With Disney+'s WandaVision set to honor the legacy of television sitcoms as a way to bring Scarlet Witch and Vision to the small screen, viewers will no doubt become obsessed with finding easter eggs for beloved TV shows as much as references to the MCU. The trailers have made some of those influences quite clear, with Bewitched and Family Ties sticking out, but there are many more shows that will be reflected on screen throughout the season. And yes, that includes Full House, whose stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are quite familiar with WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen.
Elizabeth Olsen has previously stated that when WandaVision filmed the scenes taking place in front of a live studio audience, she was reminded of the times she went and watched her sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen filming Full House in the '90s. But in the latest issue of Emmy Magazine, screenwriter Jac Schaeffer hinted at some direct winking and nodding to the wholesome family sitcom. Here's the full excerpt from the mag, which also gives fans more of a master list of all the shows being touched on throughout WandaVision's TV eras.
[Jac] Schaeffer--who’d devoured The Brady Bunch, Who’s The Boss, Growing Pains, and Family Ties as a kid--looked to TV’s greatest hits as a guide. Think wholesome fare like I Love Lucy, My Three Sons, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Bewitched, and, of course, The Dick Van Dyke Show. The team also included Friends and modern-day, ten-jokes-per-page shows like 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. And for extra meta, Full House--which starred Olsen’s older sisters--Mary-Kate and Ashley--is also enmeshed in ‘the fabric of what we’re doing,’ Schaeffer says.
An interesting turn of phrase, to be sure. What will it mean that Full House is incorporated into the "fabric" of WandaVision? Does that mean some of the costumes that Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany wear will be directly reminiscent of clothing that the Tanner family donned? Regarding Wanda's Halloween costume, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen DID have witch hats on in their TV movie, Double Double, Toil and Trouble, but that's not Full House. And plus, Wanda is a witch. If only that Halloween episode featured Wanda and Vision dressed up using items they found around them in a locked up in a mechanic's garage, then we'd know for sure. (See: Full House's Season 3 installment "The Greatest Birthday On Earth.")
Beyond the clothing, Full House and other shows are also being referenced in the set decoration for the multiple houses that Wanda and Vision appear in throughout the now-confirmed nine episodes. For instance, one might wager a presumption that the decorative glass on the front door and windows in WandaVision's '80s/'90s set is reminiscent of Full House's living room design. It might be a stretch, but it's more fun to believe it.
WandaVision obviously doesn't actually take place in the worlds of I Love Lucy or The Office – though there will be talking-head moments – but it's likely these events are all taking place inside Wanda's head. Elizabeth Olsen previously revealed that the story will dip back into her character's history in Eastern Europe, where she grew up watching American TV in not-so-legal ways.
WandaVision will debut the first of its nine episodes on Disney+ on Friday, January 15, so be sure to stock up on bottles of Vitameatavegimin before watching. And to see everything else that's hitting the small screen in the coming months, head to our Winter and Spring 2021 TV premiere schedule.
