Franklin began his television career as a writer and producer for Laverne & Shirley and Bosom Buddies. Franklin pitched his own show to ABC called "House of Comics" which featured three comics living together. ABC was looking for a family sitcom, so Franklin added children and the idea evolved into the showFull House, which ran on the ABC network from 1987 to 1995. After Full House, Franklin created Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, starring comedian Mark Curry. Franklin departed Hanging with Mr. Cooper in September 1992. His other TV credits include both writing and production on shows such as, It's Garry Shandling's Show, and Malcolm & Eddie. He also wrote, produced and directed the first Olsen twins movie, To Grandmother's House We Go. Franklin's most notable film writing credits include the teen comedies Just One of the Guys and Summer School, starring Mark Harmon. On April 20, 2015, Netflix announced the streaming service would pick-up thirteen episodes of Fuller House, a sequel to Full House. Netflix also announced Franklin would oversee the production along with Robert L. Boyett and Thomas L. Miller. All 13 episodes of the first season premiered on February 26, 2016. The series ended in its fifth season on June 2, 2020. In February 2018, Franklin was fired from Fuller House after complaints about verbally abusive and vulgar language in the writers' room and on the set of the series. In June 2019, The Hollywood Reporter revealed details of a probe made by Warner Brothers that included interviews with eight Fuller House staffers who commented that Franklin would talk about orgies he had over the weekend, claims that Franklin had his assistant request that all the writers come to his mansion and they were reminded multiple times to bring their bikinis. Franklin complained about having to hire directors who were women or people of color, expressing preference for male writers, apologizing to his staff for not dating Jewish women, and describing female directors as "all the same" and making sexualized comments. In one occasion, Franklin was attributed to saying "She is probably going to be pregnant next season, I wish I could make all the women on my staff get hysterectomies." and in another comment about an underaged girl, "She's one nose job away from a good f***." Jeff Franklin sued the showrunners, blaming the co-executive producer Bryan Behar for orchestrating a conspiracy aiming to get him kicked out of the show, using the Me Too movement to discredit Franklin and replace him. Franklin denied all the allegations of sexual misconducts.
Personal life
In 1994, Franklin bought 10050 Cielo Drive, site of the Tate murders in 1969. The French country-style home was eventually demolished and replaced by a mansion designed by architect Richard Landry. In 2014, he listed for sale another house designed by Landry in the Hollywood Hills for US$30 million.
