Full House star Dave Coulier, who portrayed Joey throughout its run, has opened up about why the show was cancelled after season 8, reflecting on the reason why it ended at that point. The long-running sitcom followed Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) raising his daughters as a single father with the help of his brother-in-law Jesse (John Stamos) and his friend Joey (Coulier). While the series was a success, Full House was ultimately cancelled following season 8, something that didn’t deter its long-standing legacy.

Speaking with People, however, Coulier and David Lipper, who played Viper, explained how the cost of producing Full House was a key factor in why it was cancelled. While the Joey actor revealed the show could have continued for another two seasons on The WB, but it was ultimately decided that the series should end with season 8 to avoid diminishing quality. Check out what Coulier and Lipper had to say below:

Dave Coulier: We were told that there was a possibility when The WB network started that we were gonna do two more seasons on the WB. But at that point, season 8, people were kinda like, ‘How many more stories can we tell? We’ve already told a 192 of these.’ Like, you know, not everybody was into it. I was like, ‘I’ll do two more seasons, man. I’m having a blast. You know, I’ll come in and do Popeye and walk out.’

David Lipper: It was an expensive show.

Dave Coulier: At that point, it was expensive. Yeah. Salaries had gone up. And as shows do, you know, everybody’s salary everywhere on a show and success, everybody starts feeding out of the trough. You know? Especially when we knew that syndication money was there. It’s like, ‘Hey, we’re in syndication. You wanna do some more?’

Why Full House Ending With Season 8 Was Ultimately A Good Thing

The Show Might Not Have Been As Good In Later Seasons

While Coulier was excited about the prospect of continuing the show beyond season 8, there were ultimately too many factors at play that made it impossible to continue. One key factor is how the move over to The WB didn’t guarantee the series would have been as big a success. While the show was a popular sitcom at the time, its place on ABC would have required telling viewers about the move in hopes the audience would come over. However, that didn’t guarantee everyone would find and watch the series on a new network.

But while moving networks is one thing, the show growing more expensive also meant it wouldn’t have been able to continue in its current form. If the show did move over to The WB, it could have involved multiple budgetary cuts, something that would have been noticeable compared to all the episodes produced up to that point. This could have included the replacement of a key cast member as well, given that paying the actors was a major expense by that point in the show’s history. By ending when it did, Full House avoided a possibly major dip in quality.

Although it would have been interesting to see the series continue past its point of cancellation, Full House‘s premature end kept it from encountering quality issues near the end of its run. It also may have paved the way for its spinoff, Fuller House, which helped to grow the Tanner family tree without negating the quality of the original show. By ending at season 8, the series was able to cement itself as a classic sitcom that can be enjoyed from beginning to end, without any notably negative changes.

Source: People