A brief moment in Fuller House season 2 makes Michelle’s (and Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen’s) absence so much more uncomfortable than it needed to be.
Michelle’s absence became so much more awkward than necessary due to a specific moment in Fuller House season 2. Played alternately by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in Full House, the youngest Tanner sister was integral to the success of the family sitcom. So many were disappointed, including the cast of Fuller House, when it became clear that the Olsen twins wouldn’t be in the Netflix spin-off.
There were contradicting news stories about the Olsen twins’ initial involvement in Fuller House. Mary-Kate was reportedly more interested in playing Michelle than Ashley, but that would have been enough to guarantee the character’s appearance in the spin-off. Despite asking multiple times, Netflix and their Full House co-stars eventually stopped asking because the twins didn’t seem keen on revisiting their career-breaking role. While the back-and-forth was ongoing, the writers came up with an explanation about where Michelle was in Fuller House. Apparently, she’s now based in New York, hence why she couldn’t participate in her family’s shenanigans in San Francisco.
Netflix’s explanation regarding Michelle’s absence actually made sense. If anything, it even honors the Olsens’ real-life job now as fashion moguls in New York. Instead of leaving it at that, however, Fuller House included brief but noticeable jabs aimed at the twins for not partaking in the show. In Fuller House season 2’s Thanksgiving episode, Jesse (John Stamos) referenced the character’s absence and expressed his hope that she would join them next year. He then looked straight into the camera to directly appeal to the Olsens to join Fuller House. While this was primarily done for comedic purposes, it made the whole situation more awkward as it seemed like he was coercing them to be in the Full House spin-off because it was done publicly. This put the Olsens on the spot, which was unfair to them, especially if they had already made it clear that they had no interest in coming back to acting at that point. The fact that this gesture never worked made it so much worse in hindsight.
Did Fuller House’s Michelle References Make The Olsen Twins’ Absence Worse?
Initially, Fuller House made a conscious effort to include Michelle in its storytelling. Stephanie (Jodie Sweeting) and DJ (Candace Cameron-Bure) talked about her when they reminisced about their childhood. They even tried calling her at one point, albeit with no answer. Over time, however, the sitcom decreased their references to the character until they would only bring her up to either poke fun at her or make a meta-commentary about Michelle’s absence in Fuller House. Occasionally, the jokes made were distasteful since the Olsen twins’ decision not to join the show stemmed from their long-standing choice to retire from acting. Since pivoting to be fashion designers, the pair have become much more private, rarely doing interviews to promote their own brand. In any case, it isn’t like Netflix didn’t have a choice about the matter – they could have recast the role knowing that the chances of the Olsens participating were slim to none.
Michelle’s Fuller House absence undoubtedly affected the series’ early storytelling, and she was missed as a Full House fan favorite. That being said, the Olsens’ decision to not be involved should have been respected from the get-go and shouldn’t have been the butt of so many jokes in the series. Fuller House could have handled Michelle’s arc better without being crass, and the series made her absence way more awkward than necessary as a result.
