Although The Conners has brought back a handful of Roseanne alumni over the years, the spinoff has not yet reunited its heroes with some of the original show’s best missing characters. The Conners has a tumultuous relationship with its predecessor, Roseanne. When that show’s revival aired in 2017, it was a critical and commercial success. However, when star Roseanne Barr was fired for racist tweets shortly after the revival ended, the network was left with the task of turning the show into Roseanne without Roseanne. This unenviable position seemed tough to navigate.
The upcoming release of The Conners season 6 proves that the creators managed this tricky achievement. In a choice that was initially tonally rough, The Conners killed off Roseanne via an off-screen overdose and focused on her grieving family in the spinoff. After a while, the show returned to its usual rhythm sans Roseanne and proved that the family sitcom’s entire ensemble cast had always been pivotal to its continued success. However, this meant that The Conners couldn’t bring back too many Roseanne characters lest viewers start to get overly nostalgic for its original incarnation. Still, some returning characters would be welcomed by viewers after being missing for so long.
Arnie
The Conners probably shouldn’t bring back this divisive Roseanne character.
Tom Arnold as Arnie on Roseanne
Of all the Roseanne characters who haven’t appeared in The Conners, Dan’s friend Arnie is one of the least surprising. Tom Arnold’s contentious character was a supporting star throughout Roseanne seasons 2 and 3, with him reappearing in season 5. However, his relationship with Nancy was always rocky and Arnie was irritating at the best of times, so it is not a shock that he has not been mentioned yet. The Conners dropping some Roseanne characters caused an understandable uproar since these figures were pivotal to the show’s success. However, Arnie’s absence from the spinoff is a good thing, as the character had little to offer Roseanne.
Anne-Marie Mitchell
Chuckie Mitchell’s wife vanished after Roseanne’s season 10 revival.
Roseanne’s old friend Anne-Marie Mitchell was dropped between the show’s revival and The Conners, with her last appearance being in season 10, episode 8, “Netflix and Pill.” Since Anne-Marie was never as big a character as her husband Chuckie, this doesn’t seem too surprising at first glance. However, what makes the change notable is the fact that Anne-Marie has figured into the storylines of the spinoff. In seasons 4 and 5, Chuckie admitted that he was struggling with Anne-Marie’s serious illness, but in an odd creative choice, the character herself never appeared onscreen. Whether Anne-Marie might rejoin The Conners cast in season 6 remains to be seen.
Fred
It is unclear whether Jackie’s first husband existed in The Conners.
John Goodman’s Dan and Michael O’Keefe’s Fred in Roseanne
While the existence of Jackie’s son has been officially retconned, her ex-husband, Fred, has simply never been addressed. Jackie married Neville Goldufky in The Conners season 4 finale, so this could conceivably result in a pretty dramatic plot line if Fred were to resurface. Since Fred and Jackie’s breakup occurred after the birth of their retconned child, it stands to reason that this separation isn’t necessarily part of The Conners canon. That said, it seems unlikely that The Conners season 6 would bring back this character, as Fred’s presence would make Jackie’s life tumultuous again after she finally found peace for the first time in decades.
Charlotte Tilden
Roseanne’s rule-abiding neighbor was forgotten in the spinoff.
Mara Hobel’s Charlotte smiling in the kitchen in Roseanne
Weirdly, although her rebellious sister Molly briefly returned in The Conners season 3, Charlotte Tilden’s existence hasn’t been addressed at all in the spinoff. This might be because The Conners family tree is large and complex enough for the show’s ensemble without reintegrating the family’s former neighbors. However, it also might be because of how Charlotte’s story panned out. Molly was always the rebel of the pair while Charlotte was fastidiously well-behaved, so Molly’s sudden death in The Conners season 3 may have left her sister with no reason to seek out the Conner family. After all, their home is apt to remind Charlotte of her troubled late sister.
Nancy
The Conners dropped Jackie’s best friend despite their close bond.
Sandra Bernard as Nancy on Roseanne
Despite her being one of Jackie’s closest friends and regular co-workers, Sandra was last seen in the original show’s 2017 revival. This is a particularly galling exclusion because actor Sandra Bernhard reprised the role in the revival and Jackie could have used Nancy’s support both after Roseanne’s death and while reopening The Lunchbox. The Conners has betrayed Jackie’s character from time to time, but this failure to bring back one of her closest confidantes in her time of need made no sense. Jackie r
elied on Nancy throughout Roseanne’s original run, but she didn’t even seek out her friend when The Conners season 5’s most tragic twist occurred.
When Jackie learned that her mother Beverly had Alzheimer’s, it would have made perfect sense for the spinoff to reintroduce Nancy. Even more so than Roseanne’s widower, Dan, Nancy was close enough with both Roseanne and Jackie to know just how complicated their relationship with Beverly had historically been. Nancy even worked in The Lunchbox with both characters, but Jackie hired Becky and Louise instead of her oldest friend when she reopened the restaurant. The Conners changed Roseanne’s characters out of necessity from time to time, and it makes sense for some to come and go from each other’s lives. However, this particular oversight was still egregious.
Leon Carp
Roseanne’s first LGBTQIA+ character still hasn’t appeared in The Conners.
Ames McNamara’s Mark sitting on a couch frowning in The Conners
Martin Mull’s lovable Roseanne boss Leon Carp still hasn’t shown up in the spinoff, which is particularly surprising considering the unique place he occupied in network sitcom history during the ‘90s. Leon was one of the first openly gay characters whose orientation wasn’t treated as a permanent punchline, with Leon even sharing a sweet marriage ceremony with his husband during the original series. Despite this, he has never reappeared throughout The Conners. Roseanne’s grandson Mark has struggled with being openly gay in the small town of Lanford, so it seems like Leon could be a superb support to the teen. However, the family has yet to mention him.
Jerry Garcia Conner
The Conners really needs to explain what happened to Roseanne’s youngest child.
One episode of Roseanne’s season 10 mentioned that Jerry Garcia Conner was working as an Alaskan fisherman, but the spinoff has never mentioned Dan and Roseanne’s youngest child. This is a truly jarring oversight, since Becky, Darlene, and DJ were some of the show’s main characters throughout its first four seasons, and Darlene and Becky still dominate most of its storylines. As such, it is surreal to think that they have a younger brother, whom they have all essentially forgotten about, living somewhere in Alaska on a fishing boat. If season 6 is the Roseanne spinoff’s final outing, The Conners should undo the retcon Jerry Garcia.
