‘Family Matters’ Stars to Launch Rewatch Podcast

Two Family Matters stars are hopping on the rewatch podcast train.

According to Variety, Kellie Williams and Telma Hopkins will be launching Welcome to the Family With Telma and Kellie, from iHeartMedia’s podcast division.

Williams, who played middle daughter Laura Winslow, and Hopkins, who played Aunt Rachel, will share their personal reflections on making Family Matters and “discuss their favorite episodes and characters – as well as bring some other fellow cast members into the conversation.” Guests on the podcast include Bob Boyette, Reggie VelJohnson (Carl Winslow), and Shawn Harrison (Waldo Faldo). Additionally, Williams and Hopkins will answer listener questions about the show.

In the first episode, premiering on Nov. 5 on the iHeartRadio app and across all major audio platforms, the actress will discuss their personal journey to being cast on the series, as well as their favorite moments from filming the pilot and the episode’s storyline. New episodes will drop weekly on Wednesdays.

“To this day, Family Matters is one of the most-streamed sitcoms, and it is an honor for me to be able to go back in time and remember what it was like as a kid to grow up on the show and go through some of the same things my character, Laura Winslow, did,” Williams said in a statement. “Not to mention doing it with my surrogate mom, Telma, who’s become one of my closest friends and is really another member of my family, as well as reconnecting with fans and hearing how the show impacted them. We hope fans enjoy listening to these episodes as much as we have enjoyed making them!”

“My time on Family Matters was one of the highlights not just of my career, but my life, the friendships I made have lasted decades, so it is incredibly gratifying to relive these episodes with Kellie, who I consider to be one of my ‘kids,’ and talk about each episode — from the storylines you know to the behind-the-scenes stuff you don’t,” Hopkins added. “The fun for me is that I can truly watch as an ‘audience member’ now, and I’m loving it! Welcome to the family, y’all!”

Created by William Bickley and Michael Warren and developed by Thomas L. Miller and Robert L. Boyett, Family Matters ran for eight seasons on ABC from September 1989 to May 1997, and an additional season on CBS from September 1997 to July 1998. The series is a spinoff of Perfect Strangers and revolves around a Black middle-class family living in Chicago. Family Matters is one of the longest-running sitcoms with a Black cast.

The cast also included Jo Marie Payton, Rosetta LeNoire, Darius McCrary, Valerie Jones, Joseph and Julius Wright, Jaimee Foxworth, Bryton McClure, Jaleel White, Michelle Thomas, Orlando Brown, and Judyann Elder. Who else will be joining Williams and Hopkins is unknown, but fans will want to listen to Welcome to the Family With Telma and Kellie on Nov. 5, regardless.