Netflix’s Fuller House is not a recreation of Full House says Candace Cameron Bure

TV’S nostalgia era shows no signs of ending with a stack of old series being remade. The Fuller House cast insist the comedy is a little edgier.

EVERYWHERE you look, from films to music and television, what’s old is new again — and the nostalgia trend is especially strong on the small screen.

The modern remake of The X-Files has been a global hit, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg, with a slew of old shows set to be given a new lease on life, from Twin Peaks to MacGyver and The Gilmore Girls.

Perhaps the most ambitious is Netflix’s upcoming Fuller House, which launches next Friday and puts a modern spin on the original family sitcom that ran for eight seasons until 1995.

“Everyone had talked about a reunion movie or a reunion TV special, but none of them were ever right,” Candace Cameron Bure, who plays DJ Tanner, explains.

“We didn’t want to take away from the Full House legacy by doing something that wasn’t really wonderful. When this (idea) came along, we thought it could be done in the right way.”

It’s part reunion and part fresh take, primarily focusing on DJ, a recently widowed and overwhelmed mother of three boys, who enlists the help of her sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin), a globetrotting aspiring musician, and her best friend Kimmy Gibbler, a quirky event planner, played by Andrea Barber.

“There’s a strong female energy and it’s about women supporting each other,” Barber says. “It’s about how it takes a village to raise children. It’s really feel-good, it’s wonderful.”

Fuller House: Your favourite girls, grown up with children. Picture: Netflix / Michael Yarish

Other familiar faces, including Jesse (John Stamos), Danny (Bob Saget), Rebecca (Lori Loughlin) and Joey (Dave Coulier), make regular visits to the San Francisco house.

The first episode is a “gift for fans”, Cameron Bure says. It’s jam-packed full of nostalgia, complete with the original opening credits and theme song, and sees the original characters come together.

After that, she says it’s largely about the “new show” — a familiar approach to all new issues, and a new brood of kids to raise.

“We’re not recreating a show from the 80s,” Cameron Bure points out. “It still carries the same heartfelt tones that Full House always had. It’s about family. But it’s a show for 2016.”

The comedy is a little edgier too, Sweetin says, given kids these days are much worldlier than they were in the 80s and 90s.

“I think for me, I laugh really hard at this (new) show. Probably more so than the original but maybe that’s because it’s about us.”

Fuller House: ‘Still hugging it out after all these years.’ Picture: Michael Yarish / Netflix

The whole experience was a weird mix of brand new and familiar. Barber came out of retirement for the project and says stepping onto set for the first time was an overwhelming experience.

“The set wasn’t dressed yet and it wasn’t painted,” Barber recalls. “It was sort of like walking into an archaeological site that had just been unearthed after 20 years.”

It wasn’t long until they fell back into an old rhythm. It felt in many ways like no time had passed at all, Sweetin says.

“We’ve remained friends for the past 20 years so it wasn’t like we had to make up for lost time,” she laughs. “Maybe two weeks.”

The trio also formed a strong bond with the new generation of actors, who play DJ’s kids Jackson (Michael Campion), Max (Elias Hager) and baby Tommy Junior (Dashiell and Fox Messitt), as well as Kimmy’s feisty teenager Ramona (Soni Nicole Bringas).

“When we were kids on the show, we had a really great experience,” Cameron Bure says. “The environment was really happy and friendly, and I think it’s especially important to make sure the kids have that same experience.

“We have such compassion and sensitivity for what the kids are going through, because we went through that.”

But as she points out, there was no such thing as social media when they found fame, and the paparazzi was a much less intense machine.

“It’s a whole new ball game.”

Another difference is the TV landscape itself. It’s been a while between successful family series, she says. Drama and reality have tended to take priority at networks.

There’s a big gap in the market for Fuller House to take advantage of and she’s confident both new and old fans will find something to like.

“There are so many different relationships on the show and there’s so many ways for someone to relate to it, no matter what family they’ve grown up in.”

Interest in the original series has never really waned though, she points out.

Fuller House: ‘So many family moments shared in this room.’ Picture: Michael Yarish / Netflix

When it wrapped up in 1998, it was still rating well for its US broadcaster, who cited escalating cost as the reason for its axing.

Since then, it has stayed in syndication in a number of countries. Executive producer Bob Boyett reveals he’s been approached “two to three times a year” with requests to remake it.

“I hated reunion shows,” Boyett says. “I never wanted to do (it) because I think they’re mostly lousy … a bunch of people sitting on stools in a very uncomfortable situation. I felt that if something worthy came along, we might do something in the future.”

There were “many, many ideas” that he passed on. But Netflix’s concept of a walk down memory lane with a whole new story was too good to refuse, he says, and the original cast felt the same way.

Well, everyone except for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who together played Michelle. The official line is that the famous twins were too busy with their fashion empire.

Neither has acted 2004 and both were reportedly reluctantly about jumping back into the world of show business.

“I tried — we all tried to persuade them to come and play,” creator Jeff Franklin says.

“They decided not to this time. We’re hopeful at some point in the future that they may change their minds.”

All 13 episodes of Fuller House will be available on Netflix on February 26