When Fuller House beat the odds (and critical assessment) to land a second season order, it also got a second chance to bring Michelle Tanner portrayers Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen back into the fold. The twins, who have moved way past their sitcom roots, declined to participate in the first season at all. The show’s writers did take inspiration from the Olsens’ lives to explain away Michelle’s absence—it seems the youngest Tanner was building a fashion empire in New York City, and was therefore unable to move back into her childhood home.
But surely the success of the sequel series has changed their minds, right? Well, not so much. Jodie Sweetin tells Entertainment Tonight that there’s still no planned appearance from an Olsen (at this point, the role would only require one). “We’ve tried everything,” the middle Tanner child sighed, presumably wondering if all this fuss would have been kicked up over her own refusal. But nothing’s worked, and Sweetin believes “we’ve kinda given up.” So it looks like the family reunion will remain incomplete for now. But the show will try to fill that void with many famous faces, Sweetin says: “We have a lot. A lot of people that have been talked about for like 30 years are going to be on the show. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”