The classic TGIF sitcom Family Matters had a consistent main cast until mom Harriette Winslow was abruptly recast during the final season. The network TV landscape of the 1980s and the 1990s was all about family-oriented sitcoms, with the occasional exception such as Married with Children, which was about a family but courted controversy with its more risque episodes. One such wholesome family sitcom was Family Matters, which debuted in 1989 on ABC and signed off in 1998 after nearly a decade on the air.
By the end of its run Family Matters had fled ABC’s TGIF line-up and moved to CBS, which was being vastly overshadowed on the comedy front by both ABC and NBC at the time, and put out big money to acquire the long-running show for season 9. Of course, it turned out that season 9 would ultimately be Family Matters’ last, as despite indications to the cast and crew there would be a season 10, CBS instead decided to abruptly drop the cancellation ax.
While Family Matters season 9 seemed a bit off overall, and the show had seen better days by that point, one of the biggest hits its final season took was losing Harriette Winslow’s original actress Jo Marie Payton (The Glades). Cast members being replaced between seasons isn’t unheard of, but someone ducking out in the middle of the final year is quite uncommon. Here’s why the Winslow matriarch was recast.
Why Family Matters Recast Harriette Winslow Halfway Through Season 9
What some viewers tend to forget is that Family Matters was actually a spinoff, as the Harriette character was first introduced on sitcom Perfect Strangers. Reginald VelJohnson also made some cameos as Harriette’s husband Carl. When ABC decided to launch Family Matters, the intent was to create a star vehicle for Jo Marie Payton’s Harriette. Along the way though, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White, DuckTales) joined the cast, he caught on with audiences, and Family Matters essentially turned into Steve Urkel and friends.
This change understandably never sat well with Payton, who also felt that Family Matters’ quality level had steadily dipped as it went on. She decided she wanted out several years before the end of the show, but had signed an eight-season contract and with Family Matters being a hit, ABC wasn’t inclined to let her out of it. She was more than ready to exit following season 8, but CBS made her a good enough offer that she agreed to continue playing Harriette, as the network wanted to ensure a sense of continuity between Family Matters’ stay on ABC and its move to CBS. However, the agreement came with an interesting clause.
The clause stated that if Will & Grace’s Payton wished, she could leave Family Matters after the first half of season 9 had been filmed. Her desire to leave hadn’t changed, and so she did, leaving CBS and the producers to quickly find a new actress to fill the void in the Winslow family. Judyann Elder, who had recurred on Martin and done lots of voice work, thus took over the Harriette role. By the end of season 9 though, the bottom had fallen out of Family Matters’ ratings thanks to an ill-considered timeslot switch, and CBS unceremoniously pulled the plug.
