John Goodman Hints at How ‘The Conners’ Will Address Roseanne Barr’s Absence
With the premiere of The Conners a little over a month away, one major question weighs on every fan’s mind, “How will the spinoff series address Roseanne Barr’s absence?”
While the Conner Family will be returning to ABC this fall, Barr will not be. Though the Roseanne revival season was extremely successful, the series was canceled by ABC President Channing Dungey after fall out following inappropriate remarks made on Twitter by Barr. The rest of the series’ cast will be returning for The Conners spinoff, however, Barr will have no part in the new show.
In a recent interview with the U.K.’s The Times, series star John Goodman may have just confirmed a theory that Roseanne Conner (the character played by Barr) will be killed off the show. The outlet recently published a spotlight on the legendary actor during which they asked how ABC will handle Barr’s absence. While Goodman said specific details are unknown, he did add his thoughts on how his character would react. He said,
[row]”I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead.”[/row]
If the description of The Conners series tells us anything about Roseanne’s fate, it certainly seems to allude to the fact that the character may meet an untimely demise. ABC describes the upcoming new comedy series as follows
[row]“After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before. This iconic family – Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky, and D.J. – grapples with parenthood, dating, an unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging and in-laws in working-class America. Through it all, the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns – with love, humor, and perseverance, the family prevails.”[/row]
In the interview, Goodman also took the opportunity to share his thoughts on Barr’s tweets and her termination. He defended his long-time co-worker and friend by saying, “I know for a fact that she’s not a racist.” He also shared that he was surprised by ABC’s quick decision in canceling the series. He continued, “I’ll put it this way, I was surprised at the response. And that’s probably all I should say about it.”
In addition to Goodman reprising his role as Dan Conner, the series will also star Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Lecy Goranson (Becky), and Michael Fishman (D.J.) all reprising their beloved character roles from the original Roseanne series.
Tom Werner will executive produce, along with Gilbert, Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. Helford, Caplan, and Rasmussen are also writers.
The Conners is set to premiere on Tuesday, October 16th at 8 pm.
Are you looking forward to The Conners? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
A karaoke obsessed, craft beer enthusiast and lover of all things pop culture, Denise enjoys all facets of entertainment from Broadway to box office blockbusters. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, concerts (lots and lots of concerts), volunteering, reading and playing with her rescue kitten, Samantha (who rescued who, right?).
