John Stamos almost bailed on Full House before it even got going. Yes, Uncle Jesse himself was ready to rip the cord after one very specific moment in the pilot. Decades later, he has a totally different relationship with the show. Also: he has a new series role lined up. Let’s unpack it.
The pilot scene that nearly sent Stamos packing
In his 2023 memoir 'If You Would Have Told Me', Stamos says the end of the Full House pilot pushed him to the edge. The scene: the whole family crowds around baby Michelle’s crib and softly sings the Flintstones theme. Sweet for some, apparently existential for him.
"I’m dying to pull the rip cord on this family-friendly h*ll."
That was Stamos on the phone to his agent after reading it. He genuinely thought the show was going to tank. And, to be fair, it did wobble out of the gate. Then ABC shuffled the timeslot and, suddenly, the thing caught fire with families and turned into comfort-TV canon.
From running away from Uncle Jesse to embracing him
Stamos told Hola! in a December 9, 2025 interview that it took him about 30 years to make peace with how big Uncle Jesse is in his life. Now he’s proud of it. His 7-year-old son watches the show, and Stamos says the secret sauce was never one lead character — it was the affection baked into every episode. He admits he spent years trying to distance himself from the role, and once he finally accepted it, everything else started to click.
Full House basics and the Fuller House return
Full House launched in 1987 and ran eight seasons, wrapping on May 23, 1995. Netflix revived it as Fuller House in 2016, and Stamos stepped back in as the leather-jacketed uncle who somehow made parenting and hair gel look like a coherent lifestyle choice.
Quick hits
- Original cast highlights: Bob Saget (Danny Tanner), Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie Tanner), Candace Cameron Bure, Dave Coulier, and twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as Michelle.
- Ratings snapshot: Full House — IMDb 6.8/10; Rotten Tomatoes 81%. Fuller House — IMDb 6.7/10; Rotten Tomatoes 36% critics, 73% audience.
- Stamos’s memoir is titled 'If You Would Have Told Me' (2023), where he recounts the pilot freak-out and early doubts.
What he’s doing next
Stamos has moved on from Uncle Jesse, but not from TV. He’s joining The Hunting Wives Season 2. Variety says he’ll play Chase Brylan, alongside Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down) as Gentle John Moffitt and Dale Dickey as Zelda Moffitt. They’re sliding into an already stacked ensemble with Malin Akerman, Brittany Snow, Jaime Ray Newman, Katie Lowes, Paul Teal, and Dermot Mulroney.
The Hunting Wives is available to stream on Netflix.
Where do you land on Uncle Jesse now — still iconic, or forever linked to that Flintstones lullaby?