‘The Conners’ Renewed For Season 2
After weeks of speculation, The Conners will be renewed for Season 2 on ABC. The Hollywood Reporter noted that series stars Sara Gilbert. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson, and Ames McNamara are all set to return to the show.
The Hollywood Reporter story did not note the returns of cast members Michael Fishman, Emma Kenney, Maya Lynne Robinson, and Jayden Rey. Details were not given as to whether the aforementioned actors would return to their roles. Fishman was one of the original members of the Roseanne cast, portraying son DJ Conner.
New cast members are expected to be added, per the news and entertainment outlet.
“We are proud to be continuing the story of the iconic Conner family,” said ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke. “This team is fearless in their willingness to tackle contemporary issues with humor and heart, and I have no doubt they will continue to outdo themselves.”
The Conners transpired after the cancellation of the Roseanne revival, which was aborted after series star Roseanne Barr made a racist tweet about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. The show was abruptly canceled in March of 2018.
Season 1 of The Conners ran for 11 episodes. Variety noted that the show hosted a number of celebrity guest stars to bolster the show’s ratings, including Matthew Broderick, Juliette Lewis, Katey Sagal, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Long, Jay R. Ferguson, and Sarah Chalke. The latter played the role of Becky for several seasons during the original run of Roseanne.
Deadline reported that the show would add two more episodes to this season, totaling 13. The first season of The Conners was only 11 episodes. The original Roseanne revival only lasted for 9 episodes.
Upon its return to television after 21 years off the air, Roseanne was quickly embraced by its viewers for its unabashed look at life in the town of Lanford, Illinois. The show continued to depict the struggles faced by working-class families — including financial woes, parenting issues, health care, gender confusion, motherhood struggles, and addiction.
After the show was rebooted as The Conners, it continued to explore the issues of late-in-life pregnancy, surrogacy, grief, co-parenting, and most of all, the ties that bind a family together.
Entertainment Weekly reported that The Conners was the most watched new sitcom, with 9.5 million viewers.
Season 2 of The Conners will be added to the ABC lineup of shows which already include Modern Family, A Million Little Things, The Good Doctor and Agents of SHIELD.
