Saget was engaged to cohost CBS’ “The Morning Program” when he got the call for “Full House,” which led to his absence in the original pilot.

Jodie Sweetin praises *Better Call Saul *actor cast as dad in *Full House *pilot, but Bob Saget was always ‘first choice’

Saget was engaged to cohost CBS' "The Morning Program" when he got the call for "Full House," which led to his absence in the original pilot.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

June 28, 2026 9:45 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Jodie Sweetin, Candace Cameron, Bob Saget, and Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen on 'Full House'. Credit:

Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

- Jodie Sweetin recently reflected on shooting the original *Full House *pilot with a different actor in the Danny Tanner role, which would eventually go to Bob Saget.

- Saget was contracted to CBS as a co-host of *The Morning Program *at the time and unable to take the role.

- When that show was canceled, *Full House *creator Jeff Franklin persuaded ABC to let him reshoot the pilot.

*Full House** *without Bob Saget? How rude!

Jodie Sweetin, who played the sarcastic middle child Stephanie Tanner across the series' eight-season run, recently looked back on the sitcom's original pilot, which featured a different actor in the role of kindly Tanner family patriarch Danny.

"We started doing the show, and we'd shot an entire pilot, actually, with John Posey, who was a lovely human being and very sweet and wonderful," Sweetin shared on Tuesday's episode of *Taboo's Comics & Kicks*, hosted by Black Eyed Peas alum Jamie Luis "Taboo" Gomez.

When *Full House *kicked off in 1987, Posey had only a single screen role to his name, but his lauded turn as Mr. Jacobi in Michael Mann's *Manhunter *the year before made him a sought-after prospect. But one edgy, up-and-coming comic still had him beat, even though he wasn't available.

Bob Saget and Jodie Sweetin in Los Angeles in 2017.

Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

According to Sweetin, *Full House *creator Jeff Franklin always had Saget in mind for the part.

"Bob was the first choice for Danny. So when he was no longer doing the show that was conflicting with *Full House*, we reshot the entire pilot, which Jeff Franklin had to fight for so hard because that's a lot of money," she explained. "He was like, 'I just know it. I just know this is who we need as the dad. This is going to be it.' And he was right."

John Stamos shares final picture he took with Bob Saget in tribute to 'Full House' costar's birthday

Bob Saget's widow Kelly Rizzo shares how John Mayer and Jeff Ross encouraged her to date after his death

At the time, Saget was still building his résumé as an actor, but he was further along in establishing himself than Posey. The Philadelphia-born comic had already appeared on episodes of *Bosom Buddies *and *The Great American Hero*. It was on that first show that Saget first encountered Franklin, the showrunner detailed for *Variety *in 2017.

"There is a moment when every sitcom writer first dreams of having their own show. Mine was working on *Bosom Buddies*. Tom Hanks was the star and Bob Saget was the warm-up guy," Franklin wrote at the time. When he eventually landed on the idea of *Full House*, he "wanted Paul Reiser or Bob Saget" for Danny, but "Saget was under contract to *The Morning Program* on CBS."

John Posey on 'Better Call Saul'.

But that news venture proved short lived for CBS, which canceled the program in time for Franklin to reshoot *Full House *around Saget, and the rest is history.

Posey, meanwhile, went on to appear on series like *Teen Wolf*, *Better Call Saul*, and *Boston Legal*.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

You can watch Sweetin's full appearance on *Taboo's Comics & Kicks* above.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Comedy”