The Conners will bring back a character that fans have not seen since the late 1990s. But it’s not Jerry, the long-missing youngest son of Roseanne and Dan Conner (Roseanne Barr, John Goodman) from the original Roseanne series. Instead, Ed Jr., the son Dan’s dad Ed (Ned Beatty) had with his second wife Crystal (Natalie West) will make his debut on the ABC sitcom soon. It sounds like there will be some drama between the Conner patriarch and his much younger half-brother.
Ed Jr. will make his debut on The Conners later this season according to a new report by TV Line . The outlet reveals that “Little Ed” is now a 21-year-old recent college graduate who is resentful towards his older brother for not helping care for their elderly dad. Casting is underway for the coveted recurring role on the hit ABC spinoff. There is no word yet if Angela, Ed and Crystal’s other child and Dan’s half-sister, will appear on The Conners .
Last year, fans were reunited with Little Ed’s mom when Natalie West returned for several guest spots on the Roseanne revival and the first season of The Conners . It should be noted that Ned Beatty retired from acting in 2013, so it is doubtful that he will make a return visit as Dan’s dad .
The news that Little Ed has not been forgotten comes as a pleasant surprise for fans of the original Roseanne series. In addition to Dan’s 40-years-younger brother, many have also wondered what happened to Jerry Conner, who was last seen in the final season of the original Roseanne back in 1997. In the first episode of the 2018 Roseanne revival, Barr’s character mentioned that Jerry was on a fishing boat in Alaska, but he has not been mentioned on The Conners since.
Fans have also been asking about Andy, the son of Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and her ex, Fred (Michael O’Keefe). Little Andy, born in 1994, was the ringbearer at Darlene Conner’s (Sara Gilbert) wedding to David Healy (Johnny Galecki). Andy has not been mentioned at all on The Conners as Jackie focuses on “mothering” her late sister Roseanne’s kids.
While Little Ed is no longer missing, Roseanne fans have also been hoping to see the return of OG characters such as Leon Carp (Martin Mull) and Nancy Bartlett (Sandra Bernhard), the late Conner matriarch’s former business partners at the Lanford Lunchbox eatery that her sister Jackie is currently trying to reopen.
