Lena Dunham Wants To Do A ‘Roseanne’ Spinoff About Darlene’s ‘Cool Kids’
As Roseanne fans mourn the sudden cancelation of the ABC sitcom, Hollywood heavyweights are stepping up to offer spinoff suggestions. Top TV writers Mindy Kaling and Lena Dunham have both offered their services to several “unemployed” Roseanne stars, according to Deadline.
Mindy Project creator Mindy Kaling took to Twitter to ask Roseanne veterans, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman, to “let me write things for you.” But Girls creator Lena Dunham went a step further, pitching an idea for a Roseanne spinoff about “Darlene’s cool kids.”
Former Roseanne star Emma Kenney seemed to be on board with that idea. The 18-year-old actress, who played Darlene Conner’s (Sara Gilbert) teen daughter Harris Conner Healy, retweeted Dunham’s suggestion.
The Roseanne reboot featured several new characters, but Darlene’s kids received quite a bit of screen time. Kenney’s character was known for her sarcastic wit and sharp tongue and was essentially a modern-day version of her TV mom, who acted the same way when the original Roseanne series aired in the late 1980s.
Darlene’s other “cool kid,” played by 9-year-old Ames McNamara, made headlines for his penchant for wearing girls’ clothing. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sara Gilbert described her creative TV son as “just a little boy who happens to likes wearing girl’s clothing.”
“He’s too young to be gay and he doesn’t identify as transgender, but he just likes wearing that kind of clothing and that’s where he is at this point in his life,” the Roseanne star explained to EW. Gilbert also described Ames McNamara as “brilliant.”
The sudden end of Roseanne, spawned by an offensive tweet posted by series star Roseanne Barr herself, is a major loss for longtime fans of the show. While Roseanne veterans Goodman and Metcalf will be just fine, fans are more concerned about the newcomers on the show who are now without a job.
In the aftermath of the Roseanne cancelation, fans took to Twitter to praise child actors Emma Kenney and Ames McNamara. You can see the tweets about Roseanne’s “cool kids” below.
I will do the spin off of your show starring Darlene’s cool kids https://t.co/5A2129BTl0
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) May 30, 2018
One of the worst tragedies of the @therealroseanne aftermath is the loss of @ames_mcnamara on television. This kid is spectacular! Please hire him on everything! #Roseanne https://t.co/G9WxKSuKGH
— Devlin (@DevlinWilder) May 30, 2018
With @ABCNetwork canceling @RoseanneOnABC I only hope the free time now available to @ames_mcnamara causes him to be snatched up quick with a new gig!
— DoSomethingAwesome? (@openmindsrgreat) May 29, 2018
While the Roseanne cast members have found themselves suddenly unemployed, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that at least some of them will get paid for the unaired episodes of the reboot.
Series stars Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and John Goodman had negotiated new deals for the now-canceled 11th season of the show at a reported $350,000 an episode and are expecting to be paid for the aborted season because “their options were exercised.”
