Is Jodie Sweetin Joining Dancing With the Stars? That and More Scoop From the Fuller House Premiere

Turns out, you can go home again: Last night, the new cast (and the “legacy cast,” as they’re being referred to) toasted the Full House spin-off, Fuller House, in grand style at the L.A. premiere. “It’s surreal,” said creator Jeff Franklin. “None of this went on in 1987. I think five people watched it back then, and I thought we’d be gone in a couple weeks. To have it become what it did…I’m so lucky. This happened to me once in my life, and the fact that it gets to happen again is just amazing.”

“Surreal” is certainly the most accurate term to describe the evening. Andrea Barber (Kimmy Gibler) was told that fans started lining up at noon to catch a glimpse of the cast, while John Stamos couldn’t complete a single interview without fans interrupting him by shouting out their love (he answered with “Thank you” and “I love you” most of the time, which no doubt helped the trend). While it was unclear if Stamos’ Full House (and Fuller House) on-screen sons, Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit (Nicky and Alex Katsopolis), were in attendance, Stamos’ other on-screen son, Grandfathered‘s Josh Peck, was one of the first to walk the carpet. “He’s worked his butt off to make Grandfathered what it is, and we’re so lucky to have him,” said Peck. “Any way I can support him is a total pleasure.” Although he got his start as a young actor, Peck wasn’t yet in the business during Full House‘s original run: “If I was, I would have [done whatever it took] to be an extra on Full House if I could have!”

Juan Pablo Di Pace, who plays Kimmy Gibler’s estranged husband, Fernando, wasn’t able to watch Full House growing up (“In Argentina, we didn’t get the show at the same time.”). But as he watched it as an adult, he remembers thinking “it was the best, most original thing because it talked about the unconventional family. And I loved Kimmy so much!” Little did Di Pace know that one day he’d end up playing her love interest—but it’s a dream come true for the actor. “She was so funny and weird,” he said. “She was the outcast then, and in Fuller House now, we are playing outcasts together, which is fun because Fernando is not normal!”

Neither are America’s viewing habits, which have changed quite a bit since Full House premiered in the fall of 1987. Come next Friday, February 26, all 13 episodes of Fuller House‘s premiere season will be available on Netflix. Creator Jeff Franklin is hoping you’ll consume them all at once: “Watch them all in a row—and if you like them, watch them again all in a row! You won’t be able to stop.”

With all the hype leading up to the premiere, Franklin hopes the interest translates into massive views for the spin-off. The goal, after all, is a second-season renewal as soon as possible. “I don’t know how exactly it works,” he said. “But I hope they’ll call me Monday morning after that first weekend and go, ‘Sorry we made you wait so long, go do some more!’ Fingers crossed.”

Franklin isn’t the only one with a big week ahead. Lori Laughlin’s Hallmark Channel drama When Calls the Heart premieres its third season this coming Sunday night, followed by Fuller House‘s premiere: “It’s a big week for me with those premieres, and then I go to New York tomorrow for [appearances on] Live! With Kelly and Michael, The Today Show, Meredith Vieira, and hopefully, I can squeeze in The View with Candace. I would love to do that!”

Candace Cameron Bure brought her husband and family to the premiere and planned to soak up every moment before boarding the red-eye to New York City to co-host The View in the morning. “I’m not very happy about it because I want to enjoy this all night, but I’m going to enjoy this until the very last minute,” she confided to us. “I’m interviewing Kate Hudson [on The View] tomorrow basically right off the plane!”

The Dancing With the Stars alum is certainly used to life in the fast lane though. “We were on Fallon earlier and then came over here,” she said. “Doing The Tonight Show was pretty surreal, and I teared up after. It’s one of those moments where you work really hard and then it’s finally here.”

John Stamos brought his sisters to the premiere and after party, and the Stamos clan shared a touching moment during the screening. After the credits roll in the premiere episode, the series pays tribute to Stamos’ mom, Loretta, who passed away in September 2014, as well as immediate family members of Bob Saget and Dave Coulier. It’s a heartwarming gesture that even fans will appreciate (on a personal note, I teared up when reading the message on-screen, so make sure to watch it).

Meanwhile, Stamos reminisced with us about working with Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit again after all those years. “That was a trip,” he said of the twins, who are now 25. “I don’t know if I would have recognized them if I didn’t know who they were.”

Jodie Sweetin was around five years old when she was cast as Stephanie on Full House, and now her daughter is that same age: “It’s just crazy. I was like 30 years old in a little five-year-old’s body [back then]. It’s amazing.”

Sweetin, who brought her kids, parents, and fiance to the premiere, addressed the recent rumors that she’s joining the newest season of Dancing With the Stars. It would make sense given her dance performance background—not to mention the fact that Sweetin’s on-screen sister Candace Cameron Bure raves about her own experience and that DWTS pros Maks and Val Chmerkovskiy appear on the third episode of Fuller House. While Sweetin wouldn’t confirm the casting news to Glamour, she didn’t deny it either. “My name has been thrown around the last couple of seasons,” she said. “And we had Maks and Val on [Fuller House], so ever since then people have been like, ‘Oh, she’s doing Dancing!’ I mean, Candace was on it, and I love the show…” When we pointed out that she wasn’t doing anything to squash the rumors, Sweetin said, “It’s uh…” before bursting into laughter and being pulled to the next interview by her publicist. If Sweetin joins the show (and we think it’s likely), it’s a win for her and Netflix. Publicity tends to level off for a show once it premieres, so having Sweetin keep it in the minds of 14 million viewers each week is definitely going to be a bonus for all involved.

But let’s get back to the Fuller House premiere, shall we? Once the cast moved from the grass carpet (“I think they might be letting dogs out later to pee on it,” joked Candace Cameron Bure. “There are a lot of golden retrievers on the show!”) to the movie theater inside, Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos took the stage for introductions and accolades. “This show has already broken records at Netflix,” he noted of the show’s massive popularity. “The video that we put out to announce the [premiere] date has been viewed on our YouTube channel 14 million times. That’s more than any video we’ve put out on social channels!” That was followed up by the best joke of the night, courtesy of Jeff Franklin: “14 million watched a trailer with just a couch in it!”

(from left) Fuller House‘s new cast: D.J.’s boys, played by Michael Campion and Elias Harger, with Kimmy Gibler’s daughter, played by Soni Nicole Bringas.

Speaking of the trailer that we all lost our minds over, it was even more special for Franklin, who had been working with John Stamos to bring back the series since 2008: “It took all those years to make it happen believe it or not, even though Full House was on like 50 times a week and beating [other shows]. This is an incredible time for me.”

Full House got the Lifetime treatment last summer, and Franklin also took a humorous shot at that. “A lot of people thought it was terrible, but the guy that played me was actually better looking than John Stamos, so I thought the movie was excellent,” he joked. Franklin then turned sentimental, adding, “I’ve known [Candace, Jodie and Andrea] since they] were very little girls and killing it on Full House every week. I had faith that [they] were going to be able to pull this off, but there was a little part of me was worried that the three of [them] had not done a sitcom in 20 years, and I’m just so proud of what [they] have done with this series. I can’t wait for everybody to have a look at this show. We’re going to make a lot of fans really happy.”

Fuller House premieres next Friday night, February 26. Starting next week, we’ll be rolling out interviews with the cast and creator Jeff Franklin, including never-before-heard secrets and details.