barber, whose D.J., Stephanie and Kimmy Gibbler unite to raise the newly widowed D.J.'s three sons - one of whom, in a definite nod to "Full House," is played by twins (though Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen are absent from the new show).

"Full House" creator Jeff Franklin wrote the "Fuller House" premiere and says he "wanted to create an episode that was for the fans ... in essence, almost the last episode of 'Full House' that we never got to do, and really something that was going to make the fans happy, that was going to be full of nostalgia. Those fans know the show inside and out, probably better than I do. They've watched 192 episodes over and over and over for over 25 years, so we wanted to combine that with setting up the new show."

Bure admits that reprising the role of D.J., who's now a veterinarian, was "extremely overwhelming. I walked onto the sound stage with Jeff for the first time, and I had to pause and stop and take more than a few moments, because the emotions really got to me. I was just crying because I was flooded with so many memories, but I also remember the first table reading when we sat down together as a cast with all of the producers and the writers, then heard the words come to life. It was just like we never skipped a beat, and I think that was a reassuring feeling because we were like, 'OK. This is going to work.'"

Another indication of "Fuller House's" new-yet-familiar sensibility is a revision of the original theme song, "Everywhere You Look," performed by Carly Rae Jepsen (following her recent stint in Fox's "Grease: Live") and Butch Walker. Returning executive producer Robert L. Boyett credits Nick at Nite repeats of "Full House" with helping to keep the show popular enough to generate a "Fuller House," which also meets Netflix's mandate to "double down" (per the streaming service's content chief, Ted Sarandos) on original fare suitable for all ages.

"I think there's an appetite for family programming again," Boyett reasons. "We went through that phase of families watching television together when they had one television in the home, and then when every kid had a television in their bedroom, things changed. Now, families are, I think, looking for an opportunity to spend time together.

"This (cast) is a family of people that has stayed close all through the years, and that comes through on the screen," adds Boyett. "If that were not there, I don't think we would be doing the show."