Entertainment TV Scripted TV Shows Inside Story: The Surprising Reason the Olsens Skipped the 'Full House' Spin-Off Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are the only cast members not reprising their role on Fuller House By Rennie Dyball Rennie Dyball Rennie Dyball is a former editor at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2017. People Editorial Guidelines Published on January 6, 2016 08:00AM EST Photo: David X Prutting/BFAnyc/Sipa Secrets of the Full House stars! PEOPLE takes you to the set of Fuller House – and catches up with its beloved cast. Subscribe now for the exclusive interview, only in PEOPLE! The premiere episode of Fuller House features the entire cast from the original series – minus two. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who portrayed Michelle Tanner on Full House from 1987 95 beginning when they were 9 months old, are not returning to the spin-off series for a couple of reasons. RELATED VIDEO: John Stamos Wanted to Fire the Olsen Twins from Full House “Ashley said, ‘I have not been in front of a camera since I was 17, and I don’t feel comfortable acting,’ ” executive producer Bob Boyett tells PEOPLE. “Mary-Kate said, It would have to be me because Ash doesn’t want to do it. But the timing is so bad for us.” Production conflicted with the 29-year-old twins’ schedule as designers of The Row and Elizabeth and James, Boyett adds. The show does play upon their real-life career, explaining that Michelle is absent from the first episode’s family reunion because she’s busy running her fashion empire in New York. RELATED VIDEO: Check Out Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Changing Looks! Despite some initial disappointment, the cast tells PEOPLE they understand the twins’ reluctance to join the show. (PEOPLE’s requests for comment from the Olsens were not returned.) “Lori [Loughlin] was talking to me about the twins and said, ‘They just won a CFDA award.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s like winning an Oscar.’ It was them and Tom Ford. I get where they’re at,” John Stamos tells PEOPLE. There’s also geography (the Los Angeles-based cast has stayed very close over the years; the Olsens are in New York City much more often) and the age difference. “They’re family members,” Dave Coulier tells PEOPLE. “But I think they have a different perspective. When we get together and we reminisce, they were babies [at the time]. So they don’t share those same memories. I can’t really speak for them but I would understand why they don’t have the same sentiments that we all do.” Fuller House premieres Friday on Netflix.