‘The Conners’ Spoilers: Roseanne’s Absence To Be Addressed In Premiere, Halloween Episode Still On
Roseanne’ s clan won’t be dancing around her absence. On the season premiere of the ABC spinoff, The Conners, the absence of the iconic TV mom, played by Roseanne Barr, will be addressed right away.
In a new interview with TV Guide, The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford confirmed Roseanne’s absence “will be addressed in the first episode” of the new show.
Helford also revealed that middle daughter Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and her kids, Harris and Mark (Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara) still live with patriarch Dan Conner (Dan Goodman).
The rest of the family, including daughter Becky (Lecy Goranson), son DJ (Michael Fishman), and Roseanne’s sister Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), will be frequently stopping by the Delaware St. house.
“Dan has to step up in a lot of ways. He holds his family together. [Without Roseanne] everyone takes up new responsibilities, which is really interesting in that family dynamic.”
Many fans of the original Roseanne series, which aired from 1988 to 1997, think Barr’s character will be killed off in The Conners. John Goodman pretty much spilled it in an interview with The Sunday Times, admitting his character will “be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead.”
But even with Roseanne’s absence, one Conner tradition will remain on the ABC spinoff. Helford confirmed there will be a Halloween episode of The Conners.
Fans of the original Roseanne series know that a Halloween-themed episode aired nearly every season during its nine-season run. The spooky episodes started in the second season with the episode “Boo!” and the tradition continued every year after. Barr has said that the eight Halloween episodes are among her favorites out of Roseanne’s 231 episodes.
In an interview with Yahoo TV, Barr also joked that the Conner family’s love for Halloween, which featured extravagant costumes, decorations, and even a “tunnel of terror,” likely contributed to their financial problems.
“John [Goodman] said the reason the Conners were poor is because they spent all their money on Halloween.”
Before she was fired by ABC earlier this year for posting an offensive comment on social media, Roseanne Barr said on Twitter that the next Roseanne season would feature “the killermost Halloween show on TV ever. ” The actress told her social media followers that she had already written the Halloween episode in her head, and she later told fans on Twitter about the high-tech special effects she wanted for her dream episode.
“I will donate my salary on Halloween show for more props/special effects. Need Top Gun Level,” the Roseanne star wrote.
Now, Roseanne Barr won’t be involved in The Conners Halloween episode at all — the star walked away from all financial and creative control from the spinoff series — but the upcoming episode will still be a treat for fans sticking with the show.
Check out a past Conner Halloween in the classic clip below.
The Conners premieres Tuesday, Oct. 16 on ABC.
