Jaleel White Explains Why “Family Matters ”Will Never Get a Revival, Says It 'Belongs Only in the '90s'

The actor, who played Steve Urkel, thinks a new storyline is lacking the "tension" it might require to get viewers

Though several of the beloved ABC TGIF sitcoms have had reboots and revivals through the years — to varying degrees of success — Family Matters will probably never be among them, star Jaleel White shared.

Speaking during 90s Con 2024 in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday, Sept. 15, the actor, who famously played Steve Urkel, listed several reasons why he doesn't think a Family Matters revival could work.

"It's the toughest question I've had to answer for a very long time," White, 47, said during a panel entitled "The Evolution of Jaleel White." "But I really study why our shows work. And it has nothing to do with me not loving our old property, are you kidding me? I love Family Matters more than any of you guys could ever love Family Matters," he said to the crowd.

But, he continued, "I also know our strengths and weaknesses the way a coach wound know his lineup. I'm not going to try us out on the field for anything less than absolute victory."

First, he pointed out, "We've lost cast members," referring to actresses Michelle Thomas and Rosetta LeNoire, who died in 1998 and 2002, respectively.

Related: Jaleel White Reveals That Playing Steve Urkel on Family Matters Left His Voice Damaged for Years

Thomas played Myra Monkhouse, a girlfriend of White's Urkel, who in part made Kellie Shanygne Williams's Laura Winslow jealous and ultimately end up with Steve.

"Part of the magic of Family Matters was that it was always prolonged with Steve not getting the girl. Then came [alter ego] Stefan and it created this other dynamic," he shared. "Just doing a reboot of Family Matters where Steve is married to Laura, there's no tension there. You'd watch for one episode and discover my voice is a little deeper and get mad at that," he said with a laugh.

"If Michelle had been here I might have given it the old college try to create the triangle of Michelle and Kellie, but without that I just don't want to do it as a straight Fuller House reboot, it wouldn't work."

White called Full House and Fuller House star Candace Cameron Bure a "dear friend" and tipped his hat to her cast for what their 2016 Netflix revival was "able to do." Fuller House ran for five seasons, following the stories of a grown-up D.J. Tanner (Cameron Bure), sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and best friend Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), living together in the Tanners' childhood home.

But for Family Matters, "life has changed," he continued. "Are we really going to tell Family Matters without smartphones? I feel like the magic in what you watched didn't have any of those components and it belongs only in the '90s."

Related: The Cast of 'Family Matters:' Where Are They Now?

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"There's a responsibility that these reboots have," he added, noting the Roseanne revival The Conners as a rare success story. "Give you a little bit of the old but not ignore the new entirely. I loved it, that's what I'm dedicated to doing it if I touch anything Family Matters at this point."

Elsewhere in the panel, White spoke about damaging his voice for years by playing Urkel, but said a highlight of his time on the series was "being able to do half hour comedy at the highest level."

"I wouldn't do anything differently," he added. "It was a great experience and it was a small sacrifice to make for one hell of a legacy."

White will share more about his life and career in his upcoming book, Growing Up Urkel, out this November.

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