There have been plenty of animated series that have recently been brought back from the “grave” to serious success. While Hulu saw major viewership thanks to King of the Hill’s fourteenth season, the streaming service also brought back Animaniacs and Futurama after years outside of the public eye. Recently, it was announced that a Married With Children revival was in the works, but eventually fell apart despite its animated status. Now, one classic sitcom actor is hoping to bring a “TGIF” favorite back for a new audience by implementing animation.
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Bryton James is hoping to bring back Family Matters, the ABC sitcom that introduced countless fans to Steve Urkel and the Winslow family, as an animated series. In chatting with the outlet Variety, James, who previously played Richie Crawford on the series, was hoping to mix the old with the new for the would-be show. Crawford “had an idea to take the show and turn it into an animated series,” and was thinking of “taking the old episodes and modernizing them and kind of starting from scratch for the new generation.” In a surprising twist, James confirmed that not only was the revival “pretty far along,” but he had gained the support of the original cast and was bringing “everybody on board.” The original cast would, of course, include the “MVP” of the series, Jaleel White’s Steve Urkel.
Urkel’s Recent Animated Rodeo
As of the writing of this article, Bryton James confirmed that Warner Bros is currently debating whether to move forward with this reboot, stating, “It’s sitting in Warner Bros.’ hands right now. That plan is still kind of floating around out there, and I’m still trying to pursue it.” Variety reported that while Warner Bros Animation is considering next steps, nothing concrete has been decided one way or the other. Ironically, fans might have missed the last time Urkel arrived in an animated format.
2023 saw the release of “Urkel Saves Santa The Movie!”, a direct-to-video affair that saw Jaleel White returning to the role. While it focused on the MVP of Family Matters, the rest of the cast was not featured in the holiday adventure, leaving room for them to take center stage in a potential update should James be successful. Considering the original “TGIF” series ended in the late 1990s, it has been quite some time since we last saw Urkel throw a monkey wrench into the Winslows’ lives, but there have been quite a few revivals that brought characters back after decades away.
Ironically, Jaleel White was most recently known for his role as an antagonist in the Star Wars television series, Skeleton Crew. Even though White is more than willing to take on wild new roles to show off his acting roles, it’s clear that he is always more than willing to return to the role that kicked off his career.
Want to see if Urkel and the Winslows will return thanks to the wonderful world of animation? Follow along with ComicBook.com for all the latest Urkel updates, and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
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