The Conners have always struggled with money — but a financial development in the Roseanne spinoff’s most recent episode probably caught a few longtime viewers off guard.
Season 6, Episode 8 (“Toilet Hacks and the Management Trick”) marked Dan Conner’s 70th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, Dan announced to the family that he was going to start collecting his social security and union pension. “Yep, I beat the system by being poor and living longer than the government thought I would,” he said. (I mean, he lived longer than any of us thought he would, but I digress….)
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Louise was elated. She and Dan would finally have some disposable income… right? Wrong! Dan had other plans for the money: “If I can scratch up another $10,000, I’m in striking distance of paying off the house.”
But wait, didn’t Dan and Roseanne already pay off the house?
Roseanne Season 3, Episode 25: “The Pied Piper of Lanford” Peacock screenshot
In Roseanne’s Season 3 finale, Dan and Roseanne took out a second mortgage in order to secure a bank loan for the motorcycle shop. Having two mortgages would hang over their heads for the duration of the original series’ pre-lottery run. Take, for instance, in Season 8, when Dan considered leaving his cushy city job to put in a drywall bid with his old crew, but almost backed out, out of fear that he and Rosie would never pay off the house.
Roseanne Season 9, Episode 12: “Home for the Holidays”Peacock screenshot
But then everything changed. The Conners won the Illinois state lottery, and money was no longer an issue. In Season 9’s Christmas episode, Roseanne presented the mortgage to Dan on a silver platter, having paid it off in secret while he was in California taking care of his mom.
But then everything changed again. The original series finale erased the family’s $108 million windfall — and when Roseanne returned with Season 10 in 2018, Dan and Roseanne were still in a financial hole.
The Conners Season 2, Episode 20: “Bridge Over Troubled Conners” Netflix screenshot
Two years later, in The Conners‘ penultimate Season 2 episode, Dan received a foreclosure letter from the bank. He told Chuck that he’d recently taken out a second mortgage — wait, didn’t he and Roseanne already have two mortgages? — and he couldn’t keep up with the payments. To ensure he wouldn’t wind up on the street, Darlene and Ben gave Dan the money they had saved for an apartment to pay the bank, then everyone (including Becky and Harris) started paying rent to contribute towards Dan’s two mortgages.
And now, in a development that screams “potential final season,” The Conners went and established that Dan is down to one mortgage in Season 6, and he’s within $10K of paying it off — for real this time.
So, there you have it! That’s how Dan Conner is still making mortgage payments on 714 Delaware St. — a full 36 years after Roseanne’s 1988 debut.
