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2024 FANON WIKI AWARD NOMINEE! |
Full House: The Early Years is an American sitcom created by Jeff Franklin and John Stamos, which premiered on January 31, 2023 on Max. The series is a prequel to Full House, focusing on Jesse Katsopolis and Pamela Katsopolis as children in the 1970s. Logan Nicholson stars as Jesse Katsopolis, alongside Didi Costine, Owen Vaccaro, Ben Feldman, and Ellie Kemper. John Stamos, who portrayed the adult Jesse Katsopolis on both Full House and Fuller House, narrates the series and serves as an executive producer.
Development of the prequel series started in January 2022, from an initial idea that Stamos pitched to ABC. The network ordered a backdoor pilot to air as part of the seventh season of Fuller House. The same month, Nicholson and Costine were cast. The remainder of the cast was announced in February 2022 and production on the backdoor pilot occurred in March 2022. ABC passed on the series in May 2022. However, HBO Max ordered ten episodes on June 8, 2022 and revealed the series would premiere in 2023. In February 2023, the streamer ordered a second season, followed by a third and final season order in July 2024. The series concluded on March 25, 2025.
Premise[]
The series follows the Katsopolis family, beginning in 1972 and concluding in 1977.
Cast and characters[]
Main[]
- Logan Nicholson as Jesse Katsopolis, a rebellious child who looks up to and models himself after Elvis Presley.
- John Stamos is the voice of adult Jesse Katsopolis, who is retelling the story of his childhood to his daughter Pamela, named after his deceased sister.
- Didi Costine as Pamela Katsopolis, a booksmart teenager whose attention to her studies is derailed when she meets her future husband, Danny.
- Owen Vaccaro as Danny Tanner, an awkward but well-intentioned teenager who becomes infatuated with Pamela and quickly becomes part of the Katsopolis family while his family deals with the impending divorce of his parents.
- Ben Feldman as Nick Katsopolis, the intimidating patriarch of the Katsopolis family who is set in his ways and is disapproving of his daughter Pamela’s new boyfriend.
- Ellie Kemper as Irene Katsopolis, the overbearing matriarch of the Katsopolis family who accepts Danny with open arms, much to her husband’s dismay.
Recurring[]
- Maxwell Simkins as Joey Gladstone, a comically gifted class clown who is Danny Tanner’s best and closest friend.
Production[]
Development[]
Variety reported on February 21, 2022 that Stamos was developing a prequel series centered around Jesse and Pamela Katsopolis, set in 1973. He described the series as a “love letter to the fans”. A backdoor pilot was later broadcast as the twenty-first episode of the season, "How Danny Met Pamela". ABC eventually passed on the spin-off in May 2022. However, HBO Max granted Full House: The Early Years a series order for ten episodes, set to premiere on the streamer in 2023.
Casting[]
Logan Nicholson and Didi Costine were cast as Jesse Katsopolis and Pamela Katsopolis in February 2022.
Series overview[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | ||||
| 1 | 10 | January 31, 2023 | March 28, 2023 | ||
| 2 | 10 | May 28, 2024 | July 23, 2024 | ||
| 3 | 10 | January 28, 2025 | March 25, 2025 | ||
Episodes[]
Season 1 (2023)[]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "1972" | January 31, 2023 | FHE101 |
| Jesse Katsopolis, in the year 2023, sits down with his daughter Pamela to tell her the story of his childhood. In 1972, during Geometry class, Danny Tanner and Pamela Katsopolis meet and the two instantly make a connection. The pair become fast friends, though a young Jesse is highly suspicious of Danny. When Danny asks out Pamela to dinner, Jesse repeatedly attempts to thwart their dinner plans. Irene, Jesse and Pamela’s mother, quickly takes a liking to Danny and invites him to instead have dinner with them rather than go out. Her husband, Nick, on the other hand, is strongly opposed to their budding friendship. Jesse is also made upset by this invitation, though Danny pulls him aside and shows him that he truly cares about Pamela, just as much as Jesse does. He soon warms up to Danny, though he maintains a level of suspicion and even threatens him. Meanwhile, Nick is let go from his job as an exterminator and decides to start his own company, though Irene attempts to dissuade him from doing so. | ||||
Season 3 (2025)[]
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Original airdate | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 10 | "1977" | March 25, 2025 | FHE310 |
| Danny and Pamela return home and announce to their families have eloped. Nick is outraged and calls for an annulment, but when Pamela announces she is pregnant, Irene's joy overshadows Nick's anger. Jesse, on the other hand, does not comment on the recent news, worrying both Danny and Pamela. Danny chooses to speak to Jesse himself, who confesses that he feels as though he is no longer going to see his sister as often, now that she has a husband and is starting a family. Nevertheless, Pamela promises to always make time for Jesse and assures him that her baby will love him dearly. | ||||