Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet finished Season 3 of Netflix's Fuller House.
Everybody who zipped through the back half of Fuller House got quite a shock in the finale whenever Danny's former flame Vicky Larson returned to San Francisco, possibly setting up some future romancing. This awesome reunion inspired another old school reference, too, as D.J. meta-commented on tracking down other familiar faces and blatantly stated, "I wonder what Urkel's up to," referring to Jaleel White's Family Matters character making a memorable cameo on Full House Season 4 back in 1991. And creator Jeff Franklin has revealed a future Urkel cameo could actually happen if the actor is into it.
I loved when Urkel was on Full House, so I'd love to see him back on Fuller House. I'm good friends with Jaleel, and we've talked about it. It's a really big deal for Jaleel to bring this character back, so I'm not sure that he wants to --- but if he does decide to, this would be a great way for him to reprise the character. And who knows, maybe that'll happen. I'd love to see it. I think everybody's curious about whatever happened to Steve Urkel, so the audience would really enjoy it. We have some fun ideas, so we'll see how that shakes out.
If Fuller House managed to bring Steve Urkel to Season 4 (or whatever season), it would immediately dwarf every other left-field guest star appearance we've seen in these first three seasons, from the New Kids on the Block to Hunter Pence to Alan Thicke's creepy episode. The character hasn't officially reappeared in pop culture since Family Matters ended back in 1998, and considering how wildly popular Urkel was during the sitcom's heyday, it could possibly be one of TV's biggest and weirdest cameos ever. Especially since you know whatever they got him to do would be completely ridiculous.
Jeff Franklin shared his Urkel-fueled thoughts with TVLine, and he seems optimistic that Jaleel White could possibly agree to make it happen one day. One could understand why the actor might not want to, since it's the role that defined his career, but showing up for a Fuller House cameo might be a more attractive option than taking part in an official Family Matters reunion, which fans have been clamoring for. If White would prefer to keep the nerdiness limited, Jeff Franklin would be able to do that.
CinemaBlend spoke with Jaleel White earlier this year for his now-troubled CBS comedy Me, Myself & I, and our conversation happened not long after Hulu started streaming Full House and Family Matters. When I inquired about Steve Urkel showing up on Fuller House at some point, his answer was less about personal interest in returning to the role, and he instead talked about how Netflix reportedly hadn't been interested in picking up Family Matters' streaming rights, and he wasn't sure there would be interest in making it happen.
For some classic 1991 chuckles, check out Steve Urkel's Full House introduction below.
As far as what a Steve Urkel came would include, we seriously doubt Steve Urkel would play a big role in D.J. and Steve's relationship, whatever it ends up turning into in Season 4 and beyond. But maybe he could join them on a horrifying double date or something. Or maybe there could be a dance-off, since the Urkel Dance needs a 21st century upgrade.
Hopefully Jaleel White will agree to return to the Full House-iverse to update everyone on what his life has been like. And then Jeff Franklin can figure out a way to get characters from the rest of the TGIF lineup to also show up in that episode. Get Patrick Duffy's Step By Step dad in there, Perfect Strangers' Balki, the bewitching Sabrina, and one of the Dinosaurs crew, even though they all died.
All three seasons of Fuller House are available to stream on Netflix right now, and even if you've already gone through all the episodes, invite a friend over and make them watch. Head to our 2018 Netflix schedule and our 2018 midseason premiere schedule to see all the shows coming to streaming and beyond in the new year.
