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Amongst the GOATed Black sitcoms, Family Matters is easily in the top 5 for many TV lovers out there. After almost 25 years since the series ended following nine amazing seasons, the Winslows made their return at 90s Con in Hartford, Connecticut this past weekend — Urkel wasn’t in attendance, unfortunately! — and there was even talk surrounding the possibility of a reboot.

However, actress Jo Marie Payton who played beloved TV mom Harriette Winslow on the show said the only way it’s happening is if the heavily-debated disappearance of Judy Winslow is addressed and the character returns with the rest of the cast.

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Joined at the convention by her TV family Reginald VelJohnson (Carl Winslow), Darius McCrary (Eddie Winslow) and Laura Winslow herself Kellie Williams, Payton made sure to let the world know that Judy’s exit wasn’t taken lightly in the least bit. “Don’t think for a minute that we did not go in,” She said according to PEOPLE, going to add that she was “personally hurt” that Judy, played by actress Jamiee Foxworth, was abruptly written off Family Matters after the 4th season without any explanation or the common practice of a “farewell” episode.

Here’s more on what Jo Marie Payton said about how the decision to fire Foxworth proved to be difficult for the cast specifically, via PEOPLE:

“‘When I mentioned it to the producers, I said you guys need to tell me something that is not only creative, but also politically correct to straighten out this situation because there’s nowhere in the world a family … You gave me three kids, you took away my baby. If you had taken away my oldest child, we could have always come up with [various excuses in the episodes] that she was at the mall or with her friends. You took away my baby, and when I asked you, ‘Why did you take away my baby girl?,’ you said, ‘Nobody would notice,” she recalled.

‘I said, ‘You know what, when we’re walking down the street, nobody’s gonna notice you because they’re not going to ask you, they’re going to ask me what happened to Judy.’ So for me, that’s one of the other things that I [wouldn’t be] excited about going back into it,’ Payton continued.

If Payton were to ever consider playing Winslow family matriarch Harriette again, ‘the very first episode has to be that she comes down those stairs.'”

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She ended her comment on the subject with one final assertion that we wholeheartedly agree with, stating, “The worst feeling in the world for a parent is not to know where your child is, so if [a reboot were to happen], and Judy comes back, I will do Family Matters again!”

Let us know if you agree with Jo Marie Payton and could see Judy Windslow making her *much*-anticipated return. We would love to see a Family Matters reboot, especially if it means hearing this theme song again:

 

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