What Writers Can Learn from the ‘Full House’ Revival

Last night Netflix launched the Full House revival, Fuller House.

My wife, my three daughters, and I sat down to binge watch as many episodes as we could, and we had an absolute blast.

It appears, however, the critics did not enjoy the show nearly as much as my family did.

The critical consensus is that “after the initial dose of nostalgia, Fuller House has little to offer to anyone except the original series’ most die hard fans”.

Oh, REALLY?

You mean the streaming revival of a notoriously cheesy family sitcom a full thirty years after its original launch isn’t going to have mass appeal in the year 2016?

Well, no shit, Mr. Critic. Thanks for the amazing insight.

Here is the reality folks: the days of appealing to the masses are over.

The major label music industry is dead and buried.

Mainstream television is on its last legs.

Outside of the bizarre world of hundred-million-dollar Hollywood blockbusters, creating art that appeals to everyone is no longer the goal.

Breaking Bad is acknowledged as one of the greatest television shows of the last decade (if not all time). Did Breaking Bad appeal to everyone? Hell, no. Yet the show was a massive success specifically because today’s popular culture is all about micro-tribes.

In other words, finding success as a modern artist is about pleasing your fans.  Despite what the critics may think, creating art that pleases your fans is not something to be criticized.

As a writer, your goal isn’t to appeal to the masses, and it’s certainly not to please the critics.

Your goal is to find an audience, build a fan base, and then please those fans.

Fuller House’s critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 31% positive.

It’s viewer rating (i.e. the people the show is actually for) is 81%.

When you face similar response to your next project, which stat are you going to pay attention to?

grey backKevin T. Johns is an author, writing coach, and ghostwriter. He has helped hundreds of writers from around the world get ideas out of their heads, onto the page, and into readers' hands. Get your free copy of his short guide for authors below.

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