'Fuller House' Gets Meta About Michelle's Absence

Fuller House is back again, again on Netflix for Season 2. And, the house is fuller than ever. Mild spoilers ahead. In Episode 5, the girls host Thanksgiving dinner, complete with love interests, house guests, and the whole Katsopolis/Gladstone/Tanner clan. Well, there is one exception: Michelle Tanner. And, in a very meta joke, Uncle Jesse invites Michelle to join the Fuller House clan any time she wants. And, by this I mean that John Stamos made another direct-to-camera attempt at persuading the Olsen twins to stop by the set. This isn't the show's first reference about Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen not being on Fuller House, and it probably won't be the last.

The Olsen twins, who played Michelle Tanner, have been notably absent from the series. And, there were jokes about the lack of Mary-Kate and Ashley last season. The pilot episode kicked off with Danny telling Stephanie, “Michelle sends her love, but she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire.” The entire original cast then humorously broke the fourth wall to stare directly at the camera in a wink to the audience.

The Season 2 Thanksgiving episode continued to be self-aware and served up another meta reference about Michelle’s whereabouts. D.J. said grace before the Thanksgiving feast, and gave thanks that everyone was together and healthy. She then added, “We miss Michelle; hope that she’ll be with us next year.” That's when Jesse leaned back in his chair, looked at the camera, and said, “Come, it'll be fun.”

I think Mary-Kate and Ashley get the message.

Hopefully, the Olsens never make it to the set, that way these insider jokes and meta pleas can continue to be a running gag on the family comedy. Though, I guess an appearance from the original Michelle Tanner would be pretty cool too. So, what do you say Michelle, Thanksgiving 2017?

Image: Michael Yarish/Netflix