Posted in: ABC, CBS, TV | Tagged: Family Matters

Family Matters Star Bryton James Offers Update on Animated Series

Bryton James (The Young and the Restless) is looking to move ahead on an animated version of Family Matters with the original cast voicing.

It might not have worked for Fox's Married… With Children, but it could work for ABC/CBS's Family Matters. At least that's what star Bryton James, who played Richard "Richie" Crawford, the son of Rachel Crawford (Telma Hopkins), from season two until the end of the series, is trying for an animated reboot of the beloved sitcom. The William Bickley and Michael Warren-created series, which ran for nine seasons from 1989-1998 initially on ABC before wrapping up on CBS, was a spinoff of Perfect Strangers, focusing on cast member Jo Marie Payton's character Harriette Winslow, the elevator operator who worked at the newspaper with Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker and Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot). Unfortunately, Payton didn't end up being the focus; instead, leading the show was her TV husband and cop, Carl, played by Reginald VelJohnson in the starring role.

Family Matters Star Bryton James on Animated Series Reboot Pitch for a New Generation

James, who's embraced not only the world of animation with voiceovers and the occasional live-action guest starring role, has embraced his role as Devon Hamilton Winters on the long-running CBS soap The Young and the Restless since 1996, nearly reaching his 1700-episode landmark. He's also crossed over into the spinoff series Beyond the Gates. He told Entertainment Weekly that he "had an idea to take the show and turn it into an animated series," which would involve "taking the old episodes and modernizing them and kind of starting from scratch for the new generation." The Young Justice star revealed he's "pretty far along" on his animated Family Matters idea, but will need "a production company in line to finance" and the surviving original cast to be on board, noting, "it's sitting in Warner Bros.' hands right now… That plan is still kind of floating around out there, and I'm still trying to pursue it."

Family Matters thrived as part of ABC's TGIF lineup of family-friendly sitcoms. In addition to VelJohnson and Payton, the series also starred the late Rosette LeNoire, who played Estelle "Mother" Winslow, Carl's mother; Darius McCrary, who played son Eddie Winslow; Kellie Shanygne Williams, who played daughter Laura Winslow; Hopkins, who played Rachel Crawford, Hariette's sister; and Jaleel White, who played neighbor and fan favorite Steve Urkell. Other cast members included Jamiee Foxworth (daughter Judy Winslow) from seasons 1-4, initially played by Valerie Jones in the pilot, season two addition Shawn Harrison, who played Eddie's friend Waldo Faldo; season four addition, the late Michelle Thomas, who played Urkel's love interest Myra Monkhouse, and season seven addition Orlando Brown, who played Jerry "3J" Jamal Jameson. Payton left the series before the final season, with Judyann Elder taking over the role of Harriette. James, credited as "Bryton McClure" on the series, took over Richie from twins Joseph and Julius Wright, who played the role in season one. You can stream Family Matters on Hulu and HBO Max.

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