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ABC Has Picked Up A "Roseanne" Spinoff Called "The Conners"

Everyone but Roseanne Barr will be on the new show.

When ABC pulled the plug on Roseanne after Roseanne Barr's racist tweet about Valerie Jarrett, the network gained credibility with some viewers, lost it with others, and said goodbye to a significant amount of ad revenue for next season — perhaps more than $100 million.

The cancellation decision by ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey also left a big hole in the network's Tuesday night. That hole has now been filled with The Conners, which will premiere in the fall on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. The 10-episode spinoff will feature every lead actor from Roseanne except Barr. Yes, Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Dan (John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Becky (Lecy Goranson), and D.J. (Michael Fishman) will live their lives after, according to the logline, "a sudden turn of events" rocks their family.

Let's say it now: Roseanne is most certainly going to die. In the season finale, she was getting long-awaited knee surgery — tragedy seems likely to strike.

As soon as Roseanne was canceled, a plan was hatched to create a spinoff. Gilbert, who masterminded the original revival of the show, and who was an executive producer on the most recent season; showrunner Bruce Helford; and Tom Werner of Carsey-Werner (the production company behind Roseanne), got together the week of the axing to brainstorm ideas. And indeed, Werner, Gilbert, and Helford are executive producers of The Conners.

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More behind the source link. I think this is an idea people had and I'm glad ABC listened. There are plenty of storylines with characters without Roseanne. I tend to agree w/ the article about how Roseanne will be written out.

I don't see it working without Roseanne.

Sorry.

CynicKill said:

I don't see it working without Roseanne.

Sorry.

Why are you sorry?

This will flounder and get cancelled I hope. I won't be watching anyways so I don't care

I think this is a good idea.The show can easily go on without Roseanne.Jackie was always my favorite character anyway and she's really funny the whole cast is excellent.It would be a shame to make them pay a price because of what Roseanne did.

Well, at least it is an attempt by ABC to keep the cast and crew employed - they were the ones who were hurt by her actions. And I am sure they wouldn't mind if it makes $ also. People will tune in to that first episode to see how they kill her off... after that?

Whether this spinoff will be successful remains to be seen.

[Edited 6/22/18 3:39am]

SoulAlive said:

I think this is a good idea. The show can easily go on without Roseanne.Jackie was always my favorite character anyway and she's really funny the whole cast is excellent.It would be a shame to make them pay a price because of what Roseanne did.

I actually think it's a good idea. Not just to keep people employed, but the Connors is an interesting family and everyone is relatable as working class or poverty level people. Becky working as a waitress in her 30s instead of having a life she wanted and considering having a baby as a surrogate isn't unheard of; Darlene & David always have a great storyline. Darlene's son who may or may not be gay or trans or just super femme plus DJ's mixed-race daughter have plenty of storylines automatically. Dan dealing with the loss of his wife, and battling through that (which could go beyond just fixing a car in the garage while having a beer) is something I'd like to see.

This has happened before: Some people might not remember this, but Valerie Harper (Mary Tyler Moore, Rhoda)had a sitcom in 1986, Valerie. She was a Chicago career mom with three kids and a mostly absent pilot husband. After the first two seasons, Harper went for more money and a larger cut of syndication. The network said no to her requests. A huge lawsuit for breach of contract etc ensued for a year or two. She left the show. Valerie's third season became Valerie's Family: The Hogans. Then season 4-6 was The Hogans. Sandy Duncan stepped in as an aunt to fill the female lead role from season 3 onward. The show continued on and even jumped networks from NBC to CBS. It ran for 6 seasons, 4 of those without its original namesake character.

All that said, it could work. Roseanne is arguably better than The Hogans ever was in its day. I was loving the reboot and am quite willing to give The Connors a shot.

It could very well work. For some of oldsters here, remember in the 80's when Valerie Harper had a sitcom called Valerie? She was fired from the show due to contract disputes, replaced by Sandy Duncan, the show was renamed The Hogans and I believe it lasted for 2 or 3 seasons in it's new format. The same could easily happen with The Connors.

kitbradley said:

It could very well work. For some of oldsters here, remember in the 80's when Valerie Harper had a sitcom called Valerie? She was fired from the show due to contract disputes, replaced by Sandy Duncan, the show was renamed The Hogans and I believe it lasted for 2 or 3 seasons in it's new format. The same could easily happen with The Connors.

So everything I just said.

TrivialPursuit said:

CynicKill said:

I don't see it working without Roseanne.

Sorry.

Why are you sorry?

Because even with the sensitive nature of her ouster, I still feel a Roseanne-less "Roseanne" will be less interesting.

SoulAlive said:

I think this is a good idea.The show can easily go on without Roseanne.Jackie was always my favorite character anyway and she's really funny the whole cast is excellent.It would be a shame to make them pay a price because of what Roseanne did.

Me too, loved the reboot. I never really watched the old one for some reason, but this new one was speaking to me. I watched it faithfully until they took it off :smh:

I am ready!

CynicKill said:

I don't see it working without Roseanne.

Sorry.

I agree. Unless, they make it about Jackie and her Mom (kind of Laverne and shirley/the odd couple). Then have the rest of the family to provide drama. Becky Darlene can fight. But Darlene's kids are boring and don't provide the funny they way the original kids did.

They should try it..The reboot was funny and Jackie was always my favorite character. If they decide to find a love interest for Dan (down the road), they should consider Melissa McCarthy. She still does TV and her "starring role" movies haven't really been that great.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Don't see it succeeding without Roseanne. Open mouth, insert foot.

Melissa McCarthy's weight (or "being fat") has nothing to do with it..(She's actually slimmed down quite a bit from her "Mike & Molly" days)..She's just funny. She's great when she hosts SNL too...She would probably fit in real well on "The Conners" (if the show took off)...Her new show "Nobodies" on TV Land seems to be doing well too.

.Halle Berry as a gold digger?... ..It might be more believable if Robin Givens played that role.

if she makes money form it..it will fail

luvsexy4all said:

if she makes money form it..it will fail

From what I've heard she's already signed over all rights to save cast and crew jobs so that's not an issue.

SPYZFAN1 said:

Jackie was always my favorite character.

Same here I think she's great and to be honest,she's even funnier than Roseanne.I hope they give her more lines and a great storyline of her own.

....

[Edited 6/23/18 15:20pm]

Hudson said:

Roseanne was the worst part of the revival. Her character went from a feminist to a butt hurt, far less charming Archie Bunker wannabe. Watch this episode where she defends that school play about the Native American massacre from a bunch of idiots who described it as propaganda. https://www.dailymotion.c...o/x239yf3[ She did not believe in hitting her kids back then either, but the revival saw her waterboarding her granddaughter in the sink. The show can only improve with her gone. If it does half of its rating ABC will be happy.

I have to admit,I wasn't too thrilled with the "new" Roseanne character.I like the reboot,but I hate the way Roseanne brought politics into the show.The "old" Roseanne would have never supported an idiot like Trump!

I'm not one to really judge because surprisingly I haven't seen the new season, but there was the trailer they showed that showcased that Roseanne Barr touch that might be missinng from a Barr-less "Roseanne".

It's the scene where Darlene's daughter asks her "Mom can I have some money?" Then Darlene looks at Roseanne and goes, "I don't know mom can I have some money?" Then in classic Roseanne fashion she looks up to God, opens her arms and asks, "I don't know can I have some money?"

I could be wrong thinking it's a personal Roseanne Barr touch, but I think it is. And that personality, which has always been there, will be sorely missed.

TrivialPursuit said:

I can see what will happen next that conservatives will start own tv entertainment network and sign Roseanne and other controversial shows. Much like Fox News. Someone will see the demand. Then other networks will completely fail.

SuperFurryAnimal said:

I can see what will happen next that conservatives will start own tv entertainment network and sign Roseanne and other controversial shows. Much like Fox News. Someone will see the demand. Then other networks will completely fail.

It's called Fox...