Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
It’s the question lurking in the mind of every Full House fan every time Fuller House returns to Netflix: is Michelle Tanner finally gonna make an appearance? After all, the Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley are the only main Full House cast members to not make an appearance during the first two seasons of Netflix’s sequel series. Scott Weinger is a recurring character on the new show, and Bob Saget, John Stamos, Lori Loughlin, and Dave Coulier have all popped up a few times as guest stars. Even the twins that played Nicky and Alex have come back for Fuller House–and they were still babies when Full House went off the air! The Olsen twins remain elusive and, if you’ve watched the first half of Fuller House Season 3, you know that elusive is what they remain.
So no, the Olsen twins and Michelle Tanner do not appear in Season 3 of Fuller House. What’s more, they’re not even referenced this time around! The first two seasons of Fuller House explained Michelle’s absence in winking ways, explaining that the character (much like the twins that played her) now lives in New York City and runs a fashion empire. The characters even poked fun at Michelle back in Season 1, prank calling her late at night with her old catch phrases. None of that happens in Season 3; we don’t see Michelle, and the characters don’t reference her either.
Fuller House creator Jeff Franklin (the same guy that created the original TGIF series 30 years ago) has admitted that he’s actually given up on Michelle ever returning. In an interview with TV Line published just before the release of Season 3, Franklin said that he’s done with reaching out to the Olsens to see if they’d be game to return.
“Personally, I’ve given up asking them. The door is open, but I’m not going to be calling them anymore to invite them. They just don’t seem interested in coming. It’s been three years of invitations, so they know the door is open. It’s up to them to decide if they want to come play or not.”
That’s a real bummer, especially to everyone hoping to see a big Tanner family reunion. The Olsens have, for the most part, quietly retired from acting. Mark-Kate was last seen in the 2011 film Beastly, and Ashley’s last substantial role was waaaaay back in 2004’s New York Minute. Not only are the Olsens not interested in doing Fuller House, they don’t seem to be that interested in doing any acting. But who knows, maybe someday they’ll make a return. The Fuller House set seems like a super receptive one, especially for actors that haven’t been in front of a camera since the original series ended. Just like DJ says every time she hears a knock at the door, “it’s always open.”
