When Roseanne was rebooted in 2018 as The Conners, the writers had to find a way to exclude Johnny Galecki’s David from the narrative.
Galecki was appearing in The Big Bang Theory on a rival network when The Conners started airing. The show created the plot that Darlene and David had divorced and that David had become a deadbeat dad. The actor made a brief appearance during the comeback of the show in 2018, before Roseanne Barr was fired and the series was rebranded as The Conners.
David Healy was one of Roseanne’s most complicated and beloved characters, which is why fans were so upset they had turned him into a bad husband and deadbeat dad. Coming from an abusive home, David was shy and polite, unlike his dimwitted brother Mark. He and Darlene were one of the show’s most consistent couples, although Darlene’s controlling personality did cause them issues towards the end of Roseanne’s original run.
In the following, we look at how Darlene admitted to treating David Healy horribly during their relationship on Roseanne and how The Conners ruined Johnny Galecki’s Roseanne character. We also discuss Johnny Galecki’s experience on Roseanne and if he will ever appear on The Conners.
The Conners Season 6 Shows Darlene Admit To Treating Johnny Galecki’s David Horribly
Sara Gilbert’s Darlene finally admits in season 6, episode 4 of The Conners, that she mistreated Johnny Galecki’s David throughout their relationship.
In “Shrinks Don’t Talk and Kids Don’t Sing,” Darlene begins to get concerned about her son Mark after she sees him leaving a therapist’s office. The therapist couldn’t tell her why her son was seeking help, so Darlene listed down all the possible reasons.
When Mark admits he is struggling to sleep, she theorizes that he’s “lying up awake thinking about how I drove your father away and how it’s left you without the ability to form long, trusting relationships with other people.”
Although the scene appears humorous, it highlights that Darlene worries about her treatment of her ex-partner and its effect on the whole family. David was one of the meeker characters on the show, which meant he was often railroaded by Darlene and her larger-than-life family.
“It was a wonderful week, it was an emotional week for all of us.” Johnny Galecki told People at the time, “Not only because we were back together again, but also due to some of the content in that episode.”
When he returned to the show, he insisted he felt “great relief in the fact that this character, 21 years later, was still dormant and resurfaced almost immediately,” he says.
“It’s kind of creepy, those characters they reside in you for a long, long time.”
“For the longest time, we didn’t want to say anything negative [about the character] because you never know if Johnny’s going to want to come back, and we didn’t want to have to repair a relationship… We tried to keep him from being a completely negligent father, and then it became a matter of having other characters [to service],” he continued. “And we wanted Darlene [in the finale] to say that he’s never going to change.”
“When I left you and the kids, I rationalized that it was OK because I was helping people,” he said, explaining that he has landed a new job building houses for poor people in other countries. “The truth is? I left because my brother died, and I was overwhelmed with all the responsibility and I just ran. When I was out there, I was ashamed.”
Family is one of the key themes of Roseanne and its sequel. Roseanne worked hard to keep her family intact no matter the challenges that came her way. To portray David as a deadbeat dad who chooses work over his children doesn’t just feel out of character, but it also goes against the principles of the ABC comedy.
Will Johnny Galecki Reappear On The Conners?
Johnny Galecki made a few appearances in The Conners in its earlier seasons. He hasn’t appeared in The Conners since season 2, episode 4, “Lanford… Lanford,” and fans shouldn’t expect to see him anytime soon.
The audience thought he would appear in season 5 during Mark’s graduation. Mark instead decided that the only father he wanted at his graduation was his stepfather, Ben. Galecki was originally supposed to be in the season 5 finale, but he rejected the role. It looks like The Big Bang Theory actor wants to take a breather from his acting career.
Executive producer Bruce Helford explained to TVLine, “It was just one of those things where it didn’t work out—and like you say, he’s certainly taking a step away, taking a breather, and we understand that. But we have to deal with what’s going on in the Conners’ lives, so we just decided this was the time [to address David’s absence].”
While he “really went out of his way to say how much he loved not only the legacy of the show,” the actor needed to “step away,” and the executive producers respected his decision and understood “real life tends to take priority.”
“We’re approaching the grand bow of the show, maybe next season or whatever, and there’s only so long we can go [without seeing David]. And Johnny is just too busy. We love him, and he would love to be doing stuff with us, but it just hasn’t worked out scheduling wise,” the team behind The Conners explained about his absence.
