The entertainment world continues to be rocked by misconduct allegations in all forms, and Netflix's Fuller House is one of the latest TV shows to face such a situation. The wholesome family sitcom will no longer call creator Jeff Franklin its showrunner after several complaints have surfaced about Franklin's verbally abusive and unprofessional behavior behind the scenes.
Fuller House was only recently renewed for Season 4, so it's unclear what creative work has been put together for the new batch of episodes, but Jeff Franklin will no longer be spearheading any narrative directions. Franklin, who also created the flagship TGIF sitcom Full House, is at the end of his contract with Warner Bros. TV, and the studio made the announcement that it would not be renewing their production deal partnership with Franklin, and that he is no longer a part of the Fuller House staff. According to Variety, Franklin's lawyer Stanton Larry Stein declined to comment on the ordeal.
Warner Bros. TV has reportedly received multiple complaints about Jeff Franklin's behavior both in the writers room and on the Fuller House set, and he's been accused of making inappropriate comments and verbally abusing staff members, as well as talking about his sex life and personal relationships using sexually charged language. (No complaints of physical sexual harassment or assault were noted.) Some are also claiming that Franklin would arrive on set with women he was dating, and would sometimes give them bit roles in episodes.
It's being reported that Warner Bros. TV execs allegedly learned of Jeff Franklin's behavior two years ago after receiving an anonymous letter laying out many of the allegations in detail. The letter is said to have called Franklin a "walking lawsuit waiting to happen," but there is no sign of how seriously the studio looked into those accusations at the time. However, it does appear WBTV opened up an investigation into Franklin's conduct more recently, which possibly led to the studio's decision to sever ties with him.
Jeff Franklin, who wrote for Laverne & Shirley and also created Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, was as much a part of the Full House franchise as any of the stars, though he did exit the original series after Season 5. He and John Stamos were the big reasons Fuller House came into existence, too. So it should be very interesting to see whether or not the show features any significant changes in future episodes.
With three full seasons of Fuller House available to stream on Netflix -- and Full House proper up for binges on Hulu -- fans will likely be hearing more news about a showrunner replacement and other potential new additions on the road to Season 4. While waiting, head to our 2018 Netflix schedule and our midseason premiere schedule to see what else is on the way.
