Jaleel White Explains WhyFamily MattersWill Never Get a Revival, Says It 'Belongs Only in the '90s'

Mar. 15, 2025

Jaleel White and Kellie Shanygne Williams on a 1991 episode of ‘Family Matters’.Photo:ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Though several of the beloved ABC TGIF sitcoms have had reboots and revivals through the years — to varying degrees of success —Family Matterswill probably never be among them, starJaleel Whiteshared.

Speaking during 90s Con 2024in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Sept. 15, the actor, who famously played Steve Urkel, listed several reasons why he doesn’t think aFamily Mattersrevival could work.

“It’s the toughest question I’ve had to answer for a very long time,” White, 47, said during a panel entitled “The Evolution of Jaleel White.” “But I really study why our shows work. And it has nothing to do with me not loving our old property, are you kidding me? I loveFamily Mattersmore than any of you guys could ever loveFamily Matters,” he said to the crowd.

But, he continued, “I also know our strengths and weaknesses the way a coach wound know his lineup. I’m not going to try us out on the field for anything less than absolute victory.”

First, he pointed out, “We’ve lost cast members,” referring to actresses Michelle Thomas and Rosetta LeNoire, who died in 1998 and 2002, respectively.

Reginald VelJohnson and Jaleel White in a 1990 episode of ‘Family Matters’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Thomas played Myra Monkhouse, a girlfriend of White’s Urkel, who in part made Kellie Shanygne Williams’s Laura Winslow jealous and ultimately end up with Steve.

“Part of the magic ofFamily Matterswas that it was always prolonged with Steve not getting the girl. Then came [alter ego] Stefan and it created this other dynamic,” he shared. “Just doing a reboot ofFamily Matterswhere Steve is married to Laura, there’s no tension there. You’d watch for one episode and discover my voice is a little deeper and get mad at that,” he said with a laugh.

“If Michelle had been here I might have given it the old college try to create the triangle of Michelle and Kellie, but without that I just don’t want to do it as a straightFuller Housereboot, it wouldn’t work.”

White calledFull HouseandFuller HousestarCandace Cameron Burea “dear friend” and tipped his hat to her cast for what their 2016 Netflix revival was “able to do.“Fuller Houseran for five seasons, following the stories of a grown-up D.J. Tanner (Cameron Bure), sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), living together in the Tanners' childhood home.

But forFamily Matters,“life has changed,” he continued. “Are we really going to tellFamily Matterswithout smartphones? I feel like the magic in what you watched didn’t have any of those components and it belongs only in the ’90s.”

Jaleel White as Steve Urkel in ‘Family Matters’ in 1990 and in 2023.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Alberto Rodriguez/GA/Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“There’s a responsibility that these reboots have,” he added, noting theRoseannerevivalThe Connersas a rare success story. “Give you a little bit of the old but not ignore the new entirely. I loved it, that’s what I’m dedicated to doing it if I touch anythingFamily Mattersat this point.”

“I wouldn’t do anything differently,” he added. “It was a great experience and it was a small sacrifice to make for one hell of a legacy.”

White will share more about his life and career in his upcoming book,Growing Up Urkel,out this November.

source: people.com