TGIF! ABC’s ‘Step by Step,’ ‘Perfect Strangers,’ ‘Family Matters,’ ‘Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper’ Eyed For Reboots
WarnerMedia is planning the launch of a streaming platform to rival Netflix, and with it may come reboots of some iconic titles from the Warner Bros TV library. Deadline reports that the WarnerMedia streaming service is considering reboots of the beloved sitcoms Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Step by Step and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, which, like Full House, were all part of ABC’s Classic TGIF lineup in the ’80s and ’90s.
The insider made it clear that talks for the reboots are in the very early stages, and it is unclear whether any of the potential revivals of the popular ABC comedies will actually make it to the small screen. While talks are in “exploratory stages” for the four shows, there is “interest” among WarnerMedia executives inspired by the massive success of Fuller House, the Full House revival that currently airs on Netflix.
Perfect Strangers ran on ABC for eight seasons, from 1986 to 1993, and was an original cornerstone of ABC’s TGIF block. Mark Linn-Baker starred as Midwesterner Larry Appleton, who lived with his distant European cousin, Balki (Bronson Pinchot), in the classic comedy.
In 1989, the Perfect Strangers spinoff, Family Matters, debuted on ABC. The sitcom followed the Winslow family, but their nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), was the breakout star. Family Matters ran for nine seasons, from 1989 to 1998, with the Urkel character even making a crossover cameo on Full House during the height of TGIF fandom.
FAMILY MATTERS, PERFECT STRANGERS And Other TGIF Reboots May Be Coming To WARNERMEDIA Streaming Service – https://t.co/Ezkwuvwioy pic.twitter.com/VXwZXR8qJx
— ComicBook NOW! (@ComicBookNOW) July 2, 2019
Step By Step aired on the TGIF lineup from 1991 to 1997. The show gave a modern spin on The Brady Bunch theme, with Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers as single parents who married and formed a blended family.
And Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper was created by now-dethroned Full House boss, Jeff Franklin. Mark Curry played high school gym teacher, Mark Cooper, and Holly Robinson Peete co-starred as Vanessa Russell, his roommate turned fiancée. The show aired on ABC from 1992 to 1997.
In 2018, E! News reported that several stars from TGIF past reunited for a new era of ABC’s Friday night lineup. Reginald VelJohnson (Family Matters), Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker (Perfect Strangers), and Danielle Fishel (Boy Meets World) teamed up to welcome the stars of Fresh Off the Boat and Speechless to the TGIF family.
ABC kicked off the TGIF (Thank Goodness It’s Funny) Friday night programming block in 1988, and its original incarnation ran all the way until 2000. In addition to the aforementioned shows, the rotating Friday night block of sitcoms aimed at a family audience included Mr. Belvedere, Sister, Sister, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and more. Boy Meets World, another TGIF staple, previously had a successful revival with Girl Meets World, which aired on Netflix from 2014 to 2017.
Check out a TGIF promo below.
