THE original Roseanne cast regroup for a remake of the popular 90s US sitcom.
Where have they been since we last saw them 20 years ago?IT’S been 20 years since Roseanne premiered its final episode.
Now after months of speculation, US network ABC have announced the classic comedy featuring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman which ran from 1988 to 1997 is coming back, with several of the original cast members reprising their roles for the remake.
But where have our favourite Roseanne stars been for the past 20 years?
Here’s a look at the cast returning and what they’ve been doing since the left the Conner family.
The cast returning for the Roseanne remake gather at the Lincoln Centre in New York City —Michael Fishman, Lecy Goranson, Roseanne Barr, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman.
Roseanne Barr (Roseanne Conner)
Brash TV-mum Roseanne Conner was a character created by comedian Roseanne Barr.
And ironically, the actor hasn’t been able to live her down since.
Roseanne Barr has been busy running for president since the sitcom wrapped.
Actor Roseanne Arnold (Barr). Comedian wants to be known as “Roseanne” only. November 1994 Entertainment
After Roseanne wrapped, Barr hosted The Roseanne Show, a quirky talk-show featuring skits and cheeky celebrity interviews, but with flailing ratings it was taken off air in 2000.
Several years of bit-parts followed until 2011 when Barr starred in her own reality show Roseanne’s Nuts, profiling her life living on a Hawaiian macadamia farm.
Then in a bizarre real-life plot twist, Barr decided to run for president in 2012. Stranger still, she placed sixth.
Now 63, Barr’s most successful venture since the sitcom has been as a judge on Last Comic Standing, which tests out stand-up comedy talent.
Barr has made headlines over the years due to her dramatic fluctuations in weight, and in 2015 revealed she expects to eventually go blind as a sufferer of macular degeneration and glaucoma.
John Goodman’s portrayal of Dan, pictured in 1990, set him on the road to stardom.
John Goodman (Dan Conner)
John Goodman earned a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Dan Conner and has had no shortage of roles since.
He starred in Coen Brothers’ flicks The Big Lebowski and O Brother, Where Art Thou? and most-recently played a lead role in psychological thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane. He has had supporting roles in Coyote Ugly, Argo and The Hangover Part III and regularly can be found hosting NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
Like his cuddly TV wife, he shocked viewers with his yo-yoing weight. Goodman revealed a dramatically slimmed down frame earlier this year, deciding to take care of his health after he tipped the scales at 181kgs.
Alicia Goranson was the original cranky older sister, Becky. Picture: Paul Archuleta
Alicia Goranson was the original resentful older sister Becky, pictured in 1991.
Alicia ‘Lecy’ Goranson was the original resentful older sister, Becky Conner. She left the series in season four to continue her education, returning briefly in the final season. During her absences, she was replaced by lookalike Sarah Chalke.
The actor has struggled to find consistent work but has had supporting roles in films Boys Don’t Cry (1999) and The Extra Man (2010)and popped up in a 2004 episode of Sex and the City, playing the birth mother of Charlotte’s adopted child. She also played an accused baby killer in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and an Amy Schumer alter-ego in a skit for Inside Amy Schumer last year.
In 2008, website Dlisted reported Goranson was reading tarot cards for money at the Gowanus Yacht Club in Brooklyn, New York.
Becky number two was played by actor Sarah Chalke. Picture: Brian Ach
Sarah Chalke as the boy-crazy daughter Becky in a shot from 1993.
Sarah Chalke (Becky Conner)
The Canadian actor has enjoyed a high-profile
career since she hung up her Becky shoes.
Chalke plays Dr. Elliot Reid on Scrubs and Stella Zinman on sitcom How I Met Your Mother.
She has also had a recurring role on the third season of the ABC/TBS sitcom Cougar Town and a 2013 cameo appearance as a distraught mother in Grey’s Anatomy.
Johnny Galecki (who played David) with Michael Fishman (D.J.) in a scene from comedy Roseanne in September 1993.
Michael Fishman (DJ Conner)
Michael Fishman played prankster kid DJ, joining the show when he was just seven.
Fishman has previously admitted that when Roseanne finished production it was “one of the hardest times of my life.” “I was devastated. The cast and crew were my family. I’ll always love so many of those people. They shaped me as a person and made me who I am,” he said.
Now 35, Fisher has barely acted since. He appeared in a 1997 episode of Seinfeld and stars in Gods and Secrets, an HBO miniseries about superheroes, due to be released this year.
He has also worked in set building, set design and camera operation.
Laurie Metcalf is barely recognisable from her days as Jackie.
Laurie Metcalf played Roseanne’s neurotic man-hating sister Jackie.
Since the sitcom, Metcalf is best known for playing Carolyn Bigsby on hit American dramedy, Desperate Housewives and for her portrayal of Mary Cooper in The Big Bang Theory.
The actor also voiced the character of Mrs. Davis in Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.
Sara Gilbert has had a high-profile career since her Darlene days.
Flannelette wearing Darlene Conner became a coming-of-age Gen X icon. And the actor behind the character, Sara Gilbert has enjoyed an equally prolific career with roles on 24, Will & Grace and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She also stars alongside fellow Roseanne castmate Metcalf in The Big Bang Theory.
Executive producer and co-host of chat show The Talk, Gilbert has won two Emmys for her work on the program.
In 2011, Gilbert split from her television producer partner Allison Adler, with whom she has two children. Two years later, Gilbert came out as a lesbian and is now married to former 4 Non Blondes’ frontwoman Linda Perry. The couple have one son together.
Roseanne will air in 2018
SEE MORE: Sitcom ‘Roseanne’ Returned to TV With Original Cast in 2018
