Word came down late last week that ABC agreed to pick up The Conners , yet another reboot of Roseanne , thus saving the cast and crew from losing their jobs after former star Roseanne Barr’s racist tweet got the original reboot canceled by the alphabet network. Now the star of the new show, Sara Gilbert, who plays Roseanne Conner’s daughter Darlene, has revealed on her show, The Talk , Monday exactly how she feels about the news, reports PEOPLE .
“I’m so excited, thank you all so much. I really appreciate it,” Gilbert said after co-host Sharon Osbourne congratulated her on the news. Gilbert will be joined on the new show by the rest of the Conner family, including dad Dan, played by John Goodman; brother D.J., played by Michael Fishman; sister Becky, played by Lecy Goranson; and aunt Jackie, played by recent Tony winner Laurie Metcalf.
“Though a premiere date has yet to be announced, ABC will be airing a 10-episode, straight to series order with the working title, The Conners , that will follow ‘the Conner family who, after a sudden turn of events, are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.’” reports PEOPLE .
The part about “a way they never have before” would seem to imply without their matriarch, Roseanne. But exactly how they get that way is anyone’s guess. There have been many theories floated around social media, from having her in rehab from an opioid habit to her actually having died from that opioid habit. However, the latter would seem unlikely unless it’s followed by flashing forward several years into the future because anything else would be too depressing for a comedy to tackle.
Adding credence to the tone remaining the same as always comes the rest of the synopsis about the show, as reported by PEOPLE : “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.”
So far, it is unclear which writers will be returning behind the scenes. Remember, Whitney Cummings quit before everything that went down with Roseanne Barr, and Wanda Sykes quit soon after in protest of what her boss had done. There have even been calls for Sykes to return in front of the camera, as a new love interest for Dan, but that seems highly unlikely, though it would provide a good bit of irony.
