Fans of Roseanne were shocked when Lecy Goranson, the actress who originally portrayed Becky Conner, left the show.
When the hit ABC sitcom premiered back in 1988, Lecy — who was then just 14 years old — perfectly embodied the spunky eldest Conner daughter. But after five seasons of the series, her surprising exit left viewers scratching their heads. Scroll below for more details on why the original Becky left the show.
Why Did the Original Becky Leave ‘Roseanne’?
In 1992, Lecy decided to leave Roseanne to pursue higher education at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York. At the time, the young actress’ school schedule permitted her to still occasionally appear on the series.
Why Did the Original Becky Leave ‘Roseanne’? Details
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During season 5, Lecy’s character surprisingly eloped with her boyfriend, Mark Healy, played by the late Glenn Quinn, and subsequently left her Illinois hometown. Since Becky then lived out-of-state, Lecy was often shown speaking to her parents, Roseanne Conner, played by Roseanne Barr, and Dan Conner, portrayed by John Goodman, on the phone. She continued guest starring on the show for several episodes.
“At the time, I wanted normalcy. I wanted to be around my peers. I wanted to be in an intellectual environment … I would have, like, five English papers due on Monday, and they’d want me to fly to Disney World and shoot a show there over the weekend, and I said, ‘I just can’t feasibly do this,’” Lecy told HuffPost in August 2013 of her decision to exit the series.
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Who Replaced the Original Becky on ‘Roseanne’?
By season 6, the Roseanne producers wanted Becky to appear more frequently on the show, so they decided to recast the role. Sarah Chalke won the coveted part. She then portrayed Becky in seasons 6 and 7.
Why Did the Original Becky Leave ‘Roseanne’? Details
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Lecy later briefly returned to Roseanne for season 8 but again left the series. Sarah played Becky in the show’s ninth and final season.
“I was called ‘Second Becky’ for 10 years on [my next TV job], Scrubs,” Sarah said of her time on Roseanne during an August 2012 episode of The Talk. “It was crazy, I was 16 years old. I watched the show, I loved the show. I couldn’t believe how ridiculously funny and talented [the cast] was.”
Both Lecy and Sarah joined the Roseanne reboot’s cast in March 2018. Lecy portrayed a grown-up Becky in the series and Sarah played a woman named Andrea who hired Becky to be her surrogate.
“I love the part! It’s such a fun part to play,” Sarah told Entertainment Weekly in December 2017 of the revival series. “I was so excited to hear that it was coming back. I think the timing is perfect. I think it’s exactly what is needed right now. Right now, when the country is so divided, I really think it’s a show that brings people together. The writing is so unbelievable. It’s so funny.”
After the first initial reboot was canceled in May 2018, a continuation of the sequel called The Conners went into production without the franchise’s title character, Roseanne. Lecy once again signed on to return as Becky and still continues to play the character. Sarah appeared as a guest star, playing Andrea for an episode titled “One Flew Over the Conners’ Nest.”
