Ramona Rosales / EW
It’s a rare condition this day and age to read any good news on the newspaper page…unless the cast of Family Matters is reuniting! And the best part? They’re game for a revival!
Originally conceived as a spin-off of Perfect Strangers (Jo Marie Payton’s Harriette Winslow was an elevator operator at the building where Larry and Balki worked), Family Matters aired for nine seasons, wrapping production in 1998 after a whopping 215 episodes. Even though it’s been nearly 20 years since this TV family has reunited, the cast still gels and feels a revival could work out easily.
“Jaleel and I were talking just a little while ago and he said, ‘You know, we can do this.’ And I said, ‘If they dropped a script at our feet when we walked out of here, we would come back in tomorrow, and the next day we’d have a show shot,’” Payton told EW.
The reunited cast included Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow), Payton, Kellie Shanygne Williams (Laura), Darius Mccrory (Eddie), Telma Hopkins (Rachel), and Bryton James (Richie). Also in attendance: Shawn Harrison (Eddie’s friend Waldo Geraldo Faldo) and Jaleel White, who played king of the nerds, Steve Urkel.
Related: The Top 5 Best ‘Family Matters’ Episodes in the History of the World
Missing from the lineup, my friends: The Littlest Winslow herself, Jaimee Foxworth, who played the youngest daughter, Judy. Judy was written out of the show during its fourth season, never to be seen or heard from again.
Payton says everyone is ready to go and she knows exactly how a revival should start: “I think the first scene should be Judy coming down those steps and everybody saying, ‘Where you been?’”
I couldn’t agree more!
All nine seasons of Family Matters (plus other TGIF shows including Full House, Step by Step, and Perfect Strangers) are available today on Hulu! Check out more photos of the cast here, or read more about the reunion in the new edition of EW on stands today.
