The Conners ended its run this week after seven impressive seasons and what can only be described as a start that grew out of a very controversial situation. What became a spinoff series of Rosanne originally hit ABC as a revival of the hit show, with comedian Roseanne Barr once again leading the Conner family. As quickly as the revival became a hit, Roseanne was abruptly canceled after Barr posted a tweet many perceived to be racist. The concept was retooled to then become The Conners and Roseanne was unceremoniously written out, something that she spoke out about in a blunt manner on more than one occasion. So, how does she feel now that The Conners is over? Despite initial hostility, her reaction to the series coming to an end is probably not one that many expected.
Per TMZ, Roseanne’s son and rep, Jake Pentland, spoke about her feelings regarding the series finale and even though she still feels she got screwed over and was let go from a revival show she had a part in creating, she’s leading with a bit of grace by simply saying that herself and her family are happy everyone behind The Conners got to enjoy seven seasons of work and that with the show ending, that chapter of her life is now closed. It should be noted that the family says they never watched an episode of The Conners after Roseanne was shown the door and even expressed they didn’t know the show had officially ended until they were notified but, given how bad this all was in the beginning, the response from the family about The Conners coming to an end is rather diplomatic.
The Conners Began Out of Controversy
Roseanne was revived on ABC in March 2018, acting as a direct continuation of the hit series that ran for ten seasons and a total of 231 episodes. The revival was a hit out of the gate, pulling in 18.44 million viewers during a time network TV shows dreamed of achieving such numbers. Based on the ratings just from its premiere, ABC quickly renewed the show for another season of 13 episodes.
The successful return was then derailed when ABC reversed its decision to renew the show in May 2018 after Barr posted a tweet comparing Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett, who is of African American descent, to a character from Planet of the Apes. ABC was swift in their decision to end ties with Barr, canceling the revival series that was proving to be very successful for the network.
Behind-the-scenes, given the success of the revival, the wheels were turning to keep the show going in some capacity, and that’s when it was announced that the show would be revamped as a spinoff continuation series called The Conners, which would function without Roseanne, and only focus of the rest of the core Conner family portrayed by John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, and Michael Fishman, as well as newer cast additions such as Emma Kenny, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Jay R. Ferguson. The spinoff decided to kill off Roseanne, and then looked into the family’s struggles to continue living life without their matriarch.
Roseanne was revived on ABC in March 2018, acting as a direct continuation of the hit series that ran for ten seasons and a total of 231 episodes. The revival was a hit out of the gate, pulling in 18.44 million viewers during a time network TV shows dreamed of achieving such numbers. Based on the ratings just from its premiere, ABC quickly renewed the show for another season of 13 episodes.
The successful return was then derailed when ABC reversed its decision to renew the show in May 2018 after Barr posted a tweet comparing Obama administration official Valerie Jarrett, who is of African American descent, to a character from Planet of the Apes. ABC was swift in their decision to end ties with Barr, canceling the revival series that was proving to be very successful for the network.
Behind-the-scenes, given the success of the revival, the wheels were turning to keep the show going in some capacity, and that’s when it was announced that the show would be revamped as a spinoff continuation series called The Conners, which would function without Roseanne, and only focus of the rest of the core Conner family portrayed by John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, and Michael Fishman, as well as newer cast additions such as Emma Kenny, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Jay R. Ferguson. The spinoff decided to kill off Roseanne, and then looked into the family’s struggles to continue living life without their matriarch.
Despite what could’ve been an impossible matter to recover from, The Conners became a staple hit for ABC and ran for seven seasons and a total of 112 episodes. Even though Barr was negative towards the series and those involved during its run, eventually things cooled, and The Conners was able to keep viewers on its own merits while still maintaining the realistic brand of humor that made its mother show such a hit back in the day. Eventually, recurring roles were filled by Katey Sagal, Sean Astin, and more to give it more of its own identity. The Conners become a fan favorite, and a glance across social media after its series finale shows that fans are sad to say goodbye to this family once again.
