Editing Family Matters (section)

== History ==
The series was a spinoff from the ABC sitcom ''[[Perfect Strangers (TV series)|Perfect Strangers]]''; both shows aired Friday nights as part of the network's family-oriented "[[TGIF (TV programming block)|TGIF]]" lineup. [[Jo Marie Payton]] played Harriette Winslow, the elevator operator at a newspaper where [[Larry Appleton]] and [[Balki Bartokomous]] also worked. [[Reginald VelJohnson]], who was coming off of growing fame from his role in ''[[Die Hard]]'', made an appearance on the show as Harriette's husband Carl Winslow, a Chicago police officer. ABC and the producers loved the character Harriette for her great morale and quick-witted humor and decided to create a show that would focus on her and her family, husband Carl, son Eddie, elder daughter Laura, and younger daughter Judy (who appeared until the character was [[retconned]] after season four as having not existed).<ref>{{cite news| title= Is Uncool Urkel the '90s Answer to the Fonz?| work= [[Los Angeles Times]]| date=January 4, 1991| url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-04-ca-7948-story.html| access-date= October 18, 2012| first=Diane| last=Haithman}}</ref>

In the [[television pilot|pilot episode]], "[[The Mama Who Came to Dinner]]", the family had also opened their home to Carl's street-wise mother, Estelle ([[Rosetta LeNoire]]), usually known as "Mother Winslow". Prior to the start of the series, Harriette's sister, Rachel Crawford and her infant son, Richie, had moved into the Winslow household after the death of Rachel's husband. The Winslows' nerdy teenage next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel (Jaleel White), was introduced early in the first season, given a significant role midway through the season in the episode "Laura’s First Date", and quickly became the focus of the show.<ref name= time>{{cite magazine| title= Revenge of The Nerd| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| date=December 9, 1996| url= http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985673,00.html| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100919072148/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,985673,00.html| url-status= dead| archive-date= September 19, 2010| access-date=October 18, 2012| first=Ginia| last=Bellafante}}</ref>

The popular sitcom was a mainstay of ABC's TGIF lineup from 1989 until 1997, at which point it became part of the [[CBS Block Party]] lineup for its final season. ''Family Matters'' was produced by Bickley-Warren Productions (1991–1998) and [[Miller-Boyett Productions]], in association with [[Lorimar Television]] (1989–1993) and later [[Warner Bros. Television]] (1993–1998). As the show progressed, episodes began to center increasingly on Steve Urkel, and other original characters also played by White, including Steve's suave alter-ego, Stefan Urquelle (who is similar to [[Jaleel White]]'s real-life self), and his female cousin, Myrtle Urkel.

=== Network change ===
In early 1997, CBS picked up ''Family Matters'' and ''[[Step by Step (TV series)|Step by Step]]'' in a $40 million deal to acquire the rights to the programs from ABC.<ref>{{cite news|title= He's A Goober But CBS Has A Lot Riding On Urkel TV| url= https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1997/07/18/hes-a-goober-but-cbs-has-a-lot-riding-on-urkel-tv/| work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]| first= Hal |last= Boedeker| date=July 18, 1997| access-date=October 18, 2012}}</ref> ABC then promised to pay Miller-Boyett Productions $1.5 million per episode for a ninth and tenth season of ''Family Matters''. However, tensions had risen between Miller-Boyett Productions and ABC's corporate parent, [[The Walt Disney Company]] (which had bought ABC in 1996 as part of its merger with ABC's then-parent [[Capital Cities/ABC Inc.]]). Miller-Boyett thought that it would not be a big player on ABC after ABC's recent purchase by Disney.<ref name="tvseriesfinale.com">{{Cite web|url=https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/family-matters-jo-marie-payton-16891/|title=Family Matters: Why Did JoMarie Payton Leave the TV Show? [Interview, part one]|website=Tvseriesfinale.com|date=July 27, 2010|access-date=November 16, 2021}}</ref>

Miller-Boyett Productions agreed to a $40 million offer from CBS for a 22-episode season for both ''Family Matters'' and ''Step By Step''. CBS scheduled ''Family Matters'' along with ''[[Meego (TV series)|Meego]]'' and ''Step By Step'' as a part of its new Friday lineup, branded as the ''[[CBS Block Party]].'' The network scheduled the family-oriented block against ABC's ''TGIF'' lineup, where the two series originated. Jo Marie Payton's contract had just expired and she was reluctant to continue, feeling the show had [[jumped the shark]] years prior. She agreed to stay to keep continuity<ref name="tvseriesfinale.com"/> but left midseason shortly after nearly getting into a physical altercation with White in what would be her last regular episode; in that episode, White (playing a gangster instead of his usual Urkel) was attempting to insert material that violated [[Broadcast Standards and Practices]]. The resulting dispute between White and Payton escalated to the point where Darius McCrary had to separate the two.<ref>{{Cite web |title='Family Matters' Star JoMarie Payton Says Jaleel White Once Threatened to Fight Her on Set (Exclusive) {{!}} Entertainment Tonight |url=https://www.etonline.com/family-matters-star-jomarie-payton-says-jaleel-white-once-threatened-to-fight-her-on-set-exclusive |access-date=2022-06-18 |website=www.etonline.com |date=May 3, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref> Payton would appear in only one more episode after that—a Christmas episode that also brought back several former characters from the ABC run who had been written out on CBS—before [[Judyann Elder]] took over as Harriette for the remainder of the season.

While ''Family Matters'' continued to lose viewership compared to previous years, it was initially a modest success on CBS, beating the show that replaced it, ''[[You Wish (TV series)|You Wish]]''. ''Meego'', however, was a ratings failure and was canceled after six weeks. After the holiday special season, CBS replaced ''Meego'' with ''[[Kids Say the Darndest Things]]'', and with that show's child-centered focus, it was placed in ''Family Matters''{{'}} 8/7c time slot. ''Family Matters'' was pushed an hour later and paired with ''Step by Step''. The ratings for ''Family Matters'' fell even further in this later slot, and the entire block except for ''Kids Say the Darndest Things'' was canceled in spring 1998, with the remaining episodes [[burning off|burned off]] in the summer. The show sporadically aired in 1998, leaving a 5 month gap from January to June.