Good news and bad news for Fuller House fans. The good news is that the show’s coming back for a fifth season! The bad news? Season 5 is gonna be the show’s final one. How rude! But seriously, while it sucks that the adventures of the Fuller/Tanner/Gibbler family will soon come to an end (but also there’s a petition if you want to change that), it’s great to know that they’re going to get to go out with a bang. If you think Fuller House has been wild in the first four seasons, who knows what they’ll bust out for a grand finale?!
There’s one thing that I firmly believe the show has to do before it signs off for good–and no, it’s not convince Mary-Kate and/or Ashley Olsen to return for an episode. I’ve come to terms with the fact that that just ain’t gonna happen! But this final, Season 5 wish does involve Michelle: even though the odds of seeing Michelle Tanner one last time are slim to none, we have got to see her friends one more time!
Over the course of four seasons, Fuller House has woven fan-service cameos into every possible plot. Stephanie’s high school frenemy Gia’s come back a few times, and we even got to see the oft-mentioned but rarely seen Kathy Santoni! DJ’s exes Nelson and Viper came back for an episode, and so did Stephanie’s pretend husband Harry Takayama. We even saw Kimmy’s lunkhead beau Duane again!! As a sequel show, Fuller House wisely pulled from its extensive cast of characters over and over again, and it was all delightful.
That’s why it has been a consistent bummer that Michelle’s entire posse has been ignored, seemingly because Michelle’s been absent from the show.
Don’t punish these actors just because the Olsen twins are busy being fashion gurus! That totally ignores just how important (yes, important!) Michelle’s friends were to defining the latter half of Full House’s run. As soon as the Olsen twins were able to talk (sidenote: isn’t it insane that Full House cast them as babies and then got lucky when it turned out they could also act?!), the show surrounded Michelle with a cast of characters rad enough for their own spinoff show.
There was Aaron (Miko Hughes), who I will succinctly describe as a snotty little weasel. There was Denise (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), Michelle’s super cool best bud who had a great attitude. Michelle’s original BFF was Teddy (Tahj Mowry), an all around good kid who moved to Texas and back. And of course there was Derek (Blake McIver), the prim and proper theatre loving goody two shoes that gave so many gay kids representation on ABC’s lineup.
Michelle’s friends were a major part of the show; aside from Danny’s almost-wife Vicky, Teddy, Denise, Aaron, and Derek appeared in the most episodes of any supporting characters! They were a big deal, and it’s time we got to catch up with all of them.
Obviously it’s hard to figure out a way to work them in when their childhood friend is M.I.A., but why can’t Derek get a job at DJ’s animal clinic? Or maybe Aaron’s evolved into a slimy Silicon Valley bro, one that hires Kimmy to throw a launch party for an app? Maybe Teddy moves in next door–the other, non-Gibbler next door (seriously, why do we never meet those neighbors?). Maybe Denise’s life mirrors Jurnee Smollet-Bell’s and she’s now playing a superhero (yeah, Denise grew up to be Black Canary). Any press tour would have to involve a stop on Wake Up San Francisco! Don’t tell me these are implausible, impossible dreams. These are the kind of shoehorned-in cameos Fuller House loves!
There’s honestly no excuse to keep these characters sidelined, not when pretty much every other Full Houser has returned for one more ride. Fuller House can’t coax the Olsen twins back, but they can do the next best thing: bring back all of her friends.
