Emma Kenney was 18 when she began playing Harris Conner-Healy on the hit ABC spin-off series The Conners.
Alongside John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson, who reprized their roles from Roseanne which aired between 1988 and 1997, Kenney, 25, will wrap the sitcom’s seven-year run starting on March 26 for six farewell episodes. Her prevailing emotion is “definitely bittersweet,” she tells PEOPLE.
“It’s crazy to think about the fact that we’re not going to be all getting together for another season,” Kenney adds.
The Conners, which followed Kenney’s breakout role as Debbie Gallagher in Showtime’s hit series Shameless, which she starred in from age nine through eleven seasons, brought her “into adulthood,” she explains. “Entering a show when you’re 18 is definitely a different dynamic compared to being the baby of the show.”
With child actors younger than her in The Conners cast, including Jayden Rey, 15, and Ames McNamara, 17, Kenney says she’s been able to “take them under my wing.”
Kenney says the entire experience allowed her to learn a lot about herself on set, which she compares to “adult summer camp.” But it’s the lasting relationships with the cast that will most stay with her. “In between takes we always have a lot of fun,” she added. “Of course, a lot of inside jokes.”
As for the show’s finale episode, Kenney says fans can expect the sitcom’s signature mix of humor, family drama and emotional moments: “It’s probably going to hit home for a lot of people.”