There’s no denying the fact that a large part of the success “Full House” saw during its run was due to the cast. That’s why it’s so wild to imagine any of the roles filled by other actors.
Granted, that’s just how things started out, as one of the show’s stars, Jodie Sweetin (a.k.a. Stephanie Tanner), discussed while noting that the dad on the series was originally played by someone other than Bob Saget.
See the difference between the first pilot and what ended up being shown to fans!
Watching ‘Full House’ with a Different Danny May Be Strange
Jodie has “open[ed] up about filming the very first episode of ‘Full House’ — without Bob Saget, who would ultimately become the show’s fictional patriarch,” People reported on Thursday, June 25.
Indeed, the Hallmark star recently “acknowledged that the show’s very first episode featured actor John Posey in the role of Danny Tanner, as Saget was at the time under contract to host CBS’ ‘The Morning Program,'” People noted.
“We started doing the show and we’d shot an entire pilot actually with a different — with John Posey, who was a lovely human being and very sweet and wonderful,” Jodie said during a June 23 interview with Taboo’s Comics & Kicks. “But Bob was the first choice for Danny.”
“And so when [Bob] was no longer doing the show that was conflicting with ‘Full House,’ we reshot the entire pilot, which Jeff Franklin had to fight for so hard because that’s a lot of money,” Jodie admitted. “And he was like, ‘I just know it. I just know this is who we need as the dad. This is going to be it.’ And he was right.”
After Bob replaced John, the original episode was obviously never aired. However, this isn’t the first time Jodie has brought it up.
‘Can You Imagine This Version of the Show?’
Although this might be the first time that you’ve seen clips of the unaired “Full House” pilot, you may have spotted an image of the original cast if you’re on social media.
On November 20, 2023, Jodie and fellow “Full House” alum Andrea Barber (who played Kimmy Gibbler) “shared a never-before-seen photo from the unaired pilot” via their “How Rude, Tanneritos!” podcast Instagram account, People told fans.
The duo also added a caption with the post, writing, “No need to adjust your phones — here it is: a shot from the first unaired pilot of Full House. Things were…a little different.”
They also asked fans, “Can you imagine this version of the show?”
The image is a fictional family portrait with John as the dad along with “an unnamed actress portraying his wife Pamela Tanner,” per People. Fans of the show will also recognize little Jodie as well as Candace Cameron Bure (who played D.J. Tanner) and either Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen (who both appeared as Michelle Tanner).
People also points out that “[i]t was Saget, though, who would go on to portray the widowed father of three on Full House from 1987 until 1995, starring alongside Sweetin, Barber, the Olsens, John Stamos, Dave Coulier and Lori Loughlin.”
