When Fuller House started, DJ’s husband, Tommy Fuller Sr., was already dead, but why did Netflix’s Full House spin-off kill him so early?
DJ’s (Candace Cameron-Bure) husband in Fuller House was killed early on — but why was this case? In 2016, Netflix launched its Full House spin-off, which brought back the Tanners on the small screen. This time, however, the focus was shifted to Danny Tanner’s (Bob Saget) kids, DJ and Stephanie (Jodie Sweeting), and their friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber), who essentially replaced Michelle after the Olsen Twins didn’t return in Fuller House.
All three leads were given their respective arcs throughout Fuller House’s five-season run. Unlike Full House, which focused on the kids and their relationship with their parental figures, the Netflix spin-off opted to tackle DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy’s lives as they became the adults in the narrative. There was, however, more interest in DJ, who was still reeling from the death of her husband, Tommy Fuller Sr., which was the catalyst to the events of Fuller House. Kicking off the sequel series with a tragedy, however, seemed too dark for a sitcom.
Yet this didn’t stop Fuller House from killing DJ’s husband prior to the show’s debut in an attempt to follow in the footsteps of the original ’80s/’90s ABC series – with Fuller House essentially copying its parent series’ premise. Similar to how the death of Pam Tanner kicked off Full House, Netflix used the death of Tommy Sr. to bring Stephanie and Kimmy together under one roof as they supported the newly-widowed DJ. In the original show, Danny’s loss resulted in Jesse (John Stamos) and Joey (Dave Coulier) moving in with him to help with his kids, whereas in Fuller House, DJ accepts the help of her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy, who move in and take part in raising DJ’s three sons.
Why DJ Ended Up Married To Steve In Fuller House
While Tommy Sr.’s death in Fuller House was integral to the story, he was barely mentioned in the show. He didn’t factor much in any of the narratives and was only ever brought up during a couple of times when the sitcom focused on DJ’s kids and how they miss their dad. Instead, the Full House spin-off didn’t waste much time setting up the romance between DJ and her high school sweetheart, Steve (Scott Weinger). And while it took a while before they started dating again because of the existence of Matt (John Brotherton) — another potential love interest for DJ — she and Steve ultimately ended up together and even tied the knot in the Fuller House finale. This is yet another piece of evidence that the spin-off relied heavily on nostalgia, as seeing the pair rekindle their romance was such a great pay-off for everyone who watched them together in Full House.
For what it’s worth, Full House didn’t linger on Pam Tanner’s death either. The major difference, however, is that the original series showed the family dealing with grief over the unexpected death of a loved one. In fact, there was even an episode tackling Danny’s guilt over moving on with his life and opening up to dating again. Fuller House, on the other hand, treated Tommy Sr.’s death as nothing but a plot device to kickstart the events of the sitcom, which made it ring slightly hollower in comparison.
