As tough as it is to believe, Growing Pains has been off the air for nearly 30 years. The beloved family sitcom finished its seven-season run back in 1992. Meanwhile, revivals remain a hot television trend. After a few Growing Pains reunion movies, here and there, it all makes you wonder. Could the series follow Fuller House as the next ‘80s sitcom revival?
Kirk Cameron, who starred as eldest Seaver child, Mike, has weighed in! Fuller House’s Candace Cameron Bure is Cameron's younger sister. Hence, the Cameron family is familiar with one of their former television shows getting the revival treatment. Full House’s universe was revived with a spinoff twist, starring Bure and will end its five-season run in 2020. Could Growing Pains be next?
It has certainly been long enough since television caught up with the Seavers. Viewers' desire to revisit their favorite characters has clearly not waned in recent years, with many revivals providing a good example. Kirk Cameron gave an update on where things stand on the Growing Pains revival front, telling Fox News:
We've heard rumors and we've talked about it and batted it around a bit. Nothing yet. I know my sister just finished up Fuller House, and Growing Pains would be interesting, although we wouldn't have our dad, Alan Thicke; he passed away a couple of years ago.
Exactly. Growing Pains would not be the same when it returned. Alan Thicke passed away suddenly, back in 2016, at the age of 69. Thicke played Jason Seaver, the family’s kind-hearted patriarch. A Growing Pains revival would have to address the loss of the Seavers' great dad, who was an integral force in the family.
As for Kirk Cameron, he sounds open to reprising his role and bringing the show back, which is a sign that bodes well for those hoping to see Mike Seaver again. Cameron’s response does reveal that revisiting Growing Pains has been thrown around. He knows first-hand how it has been for his sister, Candace Cameron Bure, to revive her old show and then have to say goodbye again.
Interestingly, fans of Fuller House do have a reunion between Kirk Cameron and Candace Cameron Bure to look forward to in 2020. Kirk Cameron will guest star during one of the last episodes of Fuller House’s final season. Now fans will have to sit tight and see if Growing Pains follows Fuller House’s lead as the next ‘80s sitcom to get revived.
It is fair to say that Growing Pains has made a recent resurgence in the public conscious. Not too long ago, movie megastars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio reminded the world that both worked on the series. Then, Disney CEO Bob Iger brought up DiCaprio’s Growing Pains debut when referencing the stratospheric success of The Mandalorian’s Baby Yoda.
Could all of this seeming momentum be leading to something? Stay tuned! While fans await word of a green-light on a Growing Pains revival, Fuller House Season 5 is now streaming on Netflix as one of this winter’s premieres. The spinoff/revival’s final episodes will be available to stream on Netflix in 2020.
