It’s been 20 years since this ABC’s Emmy winning show wrapped its nine-season long run, and now this Disney-owned network wants to bring back this working-class family on our screens and into our lives.
This hit TV series was on the air from 1988 until 1997, and now it is coming back for eight episodes as a midseason order.
This sitcom was lauded for its realistic portrayal of an average American family. It stars Roseanne Barr, and the story revolves around the Conners, Illinois working-class family. This show was surprisingly popular in the US, remaining in the top six most watched TV shows for six of its nine seasons, and in the top twenty for the rest.
Why was this show so interesting to the public?
It was the first show to use a working mother as a central voice, and the choice of Roseanne Barr, with her “in your face” attitude made her into a working class heroine. The show was all about this lady, and her family’s struggle to get by on a limited income.
Roseanne, her husband Dan and their four kids were tv pioneers, as this show offered one of the first realistic portrayals of a blue-collar American family. But this was not all, lead characters here were noticeably overweight, although, unlike many similar sitcoms, this show did not use it, Roseanne and Dan were never the targets of jokes.
What can we expect from the revival?
After the show ended, Barr was in negotiations for a spin-off, but it never really came to life. Later, in the fall of 2008, she commented on what she thought the current whereabouts of this family would be “I’ve always said now that if they were on TV, DJ would have been killed in Iraq and (the Conners) would have lost their house”. She wouldn’t say anything more about the faiths of the rest of the family as if she knew that there will be a revival.
In December 2009, Bar posted an entry on her website, where she wrote what a possible Roseanne reunion would be like. She wrote about DJ being published, Roseanne and Jackie opening the first medical marijuana dispensary in their town, Mark dying in Iraq, David leaving Darlene for a woman half his age, Darlene coming out of the closet and meeting a woman and having a baby with her, Becky working at Walmart, Arnie remarrying Nancy, Jerry and the grandsons forming a music group, Dan reappearing alive and much more.
At the time when she wrote all of this, we gave it little thought, but now, that the show is definitely coming back, we cannot help but wonder if this is exactly what will happen in these new episodes?
ABC confirmed that the original cast members will be coming back for this reneval. So we will see Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne’s sister Jackie), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Michael Fishman (D.J.) and Lecy Goranson (the original Becky). Sarah Chalke, who took over the role of Becky when Goranson left, will also come back, but she will have a different role. Johnny Galecki’s (Leonard, Big Bang Theory) involvement is still uncertain, so we are not sure if David will be in the show, will he be an absentee dad, or will Darlene be made into a widow?
Producers of Roseanne are now on the hunt for young actors who can play the children of Darlene and David. According to some reports, one of those kids will be Harris, their eldest daughter who was born in the 19th episode of Season 9. She will now be 14 years old, and a spitting image of her mother, both physically and attitude wise.
The big news was the return of Dan, played by the amazing John Goodman. In the series’ final episode “Into That Good Night, Part 2” among other big reveals was the fact that Dan Conner had died of a heart attack. So, if he’s coming back, how will the show explain his escape from the clutches of the Grim Reaper? According to reports, he will come back as the classic sitcom dad, so what gives?
Turns out that Roseanne is not the most reliable narrator, and ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said “I don’t want to talk too specifically, but I wouldn’t say we’ll ignore the events of the finale. Although, Dan is definitely still alive.”
So what, did he fake his death? Will his ghost show up in the revival?
We are dying of curiosity over here, and we cannot wait for spring 2018 to come, so we find out exactly what was going on!