Is Fuller House Too Racy for Family Entertainment?

Some viewers find the new incarnation of the family sitcom Full House too racy for their tastes. Fuller House has been released on Netflix as one of the streaming service’s original series. Fox News reports on the controversy the show has generated:

“The light swearing and continual sexual innuendos in ‘Fuller House’ were too much for my 8 and 6 year old daughters who are so obsessed with Full House,” one fan wrote. “I’m hoping season 2 is more family friendly.”

“Another disappointed viewer here,” wrote another viewer. “Please make season 2 appropriate for family viewing. I don’t want political correctness (same-gender kissing etc), sexual innuendos, masturbation references, sexy dancing, and drinking. I want the cheesy jokes, hugs, and silly scenarios that ‘Full House’ is known and loved for. Please cut the other stuff out.”

And another fan requested that star Candace Cameron Bure, an outspoken Christian conservative, connect more with her faith in season two.

“Hope you stand up for your Christian convictions and clean up the language, wardrobe, alcohol references, and multiple love interests story lines. I was disappointed in season 1,” the viewer said.

It has been nearly thirty years since the original Full House aired. Sensibilities have changed a great deal, for better or worse. One should not necessarily expect a modern show to feel precisely like its last generation progenitor. For those old enough, imagine if Leave It to Beaver had a follow-up thirty years after it originally aired. Would you seriously expect it to have exactly the same tone?

There’s no need to imagine, because that actually happened. The New Leave It to Beaver aired on CBS and the Disney Channel in the ’80s. It featured a grown-up Theodore Cleaver who was — gasp — divorced and living with his widowed mother. That’s a storyline that certainly would not have fit with the sensibilities of the original.

Fuller House must be doing something right, because the series has already been green-lit for a second season on Netflix. As the Fox News article notes, the volume of complaints may not be indicative of the actual viewership.