Michelle Tanner didn’t appear in Fuller House, but the Netflix spin-off regularly referenced her in its five-year run. Played alternately by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in all eight seasons of Full House, the youngest Tanner sister was beloved by fans of the original sitcom. As a result, viewers were disappointed upon finding out that she wouldn’t be making an appearance in the sequel offshoot.
Michelle’s absence in Fuller House wasn’t for lack of trying on the part of the show’s producers. They reached out to the sisters before the sitcom began offering them the opportunity to reprise their breakout rules. Unfortunately, both refused, explaining that they’ve retired from acting and have no intention of coming back to Hollywood. Nevertheless, fans continued to hope that somehow, the twins would change their minds and do even the briefest cameo, but until the very end, they were a no-show.
Michelle’s absence in Fuller House wasn’t for lack of trying on the part of the show’s producers. They reached out to the sisters before the sitcom began offering them the opportunity to reprise their breakout rules. Unfortunately, both refused, explaining that they’ve retired from acting and have no intention of coming back to Hollywood. Nevertheless, fans continued to hope that somehow, the twins would change their minds and do even the briefest cameo, but until the very end, they were a no-show.
With no Michelle in Fuller House, the writers had to be creative in making sure that the character was still featured in the series — after all, she was still part of the Tanner family. This resulted in a string of references to the youngest Tanner sister. From casual name-drops to meta-jokes, these are all of the Michelle Easter eggs in the sitcom’s five-season run.
Fuller House Season 1
Instead of beating around the bush, Fuller House immediately addressed Michelle’s absence in the series premiere titled “Our Very First Show, Again.” Mining inspiration from the Olsens’ real-life jobs as the creative directors of fashion houses such including the high-end label The Row, the spin-off explained that the Full House character is now based in New York, which is why she’s never around. This whole explanation, however, was capped off with the whole cast looking directly at the camera implying their disappointment over the twins’ refusal to return in Fuller House despite not having any dialog.
Michelle was once again mentioned in Fuller House season 1, episode two titled “Moving Day.” By this time, Kimmy (Andrea Barber) and Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) already decided to move into the Tanner family home to help DJ (Candace Cameron-Bure) raise her kids. At one point, the pair changed Tommy’s diapers when Stephanie made the comment that she’s not changed them since Michelle was a little baby.
In episode 7 titled “Ramona’s Not-So-Epic Party,” Fuller House name-dropped the Olsen twins for the first and last time in the show. Returning home after a day of shopping, Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas) bragged about her first-ever designer clothing from “Elizabeth and James by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen” — which is a real fashion house owned by the twins. Kimmy took the joke to the next level when she made an additional comment about how expensive the fashion house’s stuff is — “no wonder they don’t need to act anymore.”
Finally for Fuller House season 1, DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy called Michelle in the season finale titled “Love Is In The Air.” Given the time difference, the youngest Tanner sister didn’t answer the phone, leaving the girls to only leave her a message. Instead of actually dropping a coherent one, they opted to tease the character by delivering her trademark catchphrases like “No way, Jose” and “You got it, dude.”
Fuller House Season 2
By season 2, Fuller House significantly decreased their Michelle references, only mentioning her once in episode 6 titled “Fuller Thanksgiving.” In the outing, the whole extended Tanner family gathered at the house to celebrate Thanksgiving including Joey’s (Dave Coulier) whole family. DJ led the prayer before the meal in which she mentioned missing Michelle and hoping that she could join them next year. At this point, Jesse (John Stamos) breaks the fourth wall by directly looking at the camera, saying “Come, it’ll be fun” — which is an obvious on-screen invitation for the Olsens to join the Full House spin-off. It was an intentional creative decision for Stamos to deliver the line. Aside from the actor being a producer for Fuller House, he also got extremely close to the twins while filming the original sitcom.
Fuller House Season 4
Like season 2, Michelle was also only mentioned once in season 4 during the Fuller House episode titled “Oh My Santa.” It was the afternoon of Christmas Eve when DJ came home to a less excited crowd. She asked everyone to get into the holiday spirit by decorating the house and preparing for the upcoming festivities. As she chastised everyone for their disappointing Christmas outlook, she revealed that Jesse, Becky (Lori Loughlin), and Danny (Bob Saget), who typically spend Christmas with them, wouldn’t be in San Francisco that particular year because they’re in New York to visit Michelle.
Fuller House Season 5
As the final season of Fuller House, the show dialed up its references to Michelle starting in the premiere titled “Welcome Home, Baby To Be Named Later,” which saw Stephanie’s baby coming home from the hospital. As they got ready to name the infant at home after the parents held it off, Jackson (Michael Campione), Max (Elias Harger), and Ramona were tasked to look for the baby-naming onesie in the attic which had become a stock room. During their search, they came across a bunch of old Tanner stuff. Max explained the importance of each of them, including Michelle’s old stuffed rhino named Rigby. Apparently, he learned about their family’s history through eight years of carefully curated home videos — an obvious reference to Full House’s eight seasons. In the end, he tried to convince Jackson and Ramona to check out the videos as well, adding that it gets crazy towards the end when Michelle got amnesia, referring to the character’s final arc in the original sitcom.
In episode 15 titled “Be Yourself, Free Yourself,” Jesse was dealing with Pam’s biting incident in school. Wanting to get to the bottom of the issue himself instead of asking for a teacher’s help, DJ reminded him that it’s not how issues like this should be handled by parents. However, he argued back, recalling how he once told Michelle to pinch back her classmate who previously pinched her; this was a reference to Full House season 4, episode 6 titled “A Pinch For A Pinch.”
The final Michelle Easter egg in Fuller House came via another Kimmy joke in the penultimate episode titled “Something Borrowed.” As the girls prepared for their weddings, they scoured the attic looking for their respective “something old” and “something borrowed.” After Stephanie and DJ reminisced with their old things, Kimmy spotted Michelle’s bike and asked them when they’re going to get rid of it because, if their sister hadn’t picked it up yet, she’s not coming. Barber delivered the line while looking straight to the camera, making it a meta-comment about managing expectations for viewers who were still hoping that Michelle suddenly makes a surprise appearance in the series finale.
It’s worth noting that there’s no mention of Michelle in Fuller House season 3, which may have something to do with the fact that by then, the show’s producers have stopped asking for the Olsens to appear. After reaching out multiple times, they’ve gathered that the twins were unlikely to change their minds which was eventually proven right.
