'Fuller House': Would ABC's TGIF block succeed today?
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The new Netflix show 鈥淔uller House鈥� debuts later this month, reuniting many of the cast members of the hit ABC 鈥�90s sitcom, 鈥淔ull House.鈥�
鈥淔uller鈥� centers on Tanner daughter D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure). Following the death of D.J.鈥檚 husband, D.J.鈥檚 sister Stephanie (Jodi Sweetin) and D.J.鈥檚 friend, Kimmy (Andrea Barber), come live with D.J. to help take care of D.J.鈥檚 children.聽
The original sitcom 鈥淔ull House,鈥� which starred Bob Saget, John Stamos, Dave Coulier, and Lori Loughlin, went off the air in 1995.
Netflix is reviving the show for at least 13 episodes and, true to the usual Netflix practice, the whole first season will be debuting on Feb. 26.聽
When it was on the air, the first version of 鈥淔ull House鈥� was part of the ABC network鈥檚 TGIF block. 鈥淔ull鈥� aired alongside programs aimed at viewers of all ages, such as 鈥淔amily Matters.鈥� Later on, shows in this lineup included TV programs like 鈥淏oy Meets World鈥� and 鈥淪abrina the Teenage Witch.鈥澛�
This TGIF block became a big hit with viewers. All the content was aimed at families and the shows became popular with younger viewers in particular, always an important demographic to networks.聽
鈥淎BC鈥檚 TGIF block was responsible for a number of iconic comedies during its initial run between 1989 and 2000,鈥� wrote of the success of the programming, while wrote that the TGIF block 鈥渇eatur[ed] some of the most iconic, innocuous pop-culture touchstones from the late 鈥�80s into the 鈥�90s 鈥� These shows helped raise a generation of millennials.鈥澛�
told EW, 鈥淲e were just looking for a promotional hook for multiple shows on Friday, a bridge to get from one show to the other and keep people watching 鈥� Nobody anticipated the phenomenon it would become.鈥澛�
In today鈥檚 TV landscape, is there an equivalent of the TGIF programming? Would one work today?聽
TV shows for families are mostly seen on either broadcast networks or streaming services. Cable networks are known for edgier fare 鈥� parents aren鈥檛 bringing their children in to watch HBO鈥檚 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� or Showtime鈥檚 鈥淧enny Dreadful.鈥� (However, HBO did recently gain "Sesame Street.")
ABC is still the home of popular family sitcoms such as 鈥淢odern Family鈥� and newer offerings, such as 鈥淔resh Off the Boat鈥� and 鈥淏lack-ish.鈥� The network actually arranges 鈥淢odern鈥� and 鈥淏lack-ish鈥� in a Wednesday night block, including such programs as 鈥淭he Middle鈥� and 鈥淭he Goldbergs.鈥�
That block as a whole can struggle in the ratings, but 鈥淢odern鈥� is often strong.聽
The fantasy program 鈥淥nce Upon a Time鈥� has also been popular for ABC.
Meanwhile, Netflix seems to be increasing its shows targeted at families. It has aired programs like 鈥淭he Adventures of Puss in Boots鈥� and 鈥淒awn of the Croods鈥� and future shows like 鈥淏eat Bugs鈥� and 鈥淕reen Eggs and Ham鈥� also seem aimed at younger viewers.
In addition, one contemporary equivalent of the TV block scheduling 鈥� also seen in such versions as NBC鈥檚 鈥淢ust-See TV鈥� comedy night, which included such shows as 鈥淪einfeld鈥� and 鈥淔riends鈥� 鈥� is TV binge-watching. Viewers aren鈥檛 watching multiple shows one after the other, but they鈥檙e more than likely to watch four or five episodes of the same TV show in a row.
And ABC continues to demonstrate that block programming can work, though their current most famous block of shows is aimed far more at adults. The network鈥檚 鈥淭GIT鈥� lineup, which consists of shows either created or produced by Shonda Rhimes like 鈥淕rey鈥檚 Anatomy,鈥� 鈥淪candal,鈥� and 鈥淗ow to Get Away with Murder,鈥� has regularly been a ratings hit for ABC.
