‘Roseanne’ Revival: Roseanne Barr Explains The Politics Of The New Season, Says Healthcare Is ‘The Whole Arc’

Roseanne is ready to represent a “realistic” family. The long-awaited reboot of Roseanne Barr’s 1980s/’90s sitcom will take on modern day, hot-button topics, including the Trump presidency and the healthcare crisis. In an interview with reporters at ABC’s Television Critics Association press tour panel, Roseanne Barr revealed that the premiere episode of the Roseanne reboot will kick off with the revelation that her character voted for Donald Trump. But that doesn’t mean the rest of the Conner clan did.

“I’ve always tried to have it be a true reflection of the society we live in,” Barr said, according to Variety.

“Half the people voted for Trump and half didn’t. It’s just realistic.”

Roseanne executive producer Bruce Helford also explained the move to represent all political views on the Roseanne reboot, revealing that Roseanne Conner’s husband Dan (John Goodman) “didn’t necessarily” vote for Donald Trump.

“I don’t think he voted,” Helford admitted.

In addition, Roseanne’s sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) will be portrayed as pro-Hillary Clinton, which sets the series up for some political fireworks right from the beginning. The Roseanne revival will reportedly explore the idea of some of the working class Conner family members justifying voting for whom they believe was “the lesser of two evils” in the 2016 presidential election, which leads to a family fight between Roseanne and Jackie on the Roseanne premiere.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the season premiere of the Roseanne reboot finds Roseanne and her sister arguing because Jackie voted for Clinton, and Roseanne is Team Trump. Sara Gilbert, who plays Darlene Conner on the sitcom, explained that politics are explored “in the context of a family” on the Roseanne revival, saying the series provides “a great opportunity to have a family divided by politics but is still filled with love.”

Still, Roseanne Barr makes it clear she does not want politics to overshadow the revival of the ABC sitcom, and she pointed out that a lot has changed in her own life in the 20 years since we last saw the Conner family.

“I’m a grandmother, I have six grandkids. I’m 65-years-old,” Roseanne told reporters.

“This whole arc of this season is about healthcare and stuff like that. I think I’ve mellowed.”

Roseanne also admitted she was grateful for the chance to scrap the original series finale in which Dan Conner died of a heart attack, saying she’s “very happy we got a tenth season and got to do that.” Roseanne also provided a glimmer of hope for diehard fans who can’t get enough of the Conners by adding, “We hope to have more.”

The Roseanne reboot will include the entire original cast with the exception of Glenn Quinn (Mark Healy on the original series), who passed away in 2002. In addition, new child characters played by Ames McNamara, Emma Kenney, and Jayden Rey will debut, and several original guest stars, including James Pickens Jr. and Sandra Bernhard, will reprise their roles for the long-awaited Roseanne revival. You can see a trailer below.

The nine-episode Roseanne revival debuts with an hour-long premiere on March 27 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.