‘Family Matters’ stars discuss streaming and possible reboot at 90s Con

The stars of 90s TV favorites reunited at Connecticut’s Hartford Convention Center over the weekend for the first-ever 90s Con.

Among the stars who sat down with ABC Audio were Reginald VelJohnson, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Darius McCrary and Jo Marie Payton from “Family Matters.”

“We’re not just one of the greatest shows of the ’90s,” said McCrary, who played Eddie Winslow. “We’re one of the greatest shows of all time!”

Payton, who played Winslow family matriarch Harriette, agreed, offering a hearty “Amen!”

“Family Matters” ran from 1989 to 1998, first on ABC before a move to CBS for its final season. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the series found a huge new audience via streaming.
“I mean, everything else is horrible, but the cool thing about the pandemic is it drove us all back together,” Williams said. “I think that parents that are our age, they wanted to share a specific kind of experience with their kids.”

Williams, who played Laura Lee Winslow, continued, “When we saw that the show had been streamed over two billion times during the pandemic, that was awesome.”

VelJohnson, who played Winslow family patriarch Carl, is pulling for a reboot: “I’d be a grandfather.” He laughed when asked what that would mean for the show’s most memorable character, Urkel, played by Jaleel White.

“Urkel’s kids! Oh lord, could you imagine? ‘Did I do that?'” VelJohnson said, dropping the character’s catchphrase.

Payton, who already stars in the reboot of “The Proud Family” on Disney+, has one rule: A reboot can’t be like Peacock’s new “Fresh Prince” re-do, “Bel-Air.”

“I wouldn’t like to go that way because we were not a dramedy,” Payton said. “We were a situation comedy.”

Coincidentally, “Saturday Night Live” recently dreamed up a gritty “Family Matters” reboot called “Urkel.”