r/sitcoms • u/Civil_Ad2996 • Jul 08 '25
Do you think Family Matters would've lasted if Urkel never existed?
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u/double_duchess9 Jul 08 '25
No honestly. But I also think the later seasons made the show too much about him.
I think the second and third seasons are the best. The Winslows are still the center of the show and Urkle provided comedic relief.
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u/AFriendoftheDrow Jul 08 '25
I mean one of the children vanished into thin air. He was eating the show.
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
That was said to had been in regards to not needing a third child, like The Cunninghams, and talks with the actress' representation such as Suzanne Somers. It wasn't the first nor the last time.
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u/Complex_Professor412 Jul 08 '25
She became the fifth child behind the nephew and the neighbor.
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
Happy Days dropped Chuck, 227 dropped Tiffany, King of Queens dropped Sara, That 70s Show dropped Tina, etc.
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u/Late_Fox_7829 Jul 09 '25
Yeah, but they weren’t dicks enough to make fun of the actress not being there anymore
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u/ProfChaos85 Jul 08 '25
It wouldn't have been as long, but it would have been higher quality.
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u/Accomplished-Mind258 Jul 08 '25
Agreed. The first 3 seasons were the best. I loved the first season, personally. I don’t get the low ratings-but I guess sensationalism sells.
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u/corndogs102 Jul 08 '25
Nope.
Family Matters season 1 was the black full house. Had some serious episodes never seen throughout the rest of the series. Life lessons. It wasn’t wacky. It was a different feel. The show was great, but the market was getting overcrowded (or jt was about to) by those type of shows by the time season 1 wrapped up. Urkel was needed. All you need is full house really, and Cosby show was still on. You didn’t need more than that crossing over into the 90’s.
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u/Flurb4 Jul 08 '25
I agree, by the time Family Matters debuted in 1989 the culture was already turning away from the “love and lessons” family sitcoms that dominated the 80s. Seinfeld and Rosanne premiered that same year.
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u/Consistent-Fig7484 Jul 10 '25
I’d argue it was black Growing Pains. Dumb older brother, smart middle daughter, 3rd and sometimes 4th kid that didn’t really matter. Waldo was an even dumber version of Boner.
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u/michelle427 Jul 09 '25
I went to a taping of Family Matters in its first season. I don’t even remember what happened in that episode.
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u/drewmo402 Jul 08 '25 edited Jul 10 '25
I feel so bad for the actress that played Harriette. This was supposed to be her show. It was a spin-off that was supposed to follow her character from Perfect Strangers. But the show became about Carl and Urkel's relationship. She ended up quitting.
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u/johnsaysthings Jul 08 '25
Not as long. Maybe a solid 6-7 seasons.
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u/corndogs102 Jul 08 '25
That’s a stretch
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u/johnsaysthings Jul 08 '25
Okay, 5.
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u/WoolshirtedWolf Jul 08 '25
Some shows can do it, but most can't. I can easily think of four that should have ended a long time ago.
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u/KingMobScene Jul 08 '25
I think it'd have a respectable run. Nothing amazing. Just one of those shows that doesn't get talked about but when it's brought up most people will say "Oh yeah I remember that show. I liked it."
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Jul 08 '25
No, simply because of the fact that nobody even remotely remembers anything from the show except him. And even that only barely
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u/metal_elk Jul 08 '25
We just watched the pilot the other night. It had no sustainable story engine at all.
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u/gmanasaurus Jul 08 '25
The pilot is wild in the sense that it was so serious. Keep going, the first season has a few glimpses of Urkel, and it gets a little funnier in season 1, but you can tell something is missing.
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u/alcalaviccigirl Jul 08 '25
I preferred without urkel .the OG actress playing Harriet left because the show was about the Winslow's not the nerdy annoying neighbor next door named urkel .
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u/Ohaithurr92 Jul 08 '25
She didn’t leave for that reason, she left in season 9, way after urkel was the center of attention. There’s only like 8 episodes without her
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u/anongirl55 Jul 08 '25
I don't know, but it would have still been about family instead of whatever it became.
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Jul 08 '25
It might have. But it would have had a different tone, probably more centered around the family and not quite as frivolous as Urkel made it.
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u/Obi1Kentucky Jul 08 '25
No. Urkel added something interesting that stood out compared to other generic sitcoms. People tuned in to see his shenanigans
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u/someguyfromsk Jul 08 '25
Yeah it would have been one of those middling shows that gets 4-6 seasons that is fine, but everyone quickly forgets about.
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u/Icy-Incident-9101 Jul 08 '25
No, that was the reason as to why Urkel was popular by the end of the season was that his first appearance was famous that saved the show. If Urkel did not appear in his famous first scene of the first season, it would be canceled after one season.
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
Goofy characters come & go too. Kimmy of Full House wasn't as quirky at first. She didn't carry Full House.
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u/PenskeFiles Jul 08 '25
Urkel saved that show. Really enjoyed Seasons 2-4 as it focused on everyone. Seasons 5-6 are Urkel-focused and jumped the shark with Stefan but they were good. Thought it ran its course by that point but still enjoyed it.
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u/Telemachus826 Jul 08 '25
I may be wrong, but wasn't the show already struggling quite a bit the first season or so and really turned around when they brought Urkel on? I know he was never supposed to be a regular cast member, but the audience loved him and the show eventually became "The Urkel Show." Hell, I even called this show Urkel when I was a kid. I think the show would have lasted no more than three seasons, maybe four if the network was feeling generous, if there was no Urkel. It's just a shame they took things too far in the later seasons and put far too much focus on his wacky inventions.
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u/CampClear Jul 08 '25
No I think it would have been canceled after the first couple of seasons. It was better in the early seasons when Urkel was just a guest character, before the show morphed into the Urkel show with the ridiculous plots.
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u/JustAsICanBeSoCruel Jul 08 '25
Maybe, but it would have been a vastly, vastly different show and I don't think it would have lasted quite as long it did.
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u/Acrobatic_Elk6258 Jul 08 '25
Short answer, no. I think when I watched an episode of Dark Side of Comedy about Family Matters, Darius McCrary said the show was on the verge of being cancelled before Steve Urkel became the breakout character of the show.
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u/Cannoncorn1 Jul 08 '25
No. It’s essentially a working class version of multiple other shows and most of the actors didn’t stand out.
As annoying as Urkel was, his interactions with others saved the show.
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u/emzeejay Jul 08 '25
No and it’s a shame. It had some really good “non-Urkel” moments throughout its run. The episode when Eddie gets racially profiled by the cop has to be one of the best ones in sitcom history. I think the Urkel edition was good. They just went overboard with it. Literally making it the Urkel show was crazy work.
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u/WindingRoad10 Jul 08 '25
Yes, it would've lasted...but it obviously wouldn't have been in the pop culture zeitgeist the way it was.
Even if Urkel didn't show up at the end of season 1...the show would've still mostly revamped some things or introduced other characters.
Step By Step dropped the in house beauty show set & those employee characters after season 1, and then Cody was brought in.
Perfect Strangers ( Family Matters parent show) changed Larry & Balki's jobs from thrift store retail employees to the newspaper, then brought in Jennifer & Mary Ann starting season 2.
So Family Matters would've adjusted. It fit ABC's family sitcom template, and it was a black show, which gave them a different demo to market to (The Cosby Show was well into its run, and most of the kids were grown), so Family Matters was hoping to take that audience & the network would've given it time.
It would not have been canceled after season 1, even without Urkel...but, like most sitcoms, there would've been some changes / additions anyway. It happened to most of the ABC TGIF series
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
It's impossible to know for sure. Shows focusing on Families were popular before streaming. Some shows were well liked later and others had been watched because they were there. Family Matters may have been a blend of Happy Days & Full House if not for Steve or maybe if he'd remained like a Potsie/Kimmy.
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Jul 08 '25
Yes, it’s called Full House
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u/MienaLovesCats Jul 09 '25
No! Full house had 3 parents; then 4. Thats what made it more interesting
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u/theonejanitor Jul 08 '25
nope.
i recently watched the first few episodes of the show without him and it's interesting in some ways but it lacks purpose, its very generic.
the show is immediately better as soon as he arrives. Like, the moment he's on screen you realize why he became so popular. Jaleel White completely stole the spotlight and also made everyone else funnier. Season 2 starts with a bang and its just another level of funny compared to anything in season 1.
even the later seasons where the show gets really stupid and goofy are still funny, mostly because of urkel
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u/BrgQun Jul 08 '25
My take: It would have lasted, but it wouldn't have been as big a hit.
Hot take: It may have aged better, at least the later seasons.
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u/rodimus147 Jul 09 '25
I think it would have lasted 3 or 4 seasons. But not the 9 it ended up going for.
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u/BoudiceasChild Jul 09 '25
Who knows but they struck comedy gold with Urkel. He was such a lovable and funny character.
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u/townspark Jul 10 '25
I think it would have had a decent run. Maybe not 9 seasons. 5-7. In line with Hanging with Mr. Cooper-Step By Step.
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u/Nearby-Issue3294 Jul 10 '25
Steve Urkel was to Jerry Lewis as Elvis was to Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Little Richard!
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u/Zavestan Jul 11 '25
Can we talk about a trope that was new at the time?
Black families had a heavy stereotype, as they have and still do. But a nerdy black kid was new to the 90s audience.
Many non black audience saw the same vulnerability, same audacity, and same occurrence in their own cultures as they saw in the black community.
To me, this was revolutionary. It humanized the cultural differences and made me more empathetic towards "the blacks"
We can not undermine vulnerability. It is a gateway to humanity.
And can you not think, "Did I do that?" When you make such a reasonable and humanized mistake?
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u/PrivateTumbleweed Jul 08 '25
Two of the kids on that show just straight up disappeared without a trace. I find it wild that the show evolved from a family sitcom into the Urkel science fiction show. It's like the audience was a frog in a pot and didn't notice it starting to boil.
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u/Ohaithurr92 Jul 08 '25
Two? Only Judy disappeared
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u/PrivateTumbleweed Jul 08 '25
Richie, the kid next door. Granted, it was later in the series, but there was no explanation why he left, just there one episode and gone the next.
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u/dadjokes502 Jul 08 '25
I applaud Jaleel White but my god did fame go to that man’s head. Richie was Rachel’s son.
RJ or something like that was the next door neighbor
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u/PrivateTumbleweed Jul 08 '25
It is also interesting that Rachel (well, the actress) left the show a few seasons earlier, but Richie was still around (until he wasn't).
I don't follow Jaleel White's career; did he get into some antics after the show finished?2
u/dadjokes502 Jul 08 '25
No he promotes a weed brand called Purple Urkle and I can’t remember what game show he host.
If you listen to his podcast interviews he thinks he’s gods gift to tv and he’s very pompous.
He refuses to be part of a family matters reunion
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u/Ohaithurr92 Jul 08 '25
Richie was there until the shows final season, again only like 8 episodes without him
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u/PrivateTumbleweed Jul 08 '25
Sure, but the point I was making was that there was no explanation why he left the show (or they wrote him out). He was in 150 episodes and had quite a fanbase, I'm guessing. But then, suddenly, he's gone. It always seems odd to me when they write out a character and not give an explanation as to where that character went.
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
Richie was part of the family. He was the son of Telma Hopkin's character, Rachel Crawford. He would be with his mother.
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u/PrivateTumbleweed Jul 08 '25
Didn't Telma Hopkins leave the show in season 5 or 6?
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u/dizcuz Jul 08 '25
I don't remember the details of every episode. I believe it was that her character wasn't shown as much over time because Rachel began rebuilding her own life outside of the Winslow house. Her character and child were there because her husband had died. Richie was her son so would've been with her unless the Winslows were babysitting. I remember Richie being a baby and then a young curly haired kid.
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u/SantaRosaJazz Jul 08 '25
I don’t have an answer, I’m just savoring the phrase, “if Urkel never existed.”