Roseanne was considered an unexpected success until Roseanne Barr posted an unwelcome tweet about Valerie Jarrett, former US President Obama’s assistant, on her Twitter page. Suddenly, the latest episode aired last week suddenly turned into the final episode of the most-watched series on US television due to “the pen fell and the chicken died”. Many people regretted that Barr’s co-stars on the show, such as John Goodman and Laurie Metcalfe (who played Roseanne’s husband Dan and her sister Jackie), had no more shows to do.
Lena Dunham and Mindy Kaling are among the writers who wanted to make their own show. Mindy Kaling (who wrote and starred in The Mindy Project) is very famous on US television.
John Goodman in Roseanne
The future is not only a question mark for the actors on the show but also for Roseanne Barr herself. There have been proposals to continue Roseanne without the main character. ABC only announced the cancellation of the show, which was revived after a 21-year hiatus in March, without any further hints.
Roseanne Barr herself took to Twitter to say she was sorry ABC couldn’t keep “two of the biggest TV actors in the world.”
Variety reports that there are serious discussions about how to keep Roseanne going without Roseanne Barr. ABC could rename Roseanne to The Conner Family so that John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and others could continue their work.
There is precedent for continuing a show without its main character. The 1980s sitcom Valerie was renamed Valerie’s Family when Valerie Harper left the show due to frustration with the producers. Most recently, the TV series House of Cards is continuing without its lead actor Kevin Spacey, who was forced to leave the show following a sexual assault scandal.
Laurie Metcalfe and Roseanne Barr in 1989
According to Variety, Metcalf, Goodman and Sara Gilbert (who plays Darlene) successfully negotiated a pay raise from $250,000 to $300,000 an episode. Now, if Roseanne is canceled, they will receive compensation for at least 10 episodes. The writers and producers will also be compensated.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, advertising revenue for the next season will be no less than $60 million if Roseanne is not canceled.
