The actress, who wrote this week’s new episode, also reflects on why the ABC comedy continues to resonate after more than 100 episodes
Note: The following story contains spoilers from “The Conners”” Season 6, Episode 11.
Lecy Goranson isn’t ready to say goodbye to “The Conners.”
The actress behind Becky Conner, an original cast member since the first “Roseanne” series, looked back on the ABC spin-off’s legacy while promoting this week’s new episode, titled “Fire and Vice.” The show is still awaiting an official decision from ABC about a Season 7 renewal, though reports have surfaced suggesting the show could be gearing up for a shortened final season order.
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“I’ll be the first to say that I hope we have another season, and another season and another season. I couldn’t be more crazy about my job,” Goranson told TheWrap. “These seasons go by so fast … I think that’s a real testament of a group of people that really love what they’re doing.
“I’m down for Becky spin-offs [too]. Let’s keep the team together, in my opinion,” she added.
“The Conners” cemented its legacy as a worthy successor of the “Roseanne” franchise legacy after pushing past its 100th episode earlier in Season 6. Goranson said the longevity of the shows has allowed multiple generations of viewers to relate to the Conner family’s struggles through the decades.
“It’s fair to say that a lot of people feel like we are of the same family,” Goranson said. “The characters are relatable, the quality of the show — from the crew to the writing, to the acting and the producing — is just very strong … People want to keep checking in with their friends.”
Goranson wrote Wednesday’s pivotal installment, her third writing credit on the show so far, which followed as the family faced big decisions gearing up to the Season 6 finale. A celebration of Louise (Katey Sagal) landing a seat on the school board was interrupted by news that Ben’s (Jay R. Ferguson) hardware store burned down in an accidental fire. After learning that the accident is covered by insurance, Ben pondered whether to let go of the store and use the money to buy ownership of a new magazine, restoring his dream job as a journalist.
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It was also a big episode for Becky, whose journey this season led her to an internship working with individuals in recovery. This week’s installment saw as Becky struggled to set boundaries with those she was trying to help, leading to tension with her partner Tyler (Sean Astin) and Aunt Jackie (Laurie Metcalf).
Read more of TheWrap’s conversation with Goranson about this week’s episode below:
TheWrap: Great job with the writing of Episode 11, the first episode you’ve written in quite a few seasons. What led to you crafting this important episode now?
Goranson: Unlike the other episodes that I’ve written, this one, because it was at the tail end of the season, involved more of the writers’ room. [Because of] the fact that we had to begin to fulfill the arcs of the season.
Becky’s in school, she’s studying to be a social worker and she is in recovery. She gets this internship that she’s really excited about and that was a part of what I hoped [to do], seeing her interacting in that role with some clients, and dealing with real issues that people in social work and in the healing professions have.
You’ve notably written episodes that deal with how the Conners deal with their own mental health, with the shooter episode from Season 4 being a big highlight. What is it about the topic that attracts you to explore it through writing?
A lot about “The Conners” is where they are socioeconomically, and one thing that’s really prevalent in American society is that we don’t have a lot of infrastructure for mental health … Becky’s going into the mental healthcare profession, and as much as she’s earnest, we don’t have a structure that supports people in that field. We don’t pay social workers as much as we pay doctors and lawyers — much like teachers — and I think that’s a real discrepancy in our country.
I hope it’s an issue we continue to address in our show and in our society.
Ben’s hardware store burns down, a big source of income for the Conner family. But Ben decides to use the insurance money to get back into his real dream of running a magazine. How will this affect the family moving forward?
For the Conners, whenever there’s financial gain, there’s rejoicing in the streets of Lanford. So there’s a great relief [after the insurance check comes through]. But in Ben’s case, and something that I really loved exploring, whenever you take a life risk, it’s scary to follow your dreams.
I’ve been an actor since I was a young person and it’s not easy to have that forward energy going into a new endeavor — which is in Ben’s case also kind of an old endeavor — so I think it’s exciting.
We have two episodes left this season. What can you tease about the rest of Season 6?
There’s real shifts going on with Mark (Ames McNamara) in college and Harris (Emma Kenney) in charge of the Lunchbox — though I don’t know if she has a strong hold on the business — we know Darlene (Sara Gilbert) doesn’t like her job. So it’s a lot of finding out “how will the chips fall?”
I think everyone’s kind of on a precipice [for change], which is really exciting.
“The Conners” airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Episodes are available to stream the day after premiere on Hulu.
