The American television sitcom, Full House, ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 22, 1987, to May 23, 1995. Its sequel series Fuller House followed 21 years later, airing on Netflix, ran for five seasons. beginning February 26, 2016, ending on June 2, 2020.

Main characters Character Portrayed by Full House Fuller House Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 Season 7 Season 8 Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Jesse Katsopolis John Stamos colspan="8" colspan="3" Danny Tanner Bob Saget colspan="8" colspan="4" Joey Gladstone Dave Coulier colspan="8" colspan="5" D. J. Tanner Candace Cameron colspan="13" Stephanie Tanner Jodie Sweetin colspan="13" Michelle Tanner Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen colspan="7" colspan="5" Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis Lori Loughlin colspan="6" colspan="4" Kimmy Gibbler Andrea Barber colspan="4" colspan="9" Steve Hale Scott Weinger colspan="4" colspan="2" colspan="4" Nicky and Alex Katsopolis Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit colspan="4" colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="3" Jackson Fuller Michael Campion colspan="8" colspan="5" Max Fuller Elias Harger colspan="8" colspan="5" Ramona Gibbler Soni Nicole Bringas colspan="8" colspan="5" Tommy Fuller Dashiell & Fox Messitt colspan="8" colspan="5" Fernando Hernandez-Guerrero Juan Pablo Di Pace colspan="8" colspan="4" Matt Harmon John Brotherton colspan="8" colspan="4" Lola Wong Ashley Liao colspan="8" Jimmy Gibbler Adam Hagenbuch colspan="9" colspan="3"

Notes

Introduced in Full House Jesse Katsopolis Jesse Katsopolis (portrayed by John Stamos) is Danny's brother-in-law, Pam's younger brother, making him the maternal uncle to D. J., Stephanie, and Michelle. Later in the series, he marries Rebecca Donaldson, Danny's co-host on Wake Up, San Francisco, with whom he has twin sons Nicholas and Alexander, better known as Nicky and Alex. The character underwent several name changes throughout the series' development and filming. He was originally named Adam Cochran during production, though this was ultimately changed to Jesse, at Stamos' request. Later, producers changed his last name from Cochran to one of Greek origin, to Katsopolis, also at the request of Stamos, who is Greek American. Finally, in the fifth season, it is revealed that Jesse was originally named Hermes after his great-grandfather, but his mother changed it to Jesse at his request after he entered primary school, when his peers bullied him for his name.Full House, "The Legend of Ranger Joe" (aired October 22, 1991; Season 5, Episode 6)

In contrast with Danny, Jesse is portrayed as irresponsible most of the time, but occasionally serves as a responsible adult when one is needed (such as when he learns that Stephanie's classmate is a child abuse victim in the season six episode "Silence is Not Golden"). Jesse is revealed to be high school dropout in season six's "Educating Jesse", though in an earlier plot (in season four's "One Last Kiss") about a high school reunion, he mentions not wearing his cap to graduation because he did not want to mess up his hair.

Jesse's obsession with his hair becomes a major trait throughout the series. He is a die hard Elvis Presley fan and Elvis was his inspiration to be a musician. His obsession with Elvis is fully established in the season two premiere "Cutting it Close", which focuses on Jesse's tough time coping when Stephanie accidentally cuts off a hunk of his mullet, which leads to him getting into a motorcycle accident that lands him in a full arm cast; later episodes reveal that he has a special comb called Mr. Goodpart (which gets damaged in a melee to purchase a Mighty Mutant Super Kids Super Fortress for Michelle in season eight's "I've Got a Secret") and that he gives pep talks to his hair (as revealed in season seven's "Wrong-Way Tanner").

Jesse moves into the house with virtually no experience in taking care of young children or babies, but learns the ropes along the way. He was only going to be here temporarily but ended up staying full time. He becomes closer to all of his nieces over the course of the series, especially Michelle, whom he affectionately nicknames "munchkin" and "shorty", among others. In the first season, Jesse works for his father Nick's exterminating business before leaving to pursue work in advertising, frequently working with Joey. He later works with Joey as co-host of an afternoon drive time show on local radio station KFLH called The Rush Hour Renegades.

Further along in the series, in season seven's "Smash Club: The Next Generation", Jesse becomes the new owner of The Smash Club. Although he was depicted as a sports fan as well as a good athlete in the earlier seasons, it is revealed in later seasons that Jesse hated all sports (especially basketball, in "Air Jesse" from season eight) and was not very athletic. Jesse's main passion is music, and struggles to "hit it big" with his band, Jesse and the Rippers (in the earlier part of the series). However, his increasing responsibilities to his family, radio job, and as owner of a club, lead his band members to kick him out of the band in the season eight premiere "Comet's Excellent Adventure".

In "Making Out is Hard to Do", he decides to quit being a musician until he has a nightmare in which he appears on Downbeat (a Behind the Music-style show-within-a-dream-sequence) where he dreams that his family hates him, Rebecca has divorced him (and moved on with Joey) and Jesse himself was a mechanic, as well as overweight and balding (because of a scalp infection), with Kimmy Gibbler (dressed in the attire of the Married... with Children character Peggy Bundy) as a wife. Two episodes later in "To Joey, With Love", he starts a new band called Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets.

In Fuller House, Jesse, Becky, and Danny all move to Los Angeles. Jesse becomes the music composer for General Hospital while Becky and Danny start a new nationally syndicated talk show called, Wake Up USA. Stephanie is similar to her Uncle Jesse and decided to help D. J. take care of her nephews like her Uncle Jesse did for them. In the season two finale, Jesse and Becky adopt a baby girl whom they name Pamela after his sister. Somewhere along the line, Jesse became a stay at home dad. When Becky and Danny get fired from Wake Up USA, they try to get their old jobs back but the station only wanted her back to co-host an all women's talk show. Jesse, Becky, and Pamela are all moving back to San Francisco, and he also bought back the Smash Club (which is now a laundromat) along with Joey.

Danny Tanner Daniel "Danny" Tanner (portrayed by Bob Saget, John Posey in the unaired pilot) is left with three young daughters to raise after his wife, Pam, dies in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. At the beginning of the series, he works as a sportscaster for Channel 8 News. In the season two episode "Tanner vs. Gibbler", he is chosen by his station's general manager Mr. Strowbridge to be the co-host for the station's new morning talk show, Wake Up, San Francisco, alongside Rebecca Donaldson. In season one's "The Big Three-O", Danny's beloved car, "Bullet", is severely damaged after another driver rear-ends the vehicle, leading it roll out of park and become submerged in the San Francisco Bay while Jesse and Joey shop for new seat covers for the car to surprise Danny with as a present for his 30th birthday. Jesse and Joey end up bidding for a new car that is identical in appearance, unknowingly competing with Danny, who purchases the car (and later named it "Walter") after he calls the car dealership that Jesse and Joey are at, and places a bid over the phone.

Danny goes on his first date since Pam's death in the season one episode "Sea Cruise", as part of a fishing trip that was intended to only include himself, Jesse and Joey. He is seen going out on dates on occasion throughout the series. While Rebecca goes on maternity leave in season five just before giving birth to his nephews Nicky and Alex, Danny ends up falling in love with her co-host replacement, Vicky Larson. The two of them begin dating in season five's "Easy Rider", becoming Danny's most serious relationship since he became a widower, and the two later become engaged in the season six finale "The House Meets the Mouse".

However, their relationship changes to long-distance when Vicky is assigned reporting jobs away from San Francisco. In season seven's "The Perfect Couple", Vicky ends up getting her dream job of anchoring the network news in New York City, but a long-distance relationship does not work for either of them. Danny decides to break up with her, leading him to a mass feng shui habit in the next episode, "Is It True About Stephanie?", which his family acknowledges is his way of trying to cope with his breakup. Danny eventually meets fellow single parent Claire Mahan in season eight episode "Making Out Is Hard to Do", and they go on a date in the episode "Claire and Present Danger".

Although he is not established with this trait early on (season one's "The Return of Grandma" depicts him as begrudgingly trying to clean the messy house with Jesse and Joey after their mothers threaten to move in if they cannot keep the place clean), much of the humor surrounding Danny's character comes from his obsession with cleaning and cleanliness. Danny can often be found cleaning for cleaning's sake, sometimes even cleaning his cleaning products. In a version of the season three opening titles, seen during episodes in which Lori Loughlin does not appear as Rebecca Donaldson, Danny is shown to be cleaning his vacuum cleaner with a handheld vacuum. He says the family motto is "clean is good, dirt is bad". Danny views spring cleaning as his equivalent to Christmas and home movies as his New Year's Eve (as revealed in the season two episode "Goodbye, Mr. Bear"). His quirkiness and generally "unhip dad" personality are targets for humor. He is a skilled pool player, darts player, and guitarist (revealed respectively in season four's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and season eight's "To Joey, with Love").

Like most other characters, he generally cannot stand Kimmy Gibbler, considering her as "an annoying, obnoxious nuisance"; at times, urging D. J. to make new friends whenever Kimmy does something that irritates him. Danny also has one brother and one sister, and his parents are divorced. Unlike his brother-in-law Jesse (who is more into rock-and-roll), Danny has a taste for 1970s disco music; one of his favorite songs is "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry.

In the first episode of Fuller House, Danny and Becky relocate to Los Angeles for their new talk show, Wake Up USA, and it is revealed that Danny got remarried to a woman named Teri. During the second season, Danny goes through a minor midlife crisis, having just turned 60. In season three, Danny reveals that he and Teri got divorced. Danny and Becky ask for raises, but since they demand too much, they are fired and replaced by Mario Lopez. After feeling sorry for themselves, they go back to Wake Up San Francisco to ask for their old jobs back, but the station only wants Becky back.

To cheer him up, the girls somehow track down Vicky and surprise him with a visit from her. He invites her to the 30th "Dadi-versary" party the girls threw for him, Jesse, and Joey. Since Becky, Jesse, and Joey are all moving back to San Francisco, Danny announces he's moving back too, and back into the house.

In season four, Becky's talk show The Gab is a success, but it reverts back to Wake Up San Francisco. Danny refuses to audition to be her co-host, briefly living life as a retiree. He eventually realizes that he misses being on air and gets his old job back after Becky's co-host is injured.

Joey Gladstone