The home of Fuller House faces further division as Full House creator, Jeff Franklin, is suing the series’ showrunner. Franklin, the creator of Full House and its sequel series Fuller House, has slapped current showrunner, Bryan Behar with a lawsuit after Franklin’s termination last year.
Franklin is a renowned writer and producer, responsible for hundreds of hours of entertainment, including Bosom Buddies,Laverne and Shirley, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper. In 1987, Franklin created Full House – a sitcom about three Mr. Moms raising three little girls. Despite scathing reviews, Full House became a smash hit on ABC’s TGIF lineup, and has been hailed as one of the most iconic sitcoms of all time. Amid a reboot and revival frenzy, it was no shock to see Netflix opt to order the Full House revival series. Released in 2016, Fuller House follows the grown-up Tanner girls (excluding the Olsen Twins as Michelle), D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber). Riddled with nostalgia-infused laughs, life lessons, and familiar faces, the streaming giant kept renewing the show, but announced the fifth season would be the final one. Last year, the show’s squeaky clean image took a hit when Warner Bros and Netflix fired Franklin amid accusations of abusive behavior to the staff. Now, Franklin is firing back at the people he feels are responsible for his termination.
According to Deadline, Franklin is seeking compensation for damages by Behar. After Franklin’s termination, Behar was promoted to executive producer and showrunner along with Steve Baldikoski. Franklin was the one who hired Behar as a writer and producer in the show’s early stages. There’s a fervent belief by Franklin that Behar was motivated by jealousy and wanted to dethrone the creator from his position. The lawsuit documents state:
“Motivated by a secret hatred of Franklin and hoping to take his place someday as showrunner, Behar concocted a plan to compile unflattering and distasteful information about Franklin that was either fabricated or twisted versions of events and presented it first to the media and then to Warner Bros in an effort to get Franklin thrown off Fuller House. Franklin is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges, that Behar also secretly photographed Franklin and his female friends at work and Franklin’s home, and also took photos of Franklin’s computer screen at the office, all of which he added to his ‘little black book’ and showed to others involved with Fuller House in order to paint Franklin in a negative light. It appears Behar took real encounters with Franklin and distorted them to create false narratives that painted Franklin as sexist and unprofessional.”
The firing of Franklin and lawsuit against the current showrunner are not the only events to taint the beloved family sitcom. Last month, fans were shocked to learn that Lori Loughlin, who plays Aunt Becky, along with Felicity Huffman and a group of others were indicted for their involvement in a college admissions scam. Following the accusations, Netflix announced Loughlin will not return to Fuller House season 5. After originally facing five years maximum in prison, Loughlin and others didn’t initially plead guilty in the federal investigation. Prosecutors slapped on secondary charges of conspiring to launder bribery, which meant Loughlin could face up to 40 years in prison. Recently, Loughlin pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The legal issues for Franklin, Behar, and Loughlin will live on long after Fuller House ends. What will remain is the show’s success, one-liners, and fan base. Fuller House seems to have kept its morals after the exit of Franklin, but that still remains to be seen for Aunt Becky’s absence. Members of the cast have shown their support for each other amid controversy, and a desire to mend the cracks in the Fuller House to keep it standing.
