Throughout her decades-long career, Roseanne Barr has caused a lot of controversy. From her hit, eponymous TV show having early LGBTQ+ representation, to that very same series returning to ABC in 2018 but then being canceled after Barr tweeted a very controversial comment, and quickly rebounding into The Conners (the 2025 TV schedule recently played host to the end of its seven-season run) without its former lead. In the midst of all that, however, she’s been forging a relationship with the child she gave up for adoption in the early 1970s, and she’s now told the wild story about reconnecting with her daughter.

What Did Roseanne Barr Say About Reconnecting With The Daughter She Gave Up For Adoption?

While Roseanne Barr has been off of regular TV since being fired from her series, she’s kept her name on people’s minds with things like talk of a new sitcom where a farmer and her family will “save America with guns, the Bible, petty crime, and alcoholism,” and making contentious comments on podcasts.

The comedian/actor/Emmy winner (who’s been living in Hawaii and also spending time in Texas with her son and his family) recently appeared on the Dumb Blonde podcast, and when the host asked about the story behind giving a child up for adoption in 1970 and later beginning a relationship with her, Barr said:

The star also noted that when she was a young child, she had a vision that told her she would not just be famous, but have her own TV show that would be named after her. That’s one of the reasons she kept her name the same and was so sure that her daughter would, somehow, find her. The She-Devil actress continued:

Who would reveal information like that without permission? According to Barr, it was her eventual husband/Roseanne writer/co-star Tom Arnold who went to the tabloid with news about her baby. The Home on the Range voice talent also noted that the Enquirer did call her to let her know the story was going to run with or without her permission, and she told them "to fuck off." She added:

While this story, overall, is very sweet and pretty inspirational, I think we can all agree that it’s very Roseanne of her to reveal that not only was her daughter disappointed by finding out that her mom wasn’t Private Benjamin/Overboard star Goldie Hawn (mom to Wyatt Russell, Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson) but “mad” because her rich and famous biological mother was “fat.” I don’t know what the “everything” Barr referred to means, but I’m guessing it wasn’t anything good in her kid’s eyes. Later, she noted:

This truly is a heart-warming story. And, the star notes that her daughter, Brandi, has a husband and son, and is “a wonderful woman.” Anyone looking to reconnect with a long-lost family member (whatever the reason for that separation) would wish for things to go as well as they did for Barr and her daughter.

Though The Conners may have wrapped up its seven-season run on ABC — on an unplanned final note, thanks to John Goodman — that doesn’t mean fans will stop appreciating the iconic sitcom family anytime soon, especially since it and its predecessor Roseanne can both be found airing in syndication. And for the past few years, repeats have been the only way for fans to see O.G. star Michael Fishman’s D.J. still popping up, considering he was written out of the show going into Season 5.

Fans were definitely bummed about D.J. not returning for The Conners’ finale, which also failed to land its white-whale George Clooney cameo. However, the actor can be seen sharing his thoughts and memories about working on the seminal ‘80s-’90s comedy on CMT, which announced remastered versions of all 222 Roseanne episodes began airing in March. Fishman took to Instagram to share one such interview spot where he addressed the sitcom’s impact on LGBTQ+ representation on TV.

Directly addressing the Season 6 installment “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” in which Roseanne joined Sandra Bernhard’s Nancy and Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie on a trip to the gay bar Lips, and had her own lips smooched by Nancy’s girlfriend, as portrayed by Mariel Hemingway. According to Fishman, Roseanne played into its innate comedic strengths to tackle less-targeted topics. In his words:

The Roseanne episode of note aired all the way back in March 1994, and was easily one of the only instances at the time where gay and straight characters kissed on TV, especially where half-hour comedy was concerned. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the filmed episode resulted in some hectic behind-the-scenes conversations between ABC, whose censors were eager to keep the ep's kiss from airing as filmed, and Roseanne Barr, who threatened to take her hugely popular sitcom away from ABC.

Cooler and more agreeable heads prevailed, and not only did the episode become an instant classic for Roseanne fans, but it allowed the show to further the relationship between Martin Mull's Leon and Fred Willard's Scott, while also introducing and developing other LGBTQ+ characters. Fishman spoke about the impact the episode had off the screen as well, saying:

One can easily argue that if it wasn't for Roseanne embracing gay characters and culture, the sitcoms might never have written Darlene and David's son Mark as gay, and we might never have seen his relationship with Logan blossom (and wither). Or for trans actress Alexandra Billings to join the cast as Darlene's boss.

For all that it was a groundbreaking moment for the LGBTQ+ community at large, it's not like Roseanne was just instantly into it or anything, and Fishman chuckled when remembering Barr's character improvising the character's reaction to the kiss.

Michael Fishman shared his thoughts about not returning to the sitcom at any point during its shortened final season, and shared how appreciative he still was for the sitcom franchise's impact on his life, and harbored no ill will. Amazingly enough, Roseanne Barr's son shared that she also wanted to let bygones be bygones now that The Conners is done and her previous firing is no longer a point of contention. Maybe Barr and Fishman will team up for something in the future.

Roseanne is currently airing in syndication on CMT (while The Conners reruns are airing on The CW), and can be found streaming in full with a Peacock subscription.

The 2025 TV schedule marked the end of an era for one of TV’s most celebrated sitcom families, with ABC’s The Conners joining a slew of other series ending this year, though none of the others on that list had quite the same lifespan as Roseanne’s successor. The spinoff’s run ended with a shortened seventh season, following the flagship’s ill-fated tenth, and in the years since the O.G. sitcom was canceled, the comedienne has shared plenty of disdain for it and EP Sara Gilbert. But now?

Barr’s latest comments on The Conners come by way of her son Jake Pentland, who also serves as her representative. (He also played a paper boy and another nameless kid in two episodes of Roseanne.) And while her thoughts are not entirely contextual to the follow-up sitcom’s conclusion — Pentland said he wasn’t even cognizant that it was ending — the vibe seems to have shifted from vengeful vitriol to DGAF passivity.

In the aftermath of the finale, Jake Pentland told TMZ that even though his mom and the rest of the family are still of the belief that she was unfairly forced out of a successful TV venture, that they are happy that the crew working on the show(s) for all these years were able to make a living for so long on something she was responsible for creating. Perhaps not the most humble approach, but that’s neither here nor there.

According to Pentland, Roseanne & Co. are at the point where they’re content with the current situation now that The Conners is over and the remnants of Roseanne’s run won’t continue to be an on-air sticking point. Perhaps the lack of Lanford will allow for a legitimate stretch of peacetime.

What Roseanne Barr Has Previously Said About The Conners

While the conservative-leaning comedian would just rip The Conners apart willy-nilly without provocation, Barr hasn't ever been prone to biting her tongue when specifically asked for her thoughts in interviews. Early on, she went so far as to spoil her character being killed off, and after the continuation series did just that in its premiere, she kept to a more middle-of-the-road stance, saying at the time:

That neutrality shifted over time, and as recently as 2023, she tore into Sara Gilbert for not defending her at the time she was fired, and for continuing to talk about the situation on her talk show, saying:

Despite that tension, former co-star John Goodman said in June 2023 that their time together was great, that he still loves her, and that he was never comfortable seeing her spoken ill of in the press.

I don't necessarily think that all these fences are going to immediately be mended now that Dan, Becky, Darlene and Jackie aren't primetime staples anymore, but I really do hope there won't be any further beef among the former cast members, and that a day might come when we see Barr, Goodman and Laurie Metcalf sharing the screen again, with others certainly welcome to join this hypothetical wish project.

The Conners’ final two episodes, "Exercise Bands, Money Plans, and Faraway Lands" and “The Truck Stops Here,” gave fans their final hour with the core family and all of the new additions that joined up along the way, from Nat Faxon’s Neville to Katey Sagal’s Louise. Nearly the entire clan (save for the long-gone D.J. and his fam) took a trip to the cemetary to share kind words for the dearly departed. Or, maybe just words, if not always so kind.

Harris' minimalist reflection on the Lunch Box's food actually being good now got a big laugh out of me, I'll admit. But I'd love to hear Barr's thoughts about that scene in particular.

Fans can check out all ten seasons of Roseanne in full with a Peacock subscription, while The Conners is available with a Disney+ subscription.

We’re nearing the end of the first part of the 2025 TV schedule, with spring/summer finales sending our favorite shows off with cliffhangers and/oruntimely endings. All the while, The Conners' guest star-laden final season will mark the end of an era. As that all plays out, it's possible that fans are wondering how original franchise star Roseanne Bar has been doing after her titular matriarch was written off in the spinoff series As it turns out, she’s been quite busy.

While speaking with Barr's son, Jake Pentland, Us Weekly was given a rundown of what the comedian/TV pioneer has been doing with her time. The comedienne is reportedly living in Texas with Pentland and his family while also spending time in Palm Beach, Florida. However, as you’ll see below, she’s not just taking to knitting:

A spinoff of ABC’s classic hit Roseanne, The Conners came to fruition after Roseanne Barr’s 2018 firing from the series' parent show. Her ousting was the result of a controversial tweet shared about former Presidential Advisor Valerie Jarret. The Utah-born comic continued to work in comedy, while her TV family continued in the wake of her absence. The spinoff series will wrap up with seven seasons (and fans can stream all the episodes thus far with a Hulu subscription.)

Various stand-up specials series projects, and even controversial podcast appearances have kept Barr in circulation, and she was even noted as being in the audience for Netflix’s new comedy series, Kill Tony. Though what will probably delight fans of hers the most is this hopeful update from Jake Pentland about where some of that hard work might be going:

One would think that one of those projects would be Roseanne Barr’s warrior-farmer series that she started talking up a couple of months ago. Also, if she’s been spotted in proximity of a Netflix project, that could very well be a platform interested in playing a role in a TV comeback for Barr. Should that be the case, how long until we see Arnold Schwarzenegger’s FUBAR crossing over?

That idea sounds ripe for pitching, but that’s just pure speculation. All we can say with certainty at this moment is that Roseanne Barr is still working while taking time for her family. Though if you want to see how her TV family fares, The Conners airs new episodes on Wednesdays at 8 PM ET on ABC, and Hulu on the next day. However, the finale event will be airing on April 23rd so, if you need time to catch up, consider this your warning.

"Easy come, easy go" isn't necessarily an adage that readily applies to the Conner family, for whom the troubles never end. But on its way to joining other TV shows ending their runs in 2025, The Conners has allowed a glimmer of financial hope to surface, albeit on the other side of an emotional rubicon stemming back to the medication-related death of matriarch Roseanne.

That particular thematic throughline led to one of The Conners' biggest fights yet between Becky and Dan, and one can only hope their harsh finger-pointing regarding Roseanne's death was the most vitriolic this final season will get. When Lecy Goranson spoke with CinemaBlend about that dramatic tipping point, I asked how she felt about putting Roseanne's death back in the spotlight for this final season, and here's what she told me:

Honestly, it's hard to think of a more applicable way for the Conner family to find fortune than for them to have to first return to their biggest traumas. But it's clear that both Becky and Dan (and likely others) have stored away feelings of guilt, shame and blame for enough years that it's all in danger of boiling over.

But if they're able to actually land a courtroom victory here by proving that Roseanne was being taken advantage of by the phramaceutical industry, and that the people in charge of her healthcare were legally to blame for allowing her overdose to even be a possibility, that could possibly start the full-on healing process where Dan and his kids can let go of some of their more negative feelings.

It's still very much a battle for now, however, and Lecy Goranson talked about how The Conners has always been more than just a traditional sitcom in the way that its titular clan suffers the way real families do. In her words:

To be sure, the sitcom hasn’t ever let Roseanne’s death and legacy fall too far into the background over the years. From Dan’s struggles to stave off foreclosure to low-key reveals about her unseen habits to bringing back Natalie West’s Crystal Anderson and other former Roseanne familiars. And while fans are very familiar with how the mothership sitcom handled its titular family enjoying a financial wellspring via a dreamed lottery win, I can only hope The Conners sticks its landing a bit less awkwardly.

I mean, it’s still gonna be awkward in the way that Darlene and Becky will be around to make the darkest comments possible whether they come out of this richer or poorer.

Find out what happens going into The Conners series finale, which is set to air as a two-parter on Wednesday, April 23, at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be streaming the next day with a Hulu subscription.

Back in 2018, Roseanne Barr was fired from the revival of her self-titled series following racist posts on social media. The Conners would go on to success without her, and we haven’t heard a great deal from her since then, at least as far as her professional career is concerned. It appears that’s because she’s been working on her comeback. It turns out Barr has been working on a new show and she’s about ready to start shopping it.

In what has to be said is one of the strangest elevator pitches for a show in recent memory, Barr tells Variety that the show, a creation of herself and former Roseanne producer Allan Stephan, will focus on her character, a farmer who is “saving the United States from drug gangs and China.” She also compares the show to The Sopranos and also Coen Brothers movies. Barr explained…

Needless to say, this description is fairly wild in itself. Roseanne Barr has certainly made no secret of her conservative politics of late, and it seems that part of the idea behind the new show is to lean into all of that by focusing on a character inspired by the woman herself.

There are certainly elements of Roseanne’s previous success in this concept, as it will follow working-class characters. She calls the show both “silly” and "cartoony,” indicating comedy will be a significant part of it. However, the comparison to The Sopranos and the fact she will apparently be fighting drug gangs also indicates there’s a lot more going on and there might be more dramatic elements to the show.

The series, which doesn’t appear to have a title right now, is now being shopped around to prospective distributors. Based on the facts that, as Roseanne says, the show will have a lot of swearing, and that the first season is only planned to be four to six episodes, we can safely say this won’t end up on a traditional network, but any cable channel or streaming platform is certainly a potential home.

Roseanne is the latest to have a career rocked by scandal to attempt a comeback. Armie Hammer is starring in his first movie in years. Sometimes stars are welcomed back after significant time away, other times, they are not.

Barr seems to already be prepared for the possibility that there may not be any takers for the new show. However, she insists that even if that happens, she’ll still make the show, as she’s convinced the idea is something people want to see. She continued...

Whether or not it's a show an audience wants to see, first Roseanne has to find business people in Hollywood who want to see it.

The notion of a TV show going through cast changes for one reason or another isn’t all that unusual. In some cases, an actor might choose to leave a show in order to pursue other opportunities. And, at other times, a character naturally runs their course and is written out, leading to a star being ushered out of a production gracefully. However, there have been a number of instances in which an actor has dramatically exited a popular show for more salacious reasons. And we’re going to talk about a number of those situations.

Mackenzie Phillips (One Day At A Time)

Mackenzie Phillips dealt with substance and alcohol abuse during her tenure on One Day at a Time. As her problems increased and she allegedly became erratic on set, the actress was fired after the fifth season of the Norman Lear-produced sitcom. After voluntarily receiving treatment, Philips was invited back to the series at the start of Season 7. But, as mentioned in her Biography special she was fired one more time early in Season 9.

Delta Burke (Designing Women)

Designing Women cast member Delta Burke, who played breakout character Suzanne Sugarbaker, left the beloved CBS comedy after its fifth season. At the time, Burke was having issues with series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason. While appearing on the Glamorous Trash podcast years later, Burke said she and the EP “tried to kill each other” but “survived.” They eventually patched things up and teamed up again for a short-lived spinoff series, Women of the House.

John Amos (Good Times) 

Fans, like myself, would probably argue that Good Times – one of the greatest sitcoms of all time – changed tremendously after John Amos’ James Evans Sr. was written out following Season 3. That creative decision was the result of Amos being incredibly vocal about his frustrations with the direction of the show and even threatening the writers. As the actor explained during an interview, series EP Norman Lear called him up personally to tell him he’d been fired. 

Rob Lowe (The West Wing)

Before he dazzled on Parks and Recreation and after rising to prominence as a “Brat Pack” member, Rob Lowe starred on The West Wing. The show was originally set to center around his character, Sam Seaborn, though the focus shifted early on. Feeling underutilized as time went on, Lowe left the show after four seasons.

Roseanne Barr (Roseanne)

Roseanne Barr’s eponymous ABC sitcom was revived for a tenth season that aired in 2018, and it saw considerable success. Following its renewal, Barr was fired after posting a tweet about former government official Valerie Janet that was condemned as being racist. Her dismissal led to the cancellation of Roseanne and the conception of a spinoff sequel series The Conners.

Janet Hubert (The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air)

Two actresses portrayed Vivian “Aunt Viv” Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the first being Janet Hubert. By the NBC sitcom’s third season, she and lead actor Will Smith began to butt heads. Both were also dealing with situations in their personal lives. Ultimately, Hubert left Fresh Prince due to getting an unsatisfactory new contract offer and, years later, she and Smith made amends during the show’s 2020 reunion.

Kevin Spacey (House Of Cards)

House of Cards experienced a significant shake-up after Kevin Spacey was accused of being inappropriate towards actor Anthony Rapp while he was still a minor. Netflix eventually cut ties with Spacey and, as a result, he was replaced as the lead of the show by co-star Robin Wright.

Charlie Sheen (Two And A Half Men)

When it comes to an exit from a TV series, few get more dramatic than Charlie Sheen’s departure from Two and a Half Men. During the eighth season of the hit CBS show, he made headlines for partaking in wild parties and even entered rehab. Sheen’s fate was sealed, however, when he made disparaging remarks about series co-creator Chuck Lorre. Men would continue for four more seasons, with Ashton Kutcher taking over as co-lead.

Katherine Heigl (Grey’s Anatomy) 

There are a lot of moving parts to Katherine Heigl’s Grey’s Anatomy exit, but it was truly set in motion after the actress kept her name from Emmy consideration in 2008. Heigl did that because she didn’t think the work she’d done for that particular season was Emmy-worthy. In 2009, the Izzie Stevens actress accused series creator Shonda Rhimes and the producers of initiating long work hours for the cast and crew. And, in 2010, amid Season 6 of the drama series, Rhimes released Heigl from her contract early.

Valerie Harper (Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family)

Amid the second season of Valerie, lead actress Valerie Harper became engaged in a salary dispute with both NBC and production company Lorimar. It was after that season that the Emmy winner was fired, and she ultimately sued both of the aforementioned companies for breach of contract. The series aired for four more seasons – and had two more names. But, ultimately, Harper won her case and was awarded $1.4 million and future show profits.

Robert Downey Jr. (Ally McBeal)

Robert Downey Jr. had experienced a number of personal issues by the time he was cast for Season 4 of Ally McBeal, and they continued throughout his tenure. During that season, he was arrested in November 2000 for drug possession and was taken into custody again under suspicion of being under the influence in Culver City in 2001. With that, Downey was fired from McBeal.

Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)

In 2017, amid the MeToo Movement, Jeffrey Tambor was accused of inappropriate behavior by his former assistant. Shortly after, one of Tambor’s Transparent co-stars accused him of misconduct as well. Amazon, which had renewed the Emmy-winning dramedy for a fifth and final season, officially fired Tambor in early 2018. His character, who was the lead, was ultimately killed off in the musical series finale special.

Esther Rolle (Good Times)

Esther Rolle took issue with some of the creative decisions made on Good Times, not unlike her co-star, John Amos – who was fired after Season 3 even though Rolle was more publicly vocal about her disdain. Given her discomfort, Rolle left after the fourth season when her contract expired. She did, however, return as a main cast member for the sixth and final season. 

Suzanne Somers (Three’s Company)

Some TV devotees may not be aware that Suzanne Somers exited Three’s Company after five seasons due to a salary dispute with ABC’s execs. Her attempts to renegotiate a new deal proved to be unsuccessful, and her contract was not renewed. Throughout the remainder of the show's run, Somers' Chrissy Snow would be succeeded by two other characters.

Chad Michael Murray (One Tree Hill)

Many were likely surprised when Chad Michael Murray was one of two major stars to exit One Tree Hill ahead of its seventh season. At this point, there’s been no clear reason as to why Murray, who played Lucas Scott parted ways with the show. Some contend that he was ready to leave, but Murray was even recorded saying that the network wanted to drop him to save money.

Lori Loughlin (Fuller House)

Veteran actress Lori Loughlin was starring on Netflix’s Fuller House when she was indicted as part of the 2019 college admissions scandal. In 2020, Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and was sentenced to two months in prison. Given her legal woes, Loughlin’s Aunt Becky was excluded from the sitcom’s final season.

Isaiah Washington (Grey’s Anatomy)

It was in October 2006 that Isaiah Washington made headlines after it was reported that during an on-set conflict with Patrick Dempsey, he insulted their fellow Grey’s Anatomy co-star, T.R. Knight, with a homophobic slur. Washington reportedly issued an apology though, by the summer of 2007, his contract with ABC was eliminated after Season 3. Washington did, however, reprise the role for a Season 10 episode.

Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds)

Criminal Minds fired Thomas Gibson amid production on Season 12. As has been reported, Gibson, who was directing an episode at the time, had a disagreement with the episode’s writer. The scribe was on set at the time and, during an encounter with Gibson, the actor apparently kicked him. Gibson subsequently expressed regret over his actions.

Shannen Doherty (Charmed)

Few TV deaths were more tragic than that of Shannen Doherty’s Prue Halliwell during Charmed’s third season finale. In the years since she departed the show, Doherty has claimed that her on-set tension with co-star Alyssa Milano caused her to be let go. For her part, Milano said she was “sad” that Doherty blamed her for how everything panned out.

Danny Masterson (The Ranch)

While starring on Netflix’s The Ranch, Danny Masterson was investigated by police due to allegations of assault by multiple women. Masterson was soon fired from the series amid production on Season 3 and, in 2023, he was sentenced to prison.

Ruby Rose (Batwoman)

After leading Batwoman for just one season, Ruby Rose exited the Arrowverse show in 2020. The actress initially attributed her decision to the “taxing” nature of heading up a TV show as well as an allergic reaction to the latex in her costume. However, Rose later made claims of an abusive workplace against her ex-co-stars, The CW and more. Warner Bros. TV denied the allegations as did Rose’s former scene partners.

Cindy Williams (Laverne & Shirley)

Laverne & Shirley lost co-lead Cindy Williams early into the show’s eighth and final season. Williams became pregnant early into production and, as she explained to Today, she wouldn’t sign a new contract due to the producers having her work on her due date. So Penny Marshall’s Laverne DeFazio finished out those last episodes without Williams’ Shirley Feeney.

Chevy Chase (Community)

It’s been well documented that Community’s Chevy Chase had creative differences with series creator Dan Harmon over his character, Pierce Hawthorne. While working on Season 4, the veteran funnyman reportedly had an on-set tirade during which he dropped the N-word. Chase departed the show shortly after that.

Daniel Dae Kim (Hawaii Five-0)

Daniel Dae Kim’s exit from CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot after seven seasons came down to a salary dispute with the network. After the news of his departure was reported, Kim himself (who was one of the procedural’s most recognizable stars) addressed the situation, confirming that he and the network couldn’t agree to terms on a new deal.

Lisa Bonet (A Different World)

Cosby Show spinoff A Different World finished its first season on NBC in early 1988 and, afterward, lead actress Lisa Bonet announced her pregnancy with then-husband Lenny Kravitz. The sitcom’s incoming showrunner, Debbie Allen, wanted to keep Bonet on the show and depict her character, Denise Huxtable, as a single mom. But, as Allen explained years later, series creator Bill Cosby preferred that Bonet be dropped from the show.

Columbus Short (Scandal)

After three seasons on ABC’s Scandal, Columbus Short was removed from the cast of the hit drama series. It was during that time that the actor was dealing with personal issues and was even arrested on a domestic violence charge. Short later explained that he was cut due to his struggles with drugs and alcohol.

Gina Carano (The Mandalorian)

MMA fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano established a polarizing social media presence during her two-season stint on The Mandalorian. Among the controversial posts she shared was a message that seemingly compared being a modern-day conservative to being a Jewish person during the Holocaust. Disney and Lucasfilm fired Carano in 2021 ahead of the highly popular Star Wars show’s third season.

Nicollette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives)

Desperate Housewives star Nicollette Sheridan was written out of the show after the show’s fifth season, with her character, Edie Britt, being killed off. Several years later, the actress filed suit against Marc Cherry, the show’s creator and ABC. Sheridan alleged that Cherry assaulted her on the set and that she was fired for reporting it. Cherry provided an account of events and, in time, the harassment claims were thrown and Sheridan was unsuccessful in getting a retrial.

T.R. Knight (Grey’s Anatomy)

In 2009, T.R. Knight – who played Dr. George O’Malley on Grey’s Anatomy – left the show after the fifth season. Knight said his reason for leaving was due to a “breakdown of communication” with series EP Shonda Rhimes, his own decision to come out as gay and more. This also all came a few years after Knight was allegedly insulted with a homophobic slur by ex-co-star Isaiah Washington. 

Hilarie Burton (One Tree Hill)

Much has been said about Hilarie Burton’s exit from One Tree Hill after the sixth season. The most common assertion has been that the Peyton Sawyer actress couldn’t agree with the network on a new deal. Interestingly, while Burton recalled filming her final scene for the show, she noted that while shooting another sequence, a producer announced on set that the show was renewed for Season 7. However, both Burton and co-star Chad Michael Muray were surprised as they apparently hadn’t been offered new deals.

Justin Roiland (Rick And Morty)

Rick and Morty actor and co-creator Justin Roiland was fired from the Adult Swim show in 2023 after it was revealed that he was facing a domestic violence charge and other offenses in court. Roiland’s case was eventually thrown out later that year. However, the animator and voice actor was later accused of assault and messaging underage girls.

John Rhys-Davies (Sliders)

The sci-fi cult classic Sliders lost cast member John Rhys-Davies when the actor opted to depart after three seasons amid other cast changes. Sometime later, Rhys-Davies explained that he left due to conflicts with the writers. The veteran actor later explained that by the time he left the show, the scripts had become “incomprehensible gibberish.”

As if The Conners cast wasn’t already A+ enough with comedy heavyweights like John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf among the core ensemble, the ABC sitcom also knows how to deliver oodles of noteworthy guest stars of all kinds. We’ve seen Emmy winners such as Nick Offerman in Season 6, Grammy-earners like The Eagles’ Joe Walsh in Season 4, and full-on EGOT winners like Whoopi Goldberg in Season 5. (And can’t forget Super Bowl winner Aaron Rodgers’ cameoing on the Jeopardy! stage.)

But because The Conners was created atop the legacy of the primetime classic Roseanne, it’s one of the few shows that can pull off former character returns 30+ years after their original appearances. I could wax on about all the familiar faces that have returned over the years, from Johnny Galecki’s David to Meagen Fay as former neighbor Kathy Bowman, with former regular Natalie West’s Crystal Anderson most recently appearing.

Now let's look at some of the Roseanne characters who haven’t yet made modern-day returns, but would be absolutely fabulous to see again in this universe in one way or another.

Leon Carp (Martin Mull)

Comedy TV king Martin Mull was a regular presence throughout most of Roseanne’s run as one of the titular character’s thorniest besties, where part of that run had Leon married to Fred Willard’s Scott. He was such a memorable asset of the series, with or without Willard, that it’s almost baffling that Leon hasn’t yet shown up attempting to build a new diner across the street from the Lunchbox, or whatever the case would be. Mull appeared in a couple of Season 1 episodes of ABC’s Not Dead Yet in 2023, so I’m still holding out hope for Leon’s return.

Fred (Michael O'Keefe)

Caddyshack great Michael O'Keefe enjoyed a memorable stint on Roseanne as Fred, who may be better known as "the boyfriend of Jackie's who didn't abuse her, but did get her pregnant during their one-night stand, leading to a failed marriage." I'm not so hopeful about seeing Fred show up as the exact same character, however, since the revival-verse retconned his and Jacki's son Andy. But to me, that would make his return even more interesting.

Vonda Green (Charlayne Woodard)

Secret Invasion and Mayfair Witches vet Charlayne Woodard was one of the earliest cast members who helped populate Lanford around Roseanne, Dan and the Conner clan. As Roseanne's co-worker buddy Vonda, she was always good for a laugh-line, and it's always been a disappointment that Woodward bowed out of the show after Season 2. With Roseanne having died to kick The Conners off, it might not make a whole lot of narrative sense to bring Vonda back, but why would sense need to enter into it?

Booker Brooks (George Clooney)

I think many longtime Roseanne fans would agree that former co-star George Clooney would be the crown jewel of all returning cast members, even if his sometimes weasely Booker Brooks isn't necessarly the best character to have back. (Come at me, Booker!) But I'm all about having him return with a softer side, perhaps having gone into a medical career as an ER doctor. Clooney is a white whale behind the scenes as well, though The Conners did reference him in Season 3 for a fun story.

George (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

I can't really act as if Joseph Gordon-Levitt's recurring youngin George was a core part of what made Roseanne great or anything, but he was already a talented enough actor at that age to pop even if all he did was stammer a few lines out with performative nervousness. It would have made more sense to bring George back before Michael Fishman exited the show, since he was D.J.'s friend, but I can't think of a bad reason to get Gordon-Levitt on The Conners.

Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders)

Crime Story and True Detective vet Jay O. Sanders was pretty much destined to gain a bigger Roseanne presence after his initial two episodes as Dan's bike shop coworker Ziggy. He was reportedly asked to take on a recurring role that fell through, but regardless of whether that's true or not, seeing Sanders and John Goodman together again would be a treat.

Bonnie Watkins (Bonnie Bramlett)

Like Vonda, Bonnie was one of Roseanne's most memorable co-workers, as they spent many hours together at Rodbell's Department Store during Seasons 3 and 4. One of the plusses with Bonnie was that her husband was played by music icon David Crosby, and they were known to make some purdy melodies on occasion. Even without the late Crosby by her side, Bonnie's return to Lanford, presumably via motorcycle, could make for some great moments where characters fondly look back and share embarrassing stories that couldn't have been shown on TV at the time.

Dwight (William Sadler)

To be clear, I think William Sadler's Dwight showed enough of his turd personality in his two episodes of Roseanne that made it seem like he showed up a lot more often. However, Sadler is an excellent actor who's welcome to appear in anything I'm watching at the time, and I think it would be interesting to see how Dan and others handled Dwight's misogyny and shit-starting rudeness in the modern era.

Heather (Heather Matarazzo)

Season 9 cast member and indie movie kween Heather Matarazzo is another case of a great actor whose presence would be a plus for viewers, but would defy all manner of logic within this retcon-friendly canon. She portrayed D.J.'s girlfriend whose hornball energy turned Michael Fishman's character into a nervous wreck. Without D.J. around, Heather's return is questionable at best, but maybe we could find out she also dated Ben at some point, and then tries to get with him again. Whatever's most awkward for Darlene to deal with, probably.

Arnie (Tom Arnold)

Tom Arnold's presence on Roseanne, which was helped along him being married to the creator and star for a while, is possibly as polarizing as it gets for regular characters on the two sitcoms, since Arnie was a bit of an annoying sleazeball most of the time. Even when he was being authentically sweet to Nancy or whoever else, Arnold has a way of playing characters who seem impervious to the fact that all they're spewing is bullshit. And given Arnie was such a big part of the show during the first half of its run, only to disappear after Season 5, I'd like to see how many other women's lives he's screwed up over the years, if nothing else.

There are no doubt plenty of other Roseanne vets I'd love to see again that didn't make this list, as well as some that we've already seen return to The Conners. More Matthew Broderick and Candice Bergen, please.

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET. Head to our 2024 TV schedule to see what else is hitting the small screen soon.

Here’s some simple TV math: the longer a series airs, the less likely its original cast will remain intact, regardless of how beloved the show or actor is. The majority of popular series over the years have gone through at least one major exit, and it’s bad enough when changes are revealed early, and characters’ last episodes are planned out and logical. It's far worse, however, when actors suddenly exit projects without any on-screen closure.

Surprise departures can curb audiences' enjoyment of a show, whether from disrupted cast dynamics or shoddy storytelling. And depending on how controversial the exits are, a key departure can completely derail a show's success. So let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable instances when stars parted ways with projects without closing their characters' stories.

Anna Faris (Mom)

During Mom's hiatus following Season 7, co-star Anna Faris suddenly revealed she was leaving the show, which reportedly shocked the creative team as much as fans. Allison Janney & Co. went forward with the eighth season, occasionally referencing Faris’ character Christy, but it was canceled without any kind of conclusion for the character, though the creators made it clear they didn’t want to kill her off.

Chevy Chase (Community)

Community already suffered the exodus of creator Dan Harmon and more creatives in Season 4, and then Chevy Chase allegedly used a racial slur on the set, leading him to drop out of the NBC comedy through mutual agreement with network execs. His character Pierce appeared multiple times after his official exit, due to episodes airing out of order, as well as that hologram cameo in the Season 5 premiere, but the SNL vet never returned as a regular, and was unceremoniously killed off via dialogue two episodes after the cameo.

Danny Masterson (The Ranch)

That ‘70s Show vet Danny Masterson reteamed with Ashton Kutcher on Netflix’s sitcom The Ranch, but was fired in December 2017 after multiple assault allegations against him were publicized. Masterson later faced trial, was convicted and sentenced to prison in September 2023, and did not return as Rooster Bennett, who was written as missing and presumed dead via motorcycle accident.

Suzanne Somers (Three's Company)

Three’s Company's early seasons were bolstered by the popularity of Suzanne Somers’ Chrissy Snow, but network execs reportedly refused the actress’ salary increase requests, leading to a unique stalemate agreement. Somers made only contractually obligated appearances in Season 4 episodes' closing tag scenes, which she filmed separately from her co-stars. Somers was fired by the season’s end, with Chrissy said to be caring for her sick mom in Fresno.

Corey Hawkins (The Walking Dead)

Corey Hawkins joined The Walking Dead Season 6 as comic book fan-favorite Heath, but Straight Outta Compton's release that same year shot him to Hollywood’s stratosphere. In one of TWD’s most baffling moments, Heath disappeared in Season 7, and was never seen from again. Reportedly, Heath would have returned for the movies, but those plans have been shut down.

Emmy Rossum (Shameless)

The final two years of Shameless' 11-season run were without Emmy Rossum’s Fiona Gallagher. The actress announced her shocking exit in 2018, and Fiona’s final appearance came in the emotional Season 9 finale. Despite fans’ hopes, Rossum opted not to return for cameos in the remaining seasons, and the series finale wrapped without any major Fiona updates.

Mandy Patinkin (Criminal Minds)

Criminal Minds began its lengthy run with Mandy Patinkin’s Jason Gideon running the BAU, but that changed ahead of the third season when Patinkin left the show entirely over his disgust with the violent storylines. (He called joining the crime drama his “biggest public mistake” in 2012.) Gideon was replaced and killed off-screen seven seasons later, with Ben Savage guest-starring as young Gideon in flashbacks.

Columbus Short (Scandal)

Ahead of Scandal's Season 3 finale, co-star Columbus Short was arrested over a physical altercation at an L.A. restaurant, and eventually confessed he’d developed drinking and drug habits while dealing with a divorce and custody disputes. Short was fired from Scandal in April 2014, and his character Harrison Wright was revealed in Season 4 to have been killed off.

Gina Carano (The Mandalorian)

Former MMA badass Gina Carano landed the role of Star Wars merc Cara Dune in The Mandalorian, but lost the gig in February 2021. Following a series of controversial social media moves, Lucasfilm announced she would no longer be involved in the show. Cara Dune was not recast, and has not returned to the franchise since the Season 2 finale.

Valerie Harper (Valerie)

The Hogan Family began its existence as Valerie, starring the Emmy-winning Valerie Harper as its lead matriarch for two seasons. She was later fired after salary disputes and sued NBC and production company Lorimar. While her initial claims were dismissed, a judge ruled Harper was indeed wrongfully terminated, netting her a financial win. Her character suffered an offscreen death, leading to the series' name changes.

Robert Downey Jr. (Ally McBeal)

Following a string of 1990s scandals, Robert Downey Jr. landed the role of love interest Larry Paul in Season 4 of Fox’s hit dramedy Ally McBeal, which earned him a Golden Globe. But additional arrests in late 2000 and 2001 led creator David E. Kelley to cut ties with RDJ completely. The fifth season, which would have chronicled Ally and Larry’s post-wedding bliss, had to be completely rewritten.

Shannen Doherty (Charmed)

Though Charmed’s eldest sister Prue Halliwell was the trio's most powerful, the third season finale left Shannen Doherty’s character facing possible death. Though presumptions held that she’d return for Season 4, tensions and more issues surrounding Doherty and Alyssa Milano led to Doherty’s firing via phone call. As such, Prue’s wounds turned out to be fatal, but Doherty did not return for the funeral episode.

Clayne Crawford (Lethal Weapon)

Fox’s iteration of Lethal Weapon paired Rectify vet Clayne Crawford with Damon Wayans. But instead of buddy cop love, reports indicated strife and hostility building between the co-stars, along with complaints about Crawford's directorial work. His exit was reported on the day of the Season 2 finale, which ended on a cliffhanger for his character Riggs, who was unsurprisingly revealed to have succumbed to his wounds. Seann William Scott joined Season 3 as a replacement.

Grace Park (Hawaii Five-0)

After seven seasons portraying Kono Kalakaua for CBS’ Hawaii Five-0 reboot, Grace Park opted to vacate her role alongside Daniel Dae Kim after their attempts to secure pay equality with co-stars Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan were turned down by CBS Television Studios. Kono was revealed to have relocated to Carson City, Nevada, as part of a trafficking task force, with Danny sharing their break-up update in Season 9.

Thomas Gibson (Criminal Minds)

Various Criminal Minds stars exited the drama for different reasons, but Thomas Gibson’s case. stands out. Despite the show still being early into filming Season 12, ABC Studios and CBS Studios revealed the actor’s termination via a joint statement in August 2016, less than a week after Gibson was suspended over an on-set altercation with a writer-producer. A later episode revealed his character Aaron “Hotch” Hotchner entered Witness Protection after discovering serial killer Peter Lewis stalking his son Jack.

Roseanne Barr (Roseanne)

One of the '90s' biggest sitcoms returned to ABC in 2018, with Roseanne bringing comedian Roseanne Barr back as its matriarch. But that return only lasted for a single season, as Barr tweeted a message about former White House Advisor Valerie Jarrett that was considered racist, and two months after its Season 11 renewal, Roseanne was effectively canceled. The network relaunched without Barr as The Conners, which kicked off its run by killing off Roseanne Conner via drug overdose.

Charlie Sheen (Two And A Half Men)

Two and a Half Men thrived on the chemistry between Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer, but the show went into hiatus in 2011 due to Sheen’s then-latest rehab stint, at which point the actor began slamming CBS and Chuck Lorre in a variety of high-profile interviews. Season 8 was then shut down mid-production, with Sheen’s firing later capping things off. His public meltdowns continued capturing headlines as Ashton Kutcher helped fill the Charlie void, and unfortunately didn't make good on rumors of his series finale return.

Lisa Edelstein (House)

Across her years as Dr. Lisa Cuddy, House star Lisa Edelstein went from playing contentious boss to adoring lover. Upon Season 7’s end, she and two co-stars were asked to take salary cuts during contract negotiations, with Edelstein being the lone holdout. She announced her exit ahead of Season 8, and Cuddy was later revealed to have quit as Dean of Medicine, with Omar Epps’ Eric Foreman taking on the duties for the final season.

James Garner (Maverick)

For three seasons, James Garner portrayed Maverick's title character Bret Maverick, but the 1960 writers' strike helped bring that run to a sudden close. When Warner Bros. attempted to lay Garner off due to a lack of scripts, he fought back and successfully sued the studio for breach of contract. According to the actor, he personally turned down an offer to return with a raise, saying, “I want out,” and though Bret appeared in an airing-delayed Season 4 ep which was filmed far earlier, Garner did not return, with fill-in stars Roger Moore and Robert Colbert added later.

Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy)

Katherine Heigl took a temporary leave from Grey’s Anatomy in Season 6 to shoot a movie and spend time with her adopted daughter, which sparked her to request to be released from her contract 18 months early. Disputes have raged on over how her sudden exit was handled, considering Izzy never experienced an official “farewell” scene. Alex Karev’s final ep specifically noted that he and Izzy were back together and raising twins in Kansas. While Heigl notably reunited with former co-stars at the Emmys, giving fans hope that Izzy could return, she has yet to justify those hopes.

Jeff Garlin (The Goldbergs)

Nine months after The Goldbergs co-star George Segal died at 87, lead actor Jeff Garlin vacated the show following multiple HR investigations into allegations of misconduct. The departure was said to be a mutual agreement between the actor and the producers and network, and because it happened in the middle of filming Season 9, the producers used CGI, physical stand-ins, and archival audio to make it appear as if Murray was still around. The writers ditched that idea going into Season 10, though, and revealed Murray's off-camera death.

Freema Agyeman (New Amsterdam)

Freema Agyeman portrayed New Amsterdam's oncology chief Dr. Helen Sharpe for four seasons, and while many expected her back for the fifth and final season, the actress shockingly announced her exit amid the summer hiatus, cheekily pleading for fans to continue Sharpe’s story via fan-fiction. She went on to co-star in the series Dreamland, cementing Sharpe and Dr. Goodwin’s break-up, and though the character did appear on TV in a later Season 5 episode, it was without any overarching updates.

Hartley Sawyer (The Flash)

In 2017, actor Hartley Sawyer landed his stretchiest role yet as The Flash’s Ralph Dibny, a.k.a. Elongated Man. Three years later, in response to his comments about Black Lives Matter, social media users pulled up multiple derogatory and offensive tweets the actor posted between the years of 2009-2014. He publicly apologized for the posts, but a week after waves were made, Warner Bros. TV and The CW fired Sawyer from The Flash, which used an uncredited body double for Season 7’s “Mother” to write Ralph out alongside Sue Dearbon.

Jill Marie Jones (Girlfriends)

Jill Marie Jones crushed it as Girlfriends’ ego-driven Toni Childs for six seasons but was the only main cast holdout who exited the dramedy ahead of Season 7 over her contract expiring. Jones' exit was explained through Toni moving to New York City at the end of Season 6, but Jones spoke openly in 2007 about feeling that Toni’s story wasn’t over and that she'd be willing to return if the writers put something together. Alas, the show was canceled in 2008 before that could happen.

Lori Loughlin (Fuller House)

Lori Loughlin returned to her Full House role of Rebecca for the Netflix continuation series Fuller House, but her appearances ceased in Season 4 after she was fired by Netflix over her and her husband Mossimo Giannulli’s actions regarding the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal. Though the actress was later able to reprise her When Calls the Heart character, Aunt Becky didn't return at all for Season 5.

Kevin Spacey (House Of Cards)

Alongside Robin Wright, Kevin Spacey made streaming TV normal with Netflix’s House of Cards. In the weeks ahead of Season 6's production, Spacey faced widely publicized accusations from actor Anthony Rapp, was subsequently fired by Netflix and was removed from executive producer duties. His character Frank Underwood was revealed to have been poisoned and died ahead of the Season 6 premiere.

Leanna Creel (Saved By The Bell)

Leanna Creel’s Tori Scott remains one of pop culture's biggest curiosities, having slid into NBC’s Saved by the Bell for its final season during a run of episodes lacking Tiffani Thiessen’s Kelly and Elizabeth Berkley’s Jessie. The leather-clad character shook things up for Zack & Co. for just ten episodes, and was never heard from again.

Wayne Rogers (MASH)

Three years after joining CBS' MASH, actor Wayne Rogers grew discouraged by his character Trapper John not reaching his expectations, and unexpectedly opted to quit the hit series ahead of its fourth season. But while fellow exiting co-star McLean Stevenson was able to be written out of the Season 3 finale, Trapper John's absence had to be explained away in the Season 4 premiere without Rogers around.

Ruby Rose (Batwoman)

Batwoman’s first foray into live-action saw Ruby Rose wearing Kate Kane's cape and cowl, but she left the Arrowverse series shortly after the first season ended. Reports noted she was fired over on-set behavior, with Rose claiming the show’s taxing nature led her to suffer back surgery following an alleged on-set accident. Replaced as a lead by Javicia Leslie's Ryan Wilder, Kate later returned in a different physical form without Rose’s involvement.

Kate Jackson (Charlie's Angels)

O.G. Charlie’s Angels star Kate Jackson won viewers’ hearts for three years as Sabrina Duncan, which is when she followed former co-star Farrah Fawcett out the door. Jackson spoke warily of the writers’ scripts, and after being denied the opportunity to join Kramer vs. Kramer due to scheduling, she intentionally caused an on-set mess that led to her dismissal ahead of Season 4. Replaced by Shelley Hack’s Tiffany Wells, Sabrina was revealed to have left the agency to become a mother.

Jon Seda (Chicago P.D.)

Jon Seda’s Antonio Dawson jumped from Chicago Fire to P.D. to Justice and back again for seven years. Surprisingly, NBC and Wolf Entertainment chose not to renew Seda’s contract ahead of Chicago P.D.'s seventh season, and he was let go. Later episodes revealed the character fell back into pill addiction following the prior finale's cliffhanger, and he was checked into rehab, eventually moving to Puerto Rico after resigning from the force.

Selma Blair (Anger Management)

Charlie Sheen followed Two and a Half Men with the comedy Anger Management, co-starring Selma Blair for part of its run as his colleague and fling interest Dr. Kate Wales. Conflict between Blair and Sheen bled into the tabloids, and a reported ultimatum from Sheen led producers to fire Blair, with her character suddenly being explained away as having moved to India.

In the annals of memorable holiday bops, there’s no denying the fact that one holiday in particular gets the bulk of the attention. But thanks to Saturday Night Live and Adam Sandler, the past three decades or so have been blessed with what may be the greatest yuletide song that isn’t specifically about Christmas, “The Chanukah Song.” But it wasn’t always intended to be the Sandman belting out those lyrics, as the Happy Gilmore star revealed while promoting his new Netflix movie Leo that the show’s producers originally asked sitcom vet Roseanne Barr to perform the song. Which, in hindsight, sounds like it would have been fodder for one of the show’s satire-driven sketches.

Later appearing on Sandler’s hilarious 1996 comedy album What the Hell Happened to Me?, “The Chanukah Song” was initially performed live on the Studio 8H stage back on December 3, 1994, just months before he and Chris Farley were unofficially fired by network execs. (A situation he sang about during his 2019 return as host.) Speaking with Access Hollywood, the actor revealed that the Roseanne star was initially pegged to sing about Jewish celebrities and pop culture figures, but politely declined. In his words: 

Power to Roseanne Barr for giving credit where credit was due in that instance, since it’s almost impossible to imagine anyone’s voice but Adam Sandler’s belting out lyrics about the Three Stooges and Bowzer from Sha Na Na. Because for all that the track is indeed a comedy song that inspires laughs, it’s become a legitimate go-to song for fans of all religious backgrounds to rock out to in December. To the point where Sandler wrote and performed three follow-up versions in the interim years, with “The Chanukah SongPart IV” first arriving in 2015. 

I can’t imagine the song’s popularity and legacy would have been comparable had Barr been the comedian to introduce it to the world at large. Especially since the Emmy winner’s most memorable musical performance was her heavily lambasted rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which she sang for a San Diego Padres game in 1990. Let’s relive that audio masterpiece below. 

Adam Sandler’s no Celine Dion or anything, but we can all be thankful that his version of “The Chanukah Song” isn’t on par with shoving piranhas into one’s ears. Not that Barr isn’t capable of better singing. I’m just not sure that would have been her end-goal during that point in her career. 

Speaking of, events from later in her career are also part of why it seems bonkers for her to have been asked to sing the holiday ditty. Back in 2009, Barr garnered much outrage over posing as Adolf HItler for the highly satirical Jewish magazine Heeb, despite the idea that she was meant to be making fun of the former Nazi leader. In later years, the comedian sparked headlines at various points for sharing unfounded conspiracy theories on social media — including one claiming Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg flashed a Nazi salute at the 2018 March for Our Lives rally — and most infamously was fired from ABC’s Roseanne revival over a tweet about President Obama’s then-senior advisor Valerie Jarrett that was viewed as being racist. 

While it’s certainly possible that Roseanne Barr’s life would have gone in different directions had she been the one to hit the 30 Rock stage with “The Chanukah Song,” without as many controversies lining those paths, it’s obviously impossible to know. But I think it’s relatively safe to assume that the Hanukkah-celebrating song wouldn’t have reached the levels of fame that it has with Sandler behind it.

When asked if he could have ever predicted just how big and beloved “The Chanukah Song” would become, Sandler said:

There’s no time like the present to relisten to the original, right? Put on those yarmulkes and hit play.

While waiting for Christmas, Hanukkah and other upcoming holiday celebrations, be sure to stream Sandler’s new movie Leo with a Netflix subscription, while nearly 50 years of Saturday Night Live episodes are available to stream with a Peacock subscription.

Moms always deserve more credit than they get, and that goes for the wonderful matriarchs who have graced our television screens over the years. Characters like Carol Brady and Clair Huxtable are names that easily come to mind when thinking about the best TV moms, but there are so many more that deserve to be mentioned.

Sometimes mothers make mistakes despite trying their best. Others show their love in more unconventional ways, and some just seem to always get outshined by other members of their family. For one reason or another, below are some fantastic TV moms who never got enough credit.

Ruth Fisher (Six Feet Under)

Ruth Fisher’s whole life changed when her husband was killed in a car accident in the Six Feet Under series premiere. Not only was she tasked with continuing to run her family’s funeral home business, and come to terms with her own guilt, loneliness and identity, she had to help guide her grown children through their own grief. Ruth (Frances Conroy) wasn’t perfect — no issue on the HBO drama was black-and-white — but there was no question that she had put her children’s needs first for her whole life. 

Beth Pearson (This Is Us) 

When your mother-in-law is the indomitable Rebecca Pearson, it’s pretty easy to get overshadowed as a mom, and that’s precisely why Beth Pearson (Susan Kelechi Watson) on This Is Us never got enough credit. Her husband Randall was definitely a good partner, but Beth was the real MVP of the parenting dynamic duo, often able to anticipate her family’s emotions and sniff out any scheming going on with their three daughters. She even became a mother figure to many more by opening her own dance studio. 

Sarah Braverman (Parenthood) 

Parenthood gave viewers plenty of different family dynamics to dissect, and Kristina Braverman was tough to beat as a mother, going so far as to open up a charter school for children with special needs. So it's no wonder that her sister-in-law, former wild child Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham), was never given much credit. Sarah struggled to raise Amber and Drew as a single mother, and boy did they not make it easy on her. She may not have always had all the answers, but she loved her kids first, and in the end they figured it out together. 

Rainbow Johnson (black-ish) 

Rainbow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Johnson) on black-ish deserves all the flowers, serving as the model of a successful working mom. Rainbow juggled being a doctor and raising five children, whom she respected as individuals. She put their problems ahead of her own to make sure they had a better life than she did as a kid. 

Lorelai Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) 

Lorelai Gilmore’s daughter Rory could always count on her mom for a snappy joke or pop culture reference, but Lorelai (Lauren Graham) certainly didn’t have it easy. Her relationship with her own parents was strained after getting pregnant at just 16 years old, making it all the more impressive when she made a life for her and Rory in Stars Hollow. She struggled at times to be patient with her own daughter’s mistakes, but she wasn’t too proud to accept her parents’ help when it benefited Rory. 

Marge Simpson (The Simpsons) 

Would the Simpson family even survive without Marge? Easily the most underappreciated of the family of five, Marge never got any help from Homer over the decades, as she raised three extremely different and never-aging children. In fact, Homer was more of a fourth child in that equation, and still Marge loved her husband and her kids. I don’t think there’s a person in the world who could blame her for the occasional frustrated grunt. 

Michonne (The Walking Dead) 

Despite her own trauma of losing a child in the walker outbreak, The Walking Dead’s Michonne (Danai Gurira) adopted Carl and Judith as her own (before going on have her own child with Rick Grimes), and she never hesitated to put her own life at risk to save them. 

Penelope Alvarez (One Day at a Time) 

Despite being a war veteran struggling with her own PTSD and depression, Penelope Alvarez (Justina Machado) was always able to give her children the attention they needed on One Day at a Time. She made the time, even while working as a nurse and living with her traditional Cuban mother. 

Morticia Addams (The Addams Family) 

Morticia Addams (portrayed in the 1964 sitcom The Addams Family by Carolyn Jones) was the epitome of unconventional, but was there ever a TV mom who encouraged her children to be themselves more than her? Never bending to the expectations and societal norms of those around her, Morticia was always loyal to and protective of her family, if not a bit macabre. 

Jane Villanueva (Jane the Virgin) 

Talk about life taking you in unexpected directions! Gina Rodriguez’s Jane Villanueva on Jane the Virgin had her own matriarchs to thank for being able to figure things out when she got pregnant by accidental artificial insemination. Such grace in the most unique of situations. 

Claire Dunphy (Modern Family) 

Nobody said you had to have everything together in order to be a good mom. Claire Dunphy (Julie Bowen) of Modern Family often struggled with how to approach the myriad hurdles of her blended and extended family, but fans found her relatable, and she deserved a lot more credit than she got. 

Gemma Teller Morrow (Sons of Anarchy) 

The characters in the world of Sons of Anarchy all knew one thing: Don’t mess with Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) or her family, including any of the members of SAMCRO. Gemma was willing to kill or die for her son Jax, and boy did she prove it.  

Laurel Park (The Summer I Turned Pretty) 

Often the less-fun mom in comparison to her BFF Susannah, Laurel Park (Jackie Chung) was undoubtedly more responsible of the two in the book-to-screen adaptation of The Summer I Turned Pretty. Even when grief drove her and Susannah’s kids to make some pretty bad decisions, she handled the teens with understanding and grace. 

Skyler White (Breaking Bad) 

Boy did people give Skyler White (Anna Gunn) grief during Breaking Bad’s run on AMC. Sure, she was complicit in some of Walter White’s money laundering, but it’s not like she was left with much of a choice. Always doing what she thought was best for her family, she was fiercely protective of her kids — even when that meant standing up to her husband when he was at his most dangerous. 

Peggy Bundy (Married… With Children) 

Peggy Bundy (Katey Sagal) had a lot of qualities you might not look for in a good TV mom on Married… with Children. She was lazy, obsessed with the television and didn’t exactly set the best example for the kids. She still deserves more credit than she gets, though, because she was unapologetically herself and nurturing in her own way. 

Roseanne Conner (Roseanne) 

Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) wasn’t perfect on her self-titled sitcom, but what family is? Her and Dan’s struggles to make ends meet while still wanting more for their kids was what made her relatable to so many. Her blunt and brutal honesty was what made her so funny.  

Chilli Heeler (Bluey) 

Chilli, better known as “Mum” to the Bluey viewing audience, definitely doesn’t get as much credit in the fun department as Bluey and Bingo’s dad Bandit, but somebody’s got to remember to pack the goggles, towels and sunscreen for a day at the pool, right? Chilli takes care of a lot of the “boring” stuff, which apparently is not just a thing for human moms. 

Harriette Winslow (Family Matters)  

Harriette Winslow (played by Jo Marie Payton until the middle of the final season) may not get brought up in the “Best TV Moms” conversation all that often, but she definitely should. If for no other reason, she kept her patience with Family Matters fan favorite Steve Urkel a lot longer than many would have. 

Linda Belcher (Bob’s Burgers) 

Sometimes when it comes to moms and their eccentric families, it’s hard to understand how they fit in. That’s not the case with Linda Belcher on Bob’s Burgers, who may be the matriarch, but she’s as big a mess as any of them, and I mean that in the best way. Linda is wild and funny while still being incredibly loving and supportive. 

Jean Weir (Freaks and Geeks) 

Helping your children navigate their formative years is not an easy task, and Jean Weir (Becky Ann Baker) on Freaks and Geeks definitely had her work cut out for her with her polar-opposite kiddos Lindsay and Sam. While her efforts were hit-and-miss, she wanted to connect with them so badly, and you just had to appreciate her goofy, sometimes-overbearing personality. 

Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis (Full House) 

Of course Rebecca Donaldson (aka “Aunt Becky”) would go on to have twins with “Uncle Jesse” Katsopolis, but Lori Loughlin’s character on Full House was earning mom points years before that, as she gave motherly advice to Michelle, Stephanie and especially DJ after their own mom’s passing. The importance of her role to them can’t be overstated. 

Jessica Huang (Fresh Off The Boat) 

Jessica Huang (Constance Wu) may be the queen to her kids’ pawns in the chess game of life, but the high expectations the Fresh Off the Boat matriarch set for her children just showed how much she believed in them. She was firm but devoted, and sometimes we forget those tough moms have just as much love to give. 

Carol Foster-Lambert (Step By Step) 

Anybody who successfully blends families the way the Fosters and Lamberts did on Step by Step deserves some major mom snaps, especially given the spectrum of personalities Carol Foster-Lambert’s children and stepchildren exhibited. There were growing pains, of course, but it couldn’t have worked without the endless love and support of Suzanne Somers’ character. 

Jane Chapman (Big Little Lies) 

Given the trauma that Jane Chapman endured on Big Little Lies, there’s no wondering why she’s slow to trust people, or why she’s so protective of her son Ziggy. Never as perky or interesting or seemingly perfect as the other moms around her, her strength to survive and provide for Ziggy shouldn’t go unheralded. 

Kitty Forman (That ‘70s Show) 

We all know that one mom who unofficially adopts all of her kids’ friends as her own, and on That ‘70s Show, it was Eric and Laurie’s mother Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp). It speaks volumes that everybody always felt at home there, despite her husband Red’s eternally grouchy disposition. She may not get enough credit as a great TV mom, but she’s unrivaled in infectious laughter. 

Carmela Soprano (The Sopranos) 

All moms have a lot on their plates, and let's face it: Parenting is just plain hard. So Edie Falco's Carmela Soprano on The Sopranos probably deserves some extra credit for also being married to a mob boss. Even if she didn't deserve it, I'd give it to her anyway.

Annie Marks (Good Girls) 

Good Girls shows just how far moms will go when they’re desperate to provide for their children. Mae Whitman played young single mother Annie Marks, but despite Annie's dangerous lifestyle, she prioritized her child and was a beacon of support during an emotional coming out story. 

Christy Jolene Plunkett (Mom) 

A special shoutout to the moms who are figuring it out after not having a particularly good role model themselves. This was the case for Christy (Anna Faris) on Mom, who always did her best as she faced her own struggles with sobriety and the complex relationship with her mom Bonnie. 

Amy Sosa (Superstore) 

Amy Sosa’s kids may not have been the central focus of Superstore, but America Ferrera’s character gave a voice to many mothers out there through her storyline about having to return to work after 48 hours because the store didn’t offer maternity leave. 

Cindy Walsh (Beverly Hills, 90210) 

Good role models seemed to be severely lacking on Beverly Hills 90210, so that should have made Cindy Walsh (Carol Potter) stand out more as one of TV’s greatest moms. She kept Brandon and Brenda grounded, while providing support as needed to their friends. Cindy put her own pain aside, only rarely showing that she, too, had struggled with the move from Minnesota to the sunny West Coast. 

Samantha Stephens (Bewitched) 

It can’t be easy being a witch living in a non-magical world, but that’s the reality Elizabeth Montgomery’s Samantha Stephens was faced with on Bewitched. Both of her and Darrin’s children also had the nose-twitching powers, and while it’s debatable whether those abilities were best kept under wraps or not, it’s obvious that Samantha just wanted to keep her husband happy and do what was best for the kids. 

Sam Fox (Better Things) 

Loosely based on Pamela Adlon’s own life as a single mom of three daughters, Better Things’ Sam Fox was the perfect combination of protective but not overbearing. She was willing to lay down the law, but the lines of communication were always open for honest conversations about real — and sometimes tough — issues. 

Nora Walker (Brothers & Sisters) 

Nora Walker (Sally Field) isn't often mentioned in the same sentence as TV mom icons like June Cleaver or Clair Huxtable, but she should be. In the wake of her cheating husband's death, Nora didn't have just her own problems to deal with, but she took on those of her grown children as well. In addition to being graceful, honest and loving through all the ups and downs, Nora knew how to keep the wine flowing too.

This is really just a handful of TV moms who don't get enough credit, because if we're being honest, can we ever really show too much appreciation for the women who doled out life lessons from the television screen? I didn't think so. 

Since being fired from her eponymous sitcom revival in 2018, Roseanne Barr has been busy in other ways. She’s participated in a number of interviews and even returned to stand-up comedy. Most recently, she’s booked a new gig that already seems to be drawing responses from the general public. Barr just signed on to join a new “anti-woke” show that’ll be available through Elon Musk’s X (formerly known as Twitter). One of her former co-stars, Sandra Bernhard, has since weighed in. And while the veteran comedian praised Barr’s contributions to the industry, she had not-so-positive thoughts on her latest business venture. 

Sandra Bernhard played the role of Nancy Bartlett during Roseanne’s original run on ABC and appeared during one episode of the Season 10 revival. Nancy was a good friend of Roseanne Barr’s titular character and, due to that on-screen relationship, Bartlett herself got particularly close with her co-star. Their close link is what prompted a viewer to ask Bernhard, for an episode of Watch What Happens Live, when she’d last spoken to Barr. They also wanted her thoughts on the upcoming streaming show. Ultimately, the King of Comedy alum offered a balanced and honest response to host Andy Cohen: 

It’s true that the 70-year-old She-Devil alum became something of a trailblazer after she burst onto the comedy scene in the ‘80s. Her brutally honest takes on society and women’s supposed roles in it were praised by commentators. A lot of those very ideals were also integrated into her ABC comedy, which debuted in 1988. So it’s understandable why Sandra Bernhard would want to give her estranged friend her flowers, in that regard. And of course, she’s also entitled to her opinion when it comes to the new show.

At this point, there isn’t much specific information available on Roseanne Barr’s latest small-screen offering. What is known is that she’s working on it in collaboration with conservative-leaning company Publicsq, per The New York Post. The news outfit speculates that the project could have a half-hour format and utilize sketch comedy or written monlogues. It’s apparently possible that it could also air on a monthly basis.

The Home on the Range actress has never been one to hold back her thoughts, and that might ring true when it comes to her new show. However, her comments and actions have gotten her into hot water, from time to time. She received massive backlash after she participated in a Hitler-themed photoshoot in 2009. The stand-up veteran also drew public ire for sending out controversial tweets related to the death of Trayvon Martin and the Parkland, Florida school shooting of 2018. It was ultimately a tweet that led to her firing from ABC, as she shared a post in which she criticized former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett. The comedian joked that Jarrett is what one would get if “muslim brotherhood & plent of the apes had a baby.”

After that, Roseanne Barr was fired from the alphabet network, and her revived sitcom was cancelled, apparently despite Barr begging against that. However, the franchise was later revamped in the form of spinoff series The Conners. Early on, Barr revealed that her character would be killed off and was displeased with the fictional death. Since her exit, the star has been candid about losing everything after getting the axe. She’s also had choice words for former co-star Sara Gilbert, who she says “stabbed me in the back.” 

Up to this point, it seemed Roseanne Barr was no longer close to much of the primary cast of Roseanne, and it seems we can add Sandra Bernhard to that list. That aside, we’ll have to wait and see how Barr’s new “anti-woke” show pans out. Though one gets the impression that Bernhard may not be one of the people who checks it out upon its debut. 

You can see both actresses on classic episodes of Roseanne, which are available to stream with a Peacock subscription. Meanwhile, all seasons of The Conners can be accessed by Hulu subscription holders.

Roseanne Barr was a controversial figure even before her dismissal from her revival series and earned a reputation for saying things that might raise some eyebrows. So when Barr went viral recently for comments that seemingly denied the Holocaust and called for the death of Jewish people, she was called out by many. In the midst of that, comedian Theo Von, the host of the podcast on which Barr made the statements, came to her defense. 

Theo Von welcomed Roseanne Barr on his podcast This Past Weekend, where the duo discussed a wide variety of topics. A clip from the conversation went viral where Barr denied that the 2020 election was rigged and said that anyone who questions that is immediately de-platformed online. She then added that the Holocaust didn't happen either and that six million Jewish people weren't killed but should be. The comments, seemingly, were meant to claim that not being allowed to suggest the facts of the election without penalty was as damaging as making harmful statements about the Holocaust. 

Roseanne Barr's comparison to the Holocaust, as well as other parts of the clip, made some angry on social media. Von defended Barr on Twitter, however, by saying the viral moment was taken out of context:

Theo Von, who has caught on like wildfire on platforms like TikTok and Instagram with his storytelling and style of humor, came to Roseanne Barr's defense to clarify the context to the clip. There are past instances in which Barr said something that fans could question, but Von said these latest statements were not meant to be taken literally. 

To prove that point, Theo Von uploaded the full video of the segment in which he and Barr were speaking. Readers can check out the full video below, which includes the controversial Holocaust statement, and see what Von called an obvious use of "sarcasm and satire."

This isn't Roseanne Barr's first time at the center of controversy by far. She caused outrage decades ago when she dressed up as Hitler and did a photoshoot of her cooking gingerbread men in an oven. Barr has since said she did the stunt in the name of satire, and the photos appeared in a satirical Jewish magazine Heeb (via HeebMagazine.com). That past controversy was likely in the minds of a few when this latest clip made its rounds. 

Despite her controversies, Roseanne Barr has managed to still find support from comedians like Theo Von, and even her former co-star John Goodman. Goodman recently talked about missing Barr and wished her well. 

Anyone with a Netflix subscription can check out more of Theo Von by looking up his stand-up special Regular People. As for Roseanne Barr, her latest comedy special, Cancel This!, is available to stream on Fox Nation. With the summer months upon us, now might be a great time to check out what stand-up is available on streaming. You can also find Roseanne streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.

In the five years since Roseanne was canceled and subsequently renamed, stand-up comedian Roseanne Barr largely remains in the shadow of her previous levels of fame, while The Conners has settled in as ABC’s most dependable comedy hit. Though Barr hasn’t pulled punches when it comes to blaming Sara Gilbert for what she considers to be a backstabbing, things were never so contentious with her former TV hubby John Goodman, The actor offered the relatively rare voice of sympathy regarding Barr’s situation at the time, and he’s now reflected on speaking up for her at the time, while also sharing his thoughts on potentially working with her again.

Comedy fans have recently been celebrating John Goodman’s return to the role of Eli Gemstone for Season 3 of HBO’s acclaimed satire The Righteous Gemstones. When speaking to Variety at this year’s Monte-Carlo Television Festival in part about bringing the televangelist family back for more dysfunctional chaos, Goodman was asked if he regretted speaking in her defense, which included his viewpoint that “she’s not a racist.” Here’s how he responded: 

Back in May 2018, Barr shared a tweet joking that Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to former POTUS Barack Obama, was the result if the "muslim brotherhood & plent of the apes had a baby," which was widely considered to be racist in nature, despite the actress' claims that she was unaware of Jarrett's race. The immediate backlash against her, which Barr maintains was due to her support for then-President Donald Trump, spurred ABC's first Black president, Channing Dungey, to cancel the sitcom in its original capacity. Its successor, The Conners, left zero room for the former star to return, with the creative team choosing to kill her off via painkiller addiction, which Barr has spoken out against.

Despite the character's in-universe death — which could feasibly be retconned even after all these years, given Roseanne's completely washed-over season where the clan won the lottery — the show has offered a number of references to the beloved family matriarch. It doesn't seem very likely at all that the stand-up queen would ever return for a cameo, even if she was asked, but would John Goodman be interested in sharing the screen with her again? He doesn't sound wholly against the idea, saying:

Obviously Goodman was in something of a difficult position even just answering what doesn't seem like the most inflammatory question. To say that he would absolutely love to work with Roseanne Barr again would likely ruffle the feathers of those who remain angriest about the latter's behavior. But to keep his distance by saying he doesn't want to work with her again may enrage those who remain persistently defensive about her TV ousting. 

Also to his point, who knows if Barr would even want to work with Goodman again after the whole Conners kerfuffle. She did share some public praise for him at the time when he initially defended her as being a non-racist, so there presumably isn't the same amount of bad blood as what exists regarding Sara Gilbert. But I'd think audiences would have far better chances of seeing her pop up on HBO's Righteous Gemstones than having her show up for ABC sitcom shenanigans. 

The Conners fans will be waiting way longer than usual for new episodes, which is pretty much the case for a lot of scripted TV, given the ongoing WGA writers strike that has kept productions from restarting in earnest.

The Conners recently received good news from ABC, with the announcement of a sixth season to come this fall (though probably later than usual). However, as fans celebrate the renewal news, it might be easy to forget that five years ago the spinoff was born after controversial comments from Rosanne Barr caused the cancellation of her eponymous sitcom. Barr certainly hasn’t forgotten that, and she spoke out again recently, putting the blame on her former co-star Sara Gilbert, saying that The Conners star “stabbed me in the back.”

Roseanne Barr has seemingly always seen Sara Gilbert as the reason the Roseanne revival came to end, after the Darlene portrayer denounced Barr’s racist tweet about former Barack Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett, with Barr even comparing Gilbert to Hanibal Lector. The former queen of primetime repeated similar sentiments on The Megyn Kelly Show’s YouTube channel in a conversation about cancel culture, in which Barr said: 

Not only does Roseanne Barr feel that Sara Gilbert speaking out on Twitter led to her show’s cancellation, but she was clearly hurt by her former co-star’s discussions of the issue on the CBS daytime talk show. 

However, the Roseanne star was known at the time for tweeting her strong opinions, and ABC had reportedly already contacted her on multiple occasions about her Twitter rage. The racist comment toward Valerie Jarrett proved to be the nail in the sitcom’s coffin, and for that of her character.

When The Conners premiered in 2018 sans-Roseanne Barr, it was revealed that the Conner matriarch had died of an opioid overdose. The actress spoke about her distaste for that decision at the time, and she divulged to Megyn Kelly that she took the message personally, saying it wasn’t just her TV character who died, but her personal character as well. She explained: 

Thankfully, it didn’t come to that, and Roseanne Barr admitted that she thinks she’s better off without her former co-stars in her life now. You can see their conversation below: 

While the comedian hasn’t appeared on television since her fall from grace, she did record a standup special, Roseanne Barr: Cancel This!, in which she namechecked Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. in regard to their own controversies.

As for The Conners, the ongoing WGA writers strike has things up in the air in regards to its Season 6 premiere date, but keep an eye on the 2023 TV schedule to see all of the upcoming premieres. 

Five years ago, there was a point when it was impossible to seek out pop culture news without Roseanne Barr's controversial fall from sitcom grace taking over headlines, with Roseanne's high-profile cancellation giving way to The Conners' existence. Now, she’s made her small-screen return in a way that has embraced her comedic roots, with the recent debut of Fox Nation’s stand-up comedy special Roseanne Barr: Cancel This! Understandably, it has sparked quite a bit of looking back at that tumultuous period, and she brought up Dave Chappelle and others when speaking to how peeved she still is about it all.

To promote the special, Barr talked with the L.A. Times all about being fired for her firestorm of a tweet about former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett, and how she was subsequently fired from the high-rated ABC revival and fell out of the spotlight. While other comedians have certainly taken hits from “cancel culture,” as it were, Barr views herself as being the only one who really lost everything, as opposed to certain others. In her words:

Roseanne Barr brought up Dave Chappelle as being protected by Netflix against the array of complaints made against him and his comedy specials for jokes targeted at the trans community, among others. While he didn’t have a network sitcom that was in danger of being axed, Chappelle followed up his own controversy by hosting SNL, which definitely wasn’t an option for Barr. 

Louis C.K., meanwhile, followed his FX show’s cancellation with self-released albums and specials, all while touring and addressing his past transgressions involving unwarranted masturbating in front of women. The comedian also won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for Sincerely Louis C.K., and was nominated in the same category this year for the album Sorry, which lost to Dave Chappelle’s The Closer.  

At this point, perhaps Roseanne Barr is on the path to her own Grammy success with her Fox Nation special, but that’s for the future. For now, she’s just trying to get comfortable being back on stage, and shared how pumped she was for this to be her most offensive stand-up set yet, which is certainly saying something. Barr says she wasn’t given the platform by ABC to properly apologize and explain herself in the past, and she definitely doesn’t seem all too interested in playing nice now. 

When asked about making a return to performing after everything imploded at ABC, which included a 2019 touring stint with Andrew Dice Clay, she answered:

While The Conners has definitely referenced the character Roseanne Conner in the years since killing her off via overdose, the show obviously hasn’t ever invited the flagship series’ titular matriarch back in any capacity. (Presumably via flashback, but this IS a series that is familiar with retconning past storylines.) Maybe it’ll happen before it’s all over with, though. Or maybe she’ll start touring with both Dave Chappelle and Louis C.K. later this year. 2023 is wild. 

Check out a trailer for Roseanne Barr: Cancel This! below. 

The special can be streamed now via Fox Nation, while classic Roseanne episodes are available to stream now with a Peacock subscription.

Spoilers below for the latest episode of The Conners, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!

The latest episode of The Conners dug harder than ever into Jackie’s soured and hilariously harsh outlook on Bev and her dementia issues. Just about every scene featured some of the sitcom’s most biting trademark barbs, as the struggle to find a proper healthcare guardian started to make life hell for Jackie, as well as for Harris and Mark. By the end, all those targeted comments were viewed through a different prism after a scandalous secret emerged from Bev’s past that involved a young Jackie and Roseanne.

The Conners called back to a heavy recurring plotline from Roseanne’s early years, revolving around Jackie and Roseanne’s father Al Harris, who was revealed to be an abusive father and a longtime philanderer, with Bev divorcing him in Season 5 ahead of his death. (Al was portrayed by John Randolph.) That era came back around thanks to a medical report revealing that Bev suffered a broken arm earlier in life that hadn’t ever healed properly, which Jackie was completely unaware of. 

As it turns out, that broken arm was caused by Al, and the reason Jackie (and presumably Roseanne) never learned about it is because they were shipped off to stay with their grandmother at the time. A memory that Jackie had already brought up earlier in the episode in the context of Bev being an uncaring mother who would just dump her kids off willy nilly for long stretches.

Here’s how their conversation went down after Jackie figured it out:

• Estelle: I didn’t want you to know what he did. He was gonna hit you, and I stopped him, and he broke my arm. 
• Jackie: Oh, my God. That’s why we moved in with Nana Mary. 
• Estelle: Well, I couldn’t let him hurt you two. You girls didn’t do anything. You were just little girls. Stop making me talk about this.

It was a big moment for the pair, which came about due to the helpful guidance of the pricy-but-worthy nurse Carrie, who brought it to Jackie’s attention, presumably knowing it would soften some of her harsher edges. And sure enough, Jackie was taken aback by the reveal, and followed it up by giving her mom a big and not-at-all-awkward hug.  

I can’t imagine it’ll change everything about how Jackie feels, since Bev is still kind of a turd, but it certainly adds a new layer of understanding to some of her behavior and harsh attitude in the past. 

The Conners has delved into these characters’ pasts quite regularly so far in Season 5 — episodes are available to stream with a Hulu subscription. A prior episode brought back Eric Allen Kramer’s bully Bobo, whom Dan took a swing at in an early ep of the flagship sitcom, with William H. Macy also guest-starring as a former boyfriend of Roseanne’s. While it wasn’t about any TV predecessors, fans were also introduced to Louise and Neville’s mom, as portrayed by SNL vet Jane Curtain. Earlier in the season, Louise and Neville’s nephew Caleb joined the fun, allowing for an earlier Shameless reunion between Emma Kinney and Ethan Cutkosky.

What other past memories will The Conners recontextualize for its characters next? Find out when new eps air on ABC every Wednesday.

Despite kicking off its fifth season without an abundance of guest stars, The Conners has somewhat reversed that trend in the weeks ahead of its winter hiatus, thanks to Estelle Parsons’ celebrated return and Jane Curtain’s introduction as Louise’s mom. That celeb-friendly run will definitely continue with the sitcom’s January return, too, thanks to Shameless vet William H. Macy’s arrival, but he won’t be the only familiar face involved. That’ll also be the ep featuring the long-teased return of an O.G. Roseanne character, which ABC has at last confirmed with some first-look photos, and it’s a wild and unexpected reveal.

The upcoming episode, titled “Two More Years and a Stolen Rose,” is bringing The Hughleys and Lodge 49 vet Eric Allen Kramer back to Lanford to reprise the role of Bobo, the lunkhead bully who gave Dan a spot of aggro-trouble back in Roseanne’s very first season. Check him out squaring up against William H. Macy’s Smitty Cusamano in the pic below.

It was previously revealed that Macy’s Smitty was a former classmate of Dan’s that Jackie crushed on and Roseanne dated, and that his episode would indeed feature the on-screen return of Lobo’s Lounge, the boozy hangout that the adult characters frequented in the flagship sitcom’s early seasons. It only makes sense that the storyline, which centers on the death of a longtime high school English teacher, would also be the prime placement for an O.G. character to pop back up. 

Definitely not a callback for casual fans, the character Bobo’s first and only Roseanne appearance came in the show’s ninth episode, “Dan’s Birthday Bash,” which aired back on January 3, 1989. (Exactly 24 years ahead of ABC confirming the return, funnily enough.) That ep’s central conflict was between Dan and Bobo, all over the use of a pool table, with John Goodman’s birthday boy having to back down from their fight after Roseanne got upset. Dan got the last laugh, though, decking the insult-spewing asshat by the episode’s end. (Shout out to fellow sitcom vet William Sadler as Dwight.) 

No sign of Dwight here, but it looks like another Dan vs. Bobo confrontation will take place in the winter premiere.

It's technically possible that the character completely turned away from his verbally abusive and ignorant ways of the past, and has embraced a newly zen outlook on life and women. But that would probably be too big of an adjustment for anyone in Lanford, and he's probably the same ol' dickface. And if that IS the case, then I hope the image below is indicative of Bobo getting audibly eviscerated by Drunk Jackie. I'm pretending the moment after this is Jackie sticking her finger clean through his torso, though with the understanding that The Conners isn't making the jump to body horror in the back half of Season 5.

So not only are Conners fans getting to see a classic Roseanne location brought to life anew decades after it was last seen on TV, but we’re also getting a character that I can’t imagine anyone truly expected to see again without showrunner Bruce Helford teasing that a mystery return was happening. Cheers to more surprise reprisals like this!

The Conners’ winter premiere will arrive on ABC on January 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET. New episodes air on Wednesdays, and are available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. Head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are popping up before and after the sitcom’s newest ep.

Going into its Season 5 winter hiatus, The Conners spent a bit of time wallowing in the family history of its two eldest female leads, as Jackie dealt with the sad news of her mother Bev’s dementia (complete with a guest spot from Estelle Parsons), while viewers were privileged with meeting Louise’s mom for the first time, as portrayed by SNL vet Jane Curtain. When the show returns in January, fans will get to metaphorically step back into a Lanford landmark, thanks to impending guest star William H. Macy, whose arrival will not only shine a light into Dan’s past, but will also deliver some connective tissue to The Conners’ sitcom predecessor Roseanne. 

Who Is William H. Macy Playing In The Conners?

The Dropout thespian’s latest episodic jaunt will be as the character of Smitty Cusamano, a former high school classmate of Dan & Co. who clearly already has an advantageous shot at winning the Best TV Character Name Of 2023 title when his episode debuts on Wednesday, January 11. He sounds every bit like the kind of guy who would have a mustache as thick as a forearm, even as a high school freshman, and Macy is indeed rocking some mighty upper lip hair in The Conners. 

Smitty Cusamano, aside from assumedly being a guy who knows a guy who can get you a deal on anything, was something of an ambitious dude who put Lanford in his rear-view mirror not long after his years mixing it up with these characters viewers know so well. He managed to make a name for himself, while making a mint in the process, in the field of pool supplies, according to TVLine. Expect Macy to be playing things fairly big, as Smitty is described as being an “outgoing, salesman-type,” in the words of showrunner Bruce Helford. Anybody who’s seen Fargo knows how well he can sell that part, with or without the cheeky accent, gee golly.

Check out a first look at the character below.

He doesn’t seem like the kinda guy who would just pop back into his hometown for shits and giggles, so it’s not a surprise that Smitty shows up for different reasons, He’s back in Lanford for the funeral for an adored English teacher, and won’t hesitate much about showing off his current status in front of others. I hope his clothes will be beer-proof, because I’m already forecasting somebody throwing a drink at him. (Unless his mustache is capable of sopping up any liquids that fly in its way, of course.)

How Will William H. Macy’s Character Connect To The Roseanne Timeline? 

• #1: Obviously, being a former classmate of the gang is a connection unto itself for Smitty, but when he pops into the world of The Conners (as seen above), it will be within Lobo! The old Roseanne bar hangout hasn’t made a small screen appearance in many years, with it basically getting phased out as the flagship sitcom’s generational lines shifted upward.
• #2: Perhaps surprisingly or perhaps not, Bruce Helford divulged that Jackie apparently had a crush on Smitty in their youthful years. Is that going to create any strife with Neville? Doubtful. I’d sooner believe Neville would be talked into buying pool supplies to help with an otter habitat or something. 
• #3: While Jackie may have felt some puppy love from afar, Roseanne actually dated Smitty at some point before she and Dan were married. Which doesn’t rule him out as a rebound boyfriend during a period of strife for the iconic TV couple. I certainly hope he doesn’t get all weird when talking about her, only to learn that she’s dead now. It’s also teased that the appearance will incorporate some drama into the comedy, with William H. Macy being more than capable within any genre. (Mystery Men for all the wins.) 

Speaking to the idea of Lobo’s return, star Lecy Goranson talked to CinemaBlend ahead of the Season 5 premiere, saying at the time that she was excited to hear about the location making a return for The Conners. Here’s what she told us: 

As uncomfortable as planned-out high school reunions can be, circumstantial reunions sparked by funerals certainly doesn't make things easier. But at least we can take comfort in knowing Macy will get to share the screen again with his former Shameless kiddo Emma Kenney when the show returns from its winter hiatus on January 11, 2023.

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m., and though it’s on vacation now, past Season 5 episodes are available to stream with a Hulu subscription. While waiting for the show to return, head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what else is on the way soon.

When The Conners returns to ABC for the start of Season 5, the family-geared sitcom will be nestled into its new time slot as the lead-off for the network’s Wednesday night comedy block, with The Goldbergs shifting forward a half-hour. Of course, that won’t be the only major change that fans will notice, as it was revealed this week that O.G. Roseanne star Michael Fishman has exited the show ahead of the new season. But even though the announcement came without any preloaded drama attached to it, Fishman’s comments after the fact seemingly hint at there being more to the story. 

In a statement shared with People after the shocking Conners news initially went public, Michael Fishman shared his thoughts in the polite and respectful manner that fans have come to expect from him. He spoke of playing D.J. Conner as a great honor, and he was proud to play a military vet raising a bi-racial daughter with a Black wife. But in addressing the topic of his future beyond The Conners, Fishman appears to imply that exiting the ABC hit was not his choice to make. In his words:

Maybe it’s just me, but not many people who intentionally quit a job immediately reflect on it by saying they “no longer have the privilege” of doing that job. As well, Fishman notes that he “was told” he wouldn’t be back for Season 4, which is about as direct a sign as any that the decision was allegedly out of his hands. So why would the powers that be opt to cut out another original Roseanne star at this point in the spinoff’s run? Especially when it was also confirmed that star Jayden Rey, who portrays D.J.’s daughter Mary, will remain a series regular, which comes with its own questions. (Not the least of which is: “Does this mean former star Maya Lynne Robinson is returning in full after appearing in Season 3’s finale?”)

Earlier in his reaction statement, Michael Fishman addressed expanding his role behind the scenes on The Conners as a director on multiple episodes — something he spoke with CinemaBlend about ahead of the Season 4 premiere — and started off speaking about his own professionalism. In his words:

Given the context of his thoughts, and no other reports following the news, it wouldn’t seem as if Michael Fishman’s behavior on the set is a factor here. It’s possible he was just getting ahead of such suspicions by saying that, trying to distance himself from the recent news involving former Conners guest star and ep director Fred Savage being fired from The Wonder Years due to accusations involving his behavior on set, and alleged sexual harassment.

In the scheme of things, given that D.J. didn’t factor so heavily into many ongoing storylines, and wasn’t at the center of any himself, it’s certainly possible that The Conners’ budget for Season 5 required corner to be cut, with Fishman serving as the least detrimental sacrifice. Whatever the case may be, The Conners fans will certainly be missing D.J. being the relatively sane and successful one within the titular fam. Now it’s up to Mark. 

The Conners Season 5 will premiere on ABC on Wednesday, September 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see when all the other primetime hits will be popping up in the coming months.

Fans of the beloved '80s/'90s sitcom Roseanne were introduced to the Conners and spent nine years with them. Then they came back just a few years ago in the form of a reboot, which was then rebranded as The Conners. For 14 seasons, we have come to know and love the Conner family, with an exciting live episode thrown in the mix – though unfortunately, one Conner will be absent from the upcoming fifth season.

Michael Fishman, who’s played D.J. Conner since he was just seven years old, has exited The Conners ahead of Season 5, according to Variety. While a reason for his departure hasn’t been revealed, nor how D.J. will be written out, the show will reportedly leave the door open should he choose to return for a guest appearance in the future. Jayden Rey, who portrays D.J.’s daughter May, will also not be returning as a series regular, but she will be back in a guest role capacity. Fishman's son died two years ago, which took a toll on him and may have played a part in his decision to leave the series.

Fishman has played David Jacob “D.J.” Conner since the second episode of the series in 1988, appearing in almost every episode of Roseanne before reprising his role in the revival, which later became The Conners. Last year, the actor told CinemaBlend about the one element from Roseanne he was eager to see more of, noting the very recognizable kitchen set and how open it is between the living room. Now, however, it looks like the rooms will feel quite empty without his presence.

The Season 4 finale of The Conners was as big and emotional as ever, with two newlywed couples and an abrupt and surprising breakup between Harris and Aldo. It also included a heartfelt callback to Roseanne in the credits by showing some familiar props and set pieces that have been around since the early years of the sitcom. Weirdly enough, those credits calling back to the original series feel like a nice open door for Fishman to leave through, as it took fans back to the 1980s.

Despite leaving The Conners, the 40-year-old actor is staying pretty busy. As of now, he has 12 upcoming projects that he is serving as a producer or executive producer on, according to his IMDb page. So it’s also very possible that the reason why he wanted to exit the ABC series was so he could focus on that part of his career. It will be interesting to see how his character is written out and if he will return, even if it is just for an episode or two in the future.

Where the characters will be in Season 5 of The Conners and how it will be after D.J.’s gone will be something to look forward to, so don’t miss the premiere on Wednesday, September 21 at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. Check out CinemaBlend’s 2022 TV schedule to see what else you can look forward to in the coming months.

So, let’s say you decided to cut the cord and rely on digital streaming services like Netflix or Hulu to watch your favorite series, but realized even that option is not so cheap. Fear not, because there are, in fact, multiple streaming services – such as Tubi, Peacock, and plenty of others – with which you can legally watch free TV shows online. 

The amount of modern favorites and iconic classics to choose from is quite surprising and, since the service costs nothing, each series comes with occasional ad breaks for that classic TV viewing feel. To help narrow down your search, we have taken the time to comb through these services and found some of these series they have to offer as a recommendation for you.

Batman (Tubi)

Millionaire Bruce Wayne (Adam West) and his young ward, Dick Grayson (Burt Ward), aid Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) in protecting Gotham City from a variety of infamous criminals that each boast a bizarre, unique gimmick. While Batman has taken on a much darker definitive tone in more recent years, the 1960s Batman series is still a fond (and funny) memory for fans of the Dark Knight for its delicious cheesy dialogue, iconically campy fight choreography, and West’s immortal portrayal of DC’s “Bright Knight.”

Stream Batman on Tubi.

House (Peacock)

A cynical, disgruntled physician (Emmy Award nominee Hugh Laurie) often butts heads with his crack medical diagnostics team as they struggle to help their patients identify their mysterious ailments. Taking inspiration from Sherlock Holmes, creator David Shore’s House is one of the most compelling medical dramas of its time for making the very question of what each episode’s guest stars are suffering from the story of the week.

Stream House on Peacock.

News Radio (Crackle)

A chronicle of the trials and tribulations among the staff of the second most popular news radio station in New York City. Starring the likes of the late SNL alum Phil Hartman and Dave Foley, News Radio is one of the funniest sitcoms of the ‘90s and, not to mention, one of the more underrated comedies from the era as well.

Stream News Radio on Crackle.

Burn Notice (Freevee)

After his employment is mysteriously terminated and he suddenly finds himself stuck in Miami, a former secret agent (Jeffrey Donovan) uses his pristine set of skills to make a living as a private investigator with the help of his trigger-happy ex-girlfriend (Gabrielle Anwar), a former military intelligence agent (Bruce Campbell), and, occasionally, his own mother (Sharon Gless). Also one of Bruce Campbell’s best TV credits, creator Matt Nix’s Burn Notice is all the fun of a James Bond movie without ever leaving the Sunshine State and one of the most popular series to ever air on USA.

Stream Burn Notice on Freevee through Amazon.

Hannibal (Plex)

A gifted FBI profiler (Hugh Dancy) enlists the help of a renowned criminal psychologist (Mads Mikkelsen) – both as an aid to his investigations and his own mental health – not realizing the doctor has a dark secret of his own. Inspired from the chilling novels by Thomas Harris, creator Bryan Fuller’s Hannibal is an instant crime drama classic (and one of the best shows streaming on Plex) for its breathtaking visual style and unapologetically disturbing tone.

Stream Hannibal on Plex.

Spaced (Tubi)

A recently dumped, aspiring comic book illustrator (Simon Pegg in his star-making role) and a quirky woman in a long-distance relationship (Jessica Hynes) pretend to be a couple in order to rent an affordable apartment in London. Despite having a seemingly typical setup for a sitcom, the acclaimed UK import Spaced is bursting with originality, due largely in part to the dazzling visual style of director Edgar Wright.

Stream Spaced on Tubi.

30 Rock (Peacock)

The head writer of a sketch comedy series (creator Tina Fey) frequently butts heads with her overbearing new boss (Emmy winner Alec Baldwin) and the show’s unpredictably wild new star (Tracy Morgan). The irreverently witty, wonderfully meta, and brilliantly acted 30 Rock is one of TV’s sharpest media satires and one of the best shows streaming on Peacock for free (except for Season 2).

Stream 30 Rock on Peacock.

Sherlock (Crackle)

A doctor (Martin Freeman), still reeling from his service in the Afghan War, rents a flat with an arrogant private detective (Benedict Cumberbatch) whom he accompanies on various mysteries burdening London. From co-developer Steven Moffat (who also revived Doctor Who in 2005), Sherlock is a whip-smart, consistently thrilling, modernized retelling of the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Stream Sherlock on Crackle.

Night Court (Freevee)

The regular staff for the late shift at a New York City court house are initially perturbed by their new young, eccentric, optimistic judge (the late Harry Anderson), until they come to accept his unconventional methods and treat him as a friend. From creator Reinhold Weege, Night Court is an unabashedly silly, snappy sitcom so beloved that an upcoming revival starring original star John Larroquette is coming to NBC.

Stream Night Court on Freevee through Amazon.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 (Plex)

In the not-too-distant future, an average man from Earth (creator Joel Hodgson and, later, Michael Nelson) is forced by a mad scientist (Trace Belieau and, later, Mary Jo Pehl) to live on a satellite with a group of sarcastic robots and watch low-grade sci-fi movies. Poking fun at cheesy, B-level cinema has never been more wonderfully weird and endearingly enjoyable than on Mystery Science Theater 3000, which would later inspire a Netflix-exclusive revival from 2017 to 2019.

Stream Mystery Science Theater 3000 on Plex. 

Mad Men (Freevee)

A prestigious advertising agency struggles to keep up with the rapidly changing culture of the 1960s, as seen mostly through the eyes of one womanizing executive with an eye-opening backstory (Emmy winner Jon Hamm). Created by The Sopranos writer/executive producer Matthew Weiner, Mad Men takes the viewer to another time that it deconstructs with stunning zeal through the intriguing stories of its enigmatic characters.

Stream Mad Men on Freevee through Amazon.

Saturday Night Live (Peacock)

For anyone who loves sketch comedy series, the most iconic and quintessential example of the like is, undoubtedly, Saturday Night Live, which has served as a starting point for many of the most successful comedy careers of all time and has allowed some of Hollywood’s biggest stars to show off their more humorous sides as guest hosts for decades. Fans can trace the entire history of Studio 8H (or just revisit some of its best moments) by streaming all 47 seasons (so far) of creator Lorne Michaels’ enduring classic on Peacock.

Stream Saturday Night Live on Peacock.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Roku Channel)

An unassuming high school student (Sarah Michelle Gellar, in the role that made her one of greatest horror Scream Queens ) discovers that she is recruited to help protect her new small town from strange and deadly supernatural phenomena. A darker reimagining of a silly horror-comedy of the same name, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best TV shows of the ‘90s and continues to fascinate fans of horror, fantasy, and modern, grounded coming-of-age stories.

Stream Buffy The Vampire Slayer on the Roku Channel.

Soap (Tubi, Crackle)

Two sisters and their respective immediate families – one upper class and the other working class – run into a series of increasingly fervent and bizarre situations, including everything from the consequences of extramarital affairs to alien abductions. Taking a shot at the common tropes and typically extreme storylines of daytime soap operas, Soap was an exceptionally groundbreaking sitcom for its time and helped launch the career of a young Billy Crystal in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

Stream Soap on Tubi.
Stream Soap on Crackle.

Weeds (Peacock)

Following the sudden death of her husband, a suburban stay-at-home mother (Mary-Louise Parker) turns to selling marijuana in order to support her two sons and struggles to avoid judgment from her overbearing neighbors, jail time, or even a grisly death along the way. From Jenji Kohan – also the creator of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black – the Showtime original dramedy Weeds is as much of an extremely sharp suburban satire as it is a thrilling ongoing crime serial that is still as compelling as ever, even at a time when its concept is a bit outdated.

Stream Weeds on Peacock.

Coupling (Freevee)

A man (Jack Davenport) and his girlfriend (Sarah Alexander) form a group with their respective best friends (Richard Coyle and Kate Isitt) and their former significant others (Gina Bellman and Ben Miles) who typically spend their days frequenting their favorite pub and swapping stories about their struggles with modern romance in London. Created by Steven Moffat, Coupling is one of the funniest and most cleverly honest sitcoms to originate in the UK and, while it’s often compared to Friends or How I Met Your Mother, I might be inclined to put it a spot above either of those American favorites.

Stream Coupling on Freevee through Amazon.

Quantum Leap (Roku Channel)

After his top-secret time travel experiment goes “a little ka-ka,” a brilliant physicist from the future (Emmy nominee Scott Bakula) must involuntarily embody one person from the past after another in order to prevent tragic events from happening, all while hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home. Also starring Dean Stockwell as Dr. Sam Beckett’s holographic aid and best friend Al, creator Donald P. Bellasario’s Emmy-winning NBC drama Quantum Leap is one of the most inventive and heartwarming sci-fi TV shows of its time.

Stream Quantum Leap on The Roku Channel.

Of course, there are many, many other great free TV shows (and even free movies on streaming) available right now. These are just a few of our favorites. We hope you enjoy them too! 

Spoilers below for The Conners’ final Season 4 episode, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!

When all the dust settled on The Conners’ Season 4 finale — presumably that dust came from all of the furniture that was moved out of the living room — the ABC sitcom could boast two newly married couples in Jackie & Neville and Darlene & Ben, while Harris & Aldo went the reverse route with a break-up. But instead of going the usual route of delivering a scripted wrap-up scene to accompany the end credits, The Conners’ team chose instead to shine a well-earned spotlight on some of the set pieces and props that have been around since the Roseanne years. How many families do you know that still have a touch-tone phone hanging on the wall?

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about the Season 4 finale’s ins and outs, and when I addressed the end credits sequence, Helford praised the dual series’ shared legacy and said: 

It was downright bizarre to see the Conner family living room decked out for the wedding festivities, since this is one of TV's most iconic and recognizable sets. The episode itself did give a direct hat tip to the longevity of the family's belongings, with Mark asking Dan about the origins of the couch quilt, which itself was highlighted during the credit sequence. I did not see that story coming, but was impressed all the same, as I wouldn't have been too surprised if we'd learned the quilt came with the couch when they bought it. 

When I spoke with Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan early on in Season 4, I'd asked about whether the living room boombox still worked, which led to the pair talking about wanting to spend an entire episode digging into the family histories behind some of these very props. While that could still happen one day, it's awesome that they were able to achieve part of that goal with the finale.

Along with the quilt and wall phone seen above, the credits also showcased the kitchen wall decor (including the plates depicting oranges and the swordfish), the Godzilla figure, and the painting hanging in the living room. They also have the pantry jar of what I would believe to be pickled eggs, but my brain will not, cannot, shall not wholly register a jar of pickled eggs surviving for that long outside of Moe's Tavern. Instead, I choose to think of it as "that container of wet golf balls that no one ever refers to."

Interestingly enough, Roseanne Barr’s titular character wasn’t shown, though she was referenced during the episode, as has happened quite a bit in Season 4. The writers are fine to lean into Roseanne callbacks so long as they make sense in the moment, since people obviously do talk about their lost loved ones during big moments like weddings. But visual references are on a different level, it seems.

In any case, I also asked the showrunner and EP whether fans should expect for Season 5 to start off with Darlene, Becky and Ben all fully moved into their house, or whether there will be a bunch of renovating happening. And according to Dave Caplan, it'll probably be somewhere in the middle. In his words:

To circle back around to the topic of credits, now that Ben and Neville are officially members of the Conner family — spiritually speaking, of course, especially for Neville — here’s hoping they’ll be part of the opening credits for future seasons. Helford and Caplan told CinemaBlend previously that they’d love to film a new version of it, but scheduling and COVID-related issues made it all but impossible to have absolutely everyone around on the set to make it happen. 

The Conners may be finished with Season 4, but anyone with a Hulu subscription can relive all 20 episodes while waiting for Season 5 to hit ABC’s fall schedule. 

When The Conners opts to go all in on reprising a character from the Roseanne years, fans usually get to enjoy someone they hadn’t seen in this universe since the flagship series’ run in the ‘80s and ‘90s. After all, everybody loves a deep cut return like Danielle Harris’ Molly, even if the show sometimes kills those deep cuts off for one reason or another. But an upcoming episode is skewing a bit closer to the present by bringing back a character from Roseanne’s most recent season, as Hollywood legend Christopher Lloyd will once again take on the role he debuted four years ago.

That date isn’t so a vague an approximation, either. Christopher Lloyd first took on the role of Lou, boyfriend of Roseanne and Jackie’s mother Beverly, back in the episode “No Country for Old Women,” which aired on May 1, 2018. Lloyd’s next appearance as Lou will be in The Conners’ episode “The Best Laid Plans, A Contrabassoon and A Sinking Feeling,” which will air on ABC on May 4. Considering the actor’s connection to one of the biggest film franchises tied to the concept of time, it feels kismet-y that he’ll be back in Lanford, Illinois for an anniversary. 

Lou seemingly won’t be involved in any kind of romantic relationship in the new episode, though the title does foreshadow how Christopher Lloyd’s character will factor into the story. Lou will get invested in a Battle for the Ages — or is it a Battle of Much Different Ages — when he goes head to head with Ames McNamara’s Mark as the teen’s contrabassoon teacher. The most common type of character on TV for 40 years running, I think. (Not really.) 

After things tense up with Mark, John Goodman’s Dan inserts himself into the equation, according to Deadline, but instead of finding himself purely at odds with Lou, he finds they have more in common then he expected. With any luck, that situation will play out as hilariously as things did when Dan met Aldo’s dad Jesse, as played with perfection by The Eagles’ Joe Walsh.

Check out the first look at a more studious Lou below..

Elsewhere in the episode, Darlene is apparently already going to be going through even more hardships and stress, even after only just securing good news at her job via a new raise. Things will apparently take a downward turn during the construction process in these next few episodes, and after a rather serious accident occurs, Darlene has to reassess her entire situation in order to make a choice that could change everything for her life. No biggie, right?

Despite being the ripe, young age of 83, Christopher Lloyd is seemingly as busy as he’s ever been in his career. In 2021 alone, he popped up in Bob Odenkirk’s Nobody, Ben Affleck’s The Tender Bar, opposite William Shatner and Jean Smart in Senior Moment, and with Ellen Burstyn in Queen Bees. Not to mention playing a train conductor in Hallmark’s Next Stop, Christmas. His latest feature effort to make the news rounds is the Spirit Halloween movie that’s heading to theaters and/or streaming services later in 2022, but he’ll also be seen in other features such as Tankhouse, Super Athlete, Camp Hideout and Man & Witch. Christopher Lloyd can’t stop, won’t stop delivering features.  Oh yeah, and that itty-bitty project known as The Mandalorian Season 3, which will utilize the actor for its premiere, and possibly more. 

Christopher Lloyd won’t be back in this universe until Star Wars Day, May 4, but The Conners airs new episodes on ABC every Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. ET, with the Season 4 finale coming on May 18.

With The Conners now four years into its run as a spinoff, it has cemented its own TV legacy that can easily stand apart from its predecessor Roseanne, even if the two projects will always be intrinsically linked. The ABC sitcom has comfortably dropped in several story-based references to Roseanne Barr’s matriarch in Season 4 so far, from her minutely religious leanings to her addiction foreshadowing Mark’s pill-popping. While the set design and much of the furniture also serve as reminders of what came before, I know I’m not alone in thinking The Conners should also follow in Roseanne’s footsteps by finally updating its breakfast-themed opening titles sequence. And it just might happen, at least if things play out in a best-case-scenario kind of way.

Many fans would agree that a notable part of Roseanne’s charm came from the ever-evolving opening credits, and all the changed details that came with each new iteration. To date, The Conners has only delivered a single version of the food-filled sequence, which only gets more obvious each year as stars Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey continue to grow. So when CinemaBlend spoke with showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan going into the winter hiatus, I had to ask if there were any plans to change things up, especially now that Louise is a legally binding member of the family after that hectic wedding. Here’s how Helford answered:

A strange feeling of vindication comes with hearing a TV show’s creative forces have been talking about something my own obsessive brain nerdishly won’t let go of. Which isn’t to say that anything will come of those conversations in the immediate future, but it’s certainly a good sign of what could happen. And again, the mild and relatively useless vindication!

Although let's be honest, it’s anybody’s guess whether it could feasibly come together before Season 4’s production is over. The fact that the world became increasingly more pandemic-torn over the holidays doesn’t make it too likely that everyone’s schedules and protocols matched up in such a way where the full cast was able to film a new opener. Not to mention Katey Sagal’s recovery process after she was hit by a car. Although obviously anything can happen — we did just witness Joe Walsh from The Eagles being introduced in fine fashion as Aldo’s dad — so we definitely won’t rule the possibility out just yet.

Not only would Sagal’s Louise need to be sitting around the table, but it might need to be a completely new table, depending on what her furniture needs are when she returns from being on tour. But I could definitely see Nat Faxon’s Neville being part of the group now, as well as Tony Cavalero’s Aldo, although his creepster kids are good to be with their mom that day. I’m sure Jay R. Ferguson’s Ben would be there, too, though Darlene would probably have him eating in a different room of the house.

As we wait to see how The Conners will reflect on its roots next in Season 4, be sure to keep watching new episodes premiering on ABC every Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. 

As The Conners heads into its Season 4 midseason hiatus, the ABC sitcom is keeping things hectic for the titular family and everyone surrounding them. And few things in Lanford could create more hectic chaos than the matriarch of the midwest herself, Roseanne Conner. The character’s legacy and influences have popped up a bit more in Season 4 thanks to Dan and Louise’s marriage, as well as Darlene’s crisis of faith, relationships, and motherhood. And so long as there are legitimate reasons to recall Roseanne’s glory days, fans are going to see them.

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners’ showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan ahead of the Season 4 winter finale, and when I asked if there were any narrative areas they wouldn’t want to call back, they both agreed that everything is feasibly on the table. According to Caplan: 

As Dave Caplan put it, The Conners has been bringing in references to Roseanne Barr’s iconic character not just through Dan and Louise’s marital status and their furniture decisions, but also through the narratives for the younger generations. Becky is likely just as appreciative for both of her parents’ guidance over the years during her sobriety struggles, even if we didn’t see her directly dig into those reflections like Darlene did. Maybe we’ll even see D.J. having some kind of childhood nostalgia issues along the way where he’ll also be taking a personal look back to how he was raised. Which was probably on a diet of Darlene insults and ham around that iconic kitchen table.

Showrunner Bruce Helford carried on that same train of thought in saying that references to Roseanne the show and the character are considered as they’re brought up during the creative process, as opposed to somebody’s predetermined motive to try and shoehorn as many callbacks as possible. In his words:

While things were obviously awkward early on in The Conners' standalone existence after Roseanne Barr's exit, that was years ago, and it only makes sense for this family to want to cling to more youthful memories as the characters themselves get older. Even if those memories involve couches and chairs that almost definitely house their own ecosystems at this point. 

Of course, part of this show's draw is the generation-spanning lore that has been brought to life since Roseanne premiered back in 1988. And when I asked if there was an added layer of creative interest in looking back at past moments through a current-day lens, Bruce Helford said:

Joining lots of other shows hitting hiatuses going into the holiday season, The Conners airs its winter finale on ABC on Wednesday, December 1, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to check out all of the shows debuting in early 2022!

Now a fourth of the way through its fourth season, The Conners has definitely changed up its status quo from past seasons, from Darlene and Ben's post-breakup mess to Dan and Louise tying the knot (during a tornado) to Becky's sober approach to life (and sex). Those first five episodes featured multiple references to the late matriarch Roseanne Conner, and with even more are on the way, can we agree that The Conners needs to be inspired by the mothership sitcom in at least one specific way? That's right, we're talking about that years-old opening titles sequence. I think 

For anyone who watched Roseanne during its initial nine-season run, either live or via syndicated reruns, one of the sitcom's most memorable elements was its ever-changing opening credits. While it was always centered around the iconic kitchen table, with the family gathered for a gleeful meal, that opening was refilmed a variety of times (including for the revived Season 10 in 2018), with the theme song's musical also changing up as time went on. Not to mention the way the cast members were noted, with Roseanne Barr's marriage to, and divorce from, Tom Arnold being noted in the actual credits. 

Yet The Conners has surprisingly stuck with the same opening titles that it introduced to viewers with its first season following Roseanne Barr's firing. And it's meant to depict the first family breakfast after the fictional Roseanne's death via overdose, which is quite the maudlin backstory for a credits sequence. By all means, if The Conners maintained the exact same cast members and character dynamics as it started with in Season 1, keeping that opening would be more of a curiosity than anything else. But considering new characters have been introduced that connect to every main (adult) character, it's kind of baffling that the producers haven't delivered any updates there. 

Speaking with TVLine recently, showrunner and executive producer Bruce Helford addressed that topic in a way that makes it seem like there are no plans to film a new opening. In his words: 

Sure, it's understandable that The Conners didn't necessarily want to immediately shoehorn Katey Sagal's Louise into the credits sequence in Season 3, when she was splitting her time between the ABC comedy and her short-lived drama Rebel. Granted, Sagal made it clear that she was keeping The Conners a priority even during that time, but no one could have predicted the future, so it's fine to play that one as a "wait and see." But now that Dan and Louise are full-on married? Why wouldn't she be at the table going forward?

And even though I've been a naysayer when it comes to Darlene and Ben's couple-dom, I've made my peace with the notion that the characters are going to develop an even stronger relationship as they navigate becoming friends again during their break-up. Otherwise, Jay R. Ferguson would likely leave the show, and that's not happening. But that is basically a moot point, since Ben arguably should have already been part of the opening credits in Season 3, when he and Darlene were seemingly destined for an engagement. I'll admit that it would have been weird to see him sitting around and joking with everyone to kick off Season 4, seeing as how he crushed Darlene's spirits in turning down her proposal. But not necessarily more weird than seeing the same opening four years in a row.

So while I'm not asking for The Conners' producers to call up Blues Traveler and whatever other musicians to step up and create different theme songs for every single episode on the way, I am asking for the ABC comedy to pay homage to its origins by changing something. Even if it's just a framed picture of Katey Sagal digitally inserted into the background. Or maybe not. 

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET, with the upcoming episode showing off how well Becky is doing with her college experiences. (Which probably means doom isn't too far off.) Check out all the big 2021 Fall TV premieres still left to debut! 

The Conners is now back on ABC, having delivered the series' second fully live episode as its Season 4 premiere. Before getting into all the fan-calling and the relationship issues between Darlene and Ben, fans witnessed John Goodman and Katey Sagal breaking the fourth wall with a fun fact about how the microwave works (or doesn't) within that instantly recognizable kitchen set. When CinemaBlend spoke with star Michael Fishman about the episode, I asked if there were other interesting details about the iconic set that has been a TV mainstay since Roseanne's first season, and his update is a delight for longtime fans.

Michael Fishman once again stepped behind the camera to direct an episode of The Conners' fourth season, and revealed how upcoming episodes will reincorporate a spot in the Conners' household that hasn't been utilized all that often since the Roseanne days: the laundry/mudroom. Here's how Fishman put it:

A lot of TV sitcoms have featured completely separate living rooms and kitchens, more often than not so that sets can be swapped out when one or the other isn't being used. But Roseanne and The Conners have long embraced the openness between the two rooms, which does indeed allow for more realistic in-conversation character moments. If D.J. is going to get a glass of milk and Becky asks him a question, he doesn't need to stick to a static spot in the living room in order to keep that dialogue going. He can just answer from the fridge, presumably while doing expiration-date math.

In the same vein, the characters also used to similarly incorporate the mudroom and laundry room for moments like those, where an arriving or exiting character again didn't need to stick to one specific area to open or close out a scene. Granted, it made slightly more sense when it wasn't just everyone piled into one house, and when familiar friends and family members used the back door more often than the front.

Which isn't to say that The Conners has pretended as if the laundry room area doesn't exist anymore, since characters do come through there, and will sometimes holler out from behind the wall. There just hasn't been a push to set parts of scenes there anymore. But if Michael Fishman has anything to say about it, it'll become the most important room in the house! Okay, I guess he didn't say it quite like that.

Michael Fishman also shared another tidbit about the kitchen's microwave, as well as the not-always-working sink. In his words:

So the next time you're watching a TV show and you see someone washing dishes or filling up a fishbowl, remember there's a pretty good chance that set's sink wasn't working the week before, and may not be working the week after. Now how do we get the vent working in the bathroom where Roseanne and Dan got stoned?

The Conners is no stranger to bringing back long-gone stories and characters from the franchise's first decade on the air, from last season's tragic return of Danielle Harris' Molly to the George Clooney callback to sporadic appearances from Johnny Galecki's David. But fans can definitely expect to see some new faces in Season 4, such as Jason Alexander, and while it's not entirely new, Fred Savage's psychologist will also be returning for a night of Wonder Years-themed fun.

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to check out our 2021 Fall TV schedule to see what other new and returning shows are on the way, with or without mudrooms involved.

It wasn’t all that long ago when it was far more common to see TV characters smoking rather than cursing and getting naughty, such was television censorship for many years. You can bet characters were only smoking cigarettes, too, with marijuana remaining a semi-taboo subject until only the relatively recent past. One standout exception to that rule was Roseanne’s weed-fueled Season 6 episode “A Stash from the Past,” which was the sitcom’s signature take on traditionally cornball “very special episodes” that populated the ‘70s and ‘80s. And it turns out the episode’s funniest scene came from a problem that ABC censors had with the scene.

“A Stash from the Past” has long been a fan-favorite Roseanne episode, thanks in large part to the hilarious scene with Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie getting stoned with John Goodman’s Dan and Roseanne Barr’s titular character, and with weed that they initially chastised David for having, even though it was actually theirs. (Parents, amirite?) The episode was written by Kevin Abbott, who went on to become the showrunner for Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing, and when I recently spoke with him about the latter sitcom's series finale, Abbott shared the A+ story below explaining how the scene was made all the more amusing due to a specific note from ABC execs. In his words:

So the network wasn’t comfortable having the noticeably pregnant Laurie Metcalf’s character standing around and voluntarily taking part in getting high, but they were apparently cool with everything being the same, only with Metcalf laying down in the tub. The logic there is bizarrely suspect at best, as if whoever sent the network note had a contact buzz themselves. It’s especially ridiculous since anyone who goes back and rewatches the scene can still clearly tell that the actress is pregnant, as if it wasn’t already obvious elsewhere in the episode.

Kevin Abbott brought that Roseanne-ecdote story up as an example of ways in which he and other TV writers sometimes have to come up with on-the-fly solutions for unexpected issues and setbacks. He was speaking specifically about how Last Man Standing had to adjust storylines with regards to when and how former star Kaitlyn Dever was able to make episodic appearances during her filming breaks on other projects, an issue that became even more complicated once pandemic-related filming protocols were put into place. So it’s a good thing Abbott already had a career history in making similar kinds of spontaneous adjustments.

Fun fact: Following “A Stash from the Past,” the very next Roseanne episode, “Be My Baby,” was the one that revealed “Jackie’s” pregnancy within the narrative. That pregnancy was for her son Andy Harris, who famously has yet to appear on The Conners, and he probably never will, in a situation strangely similar to Last Man Standing's long-missing Boyd.

All nine seasons of Roseanne are available to stream on Amazon, while fans can catch up with the family's current issues on The Conners, whose first three seasons can be streamed in full on Hulu. Meanwhile, Hulu is also the spot where fans can find all nine seasons of Last Man Standing, which could feasibly return for a reunion in the future.

Now in the back half of its third season, ABC's The Conners continues to depict the financial, physical and emotional struggles plaguing the titular family. One current arc features Sara Gilbert's Darlene helping John Goodman's Dan pay the mortgage, which is causing strife with Jay R. Ferguson's Ben. So here's hoping she'll be shaken out of her rut after Roseanne and Halloween franchise vet Danielle Harris shows up to reprise the role of Molly Tilden for the first time in nearly 30 years.

As a direct follow-up to the classic '80s and '90s sitcom Roseanne, The Conners occasionally brings familiar characters, actors (and Blockbuster DVDs) back into the fold, even if it's not always in person. But it was still an awesome surprise to very recently learn that Danielle Harris would be bringing Molly back to the small screen. CinemaBlend had the privilege of talking to Harris about her big return, and here's what she told me when I asked how this opportunity came about:

Without getting into any spoilers, it's safe to say that viewers will be talking about Molly's return for several different reasons, including how wonderfully bizarre it is to see Darlene and Molly together again for the first time since 1992. And it's not only fans that will be pumped when the episode airs, since Danielle Harris herself is enthused about taking part in a family-friendly, non-horror project that her children can watch. Here's how she put it:

If Danielle Harris' Boy Meets World character T.K. had also shown up as an adult on The Conners, it might have broken some viewers' brains. (Remember all those bonkers TGIF crossovers on ABC?) But hopefully everyone will still be intact after watching.

CinemaBlend also spoke with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, who also shined a little light on the motivation to bring Danielle Harris back into the franchise. When I asked Helford if this idea was specific to Season 3, or if it came up before, here's how he answered:

It's entirely possible that The Conners viewers will one day be reconnected with Molly's sister Charlotte, but it doesn't appear as if that will be the case with the episode "An Old Dog, New Tricks and a Ticket to Ride." Not that it's needed, since Molly was the goal anyway.

When I asked showrunner Bruce Helford what it was like to reconnect with Danielle Harris as an adult after so many years, and he had nothing but good things to say.

For those wondering, I did indeed mention to The Conners executive producers that they missed the boat by not having Danielle Harris as a guest star during one of the memorable Halloween-themed episodes, considering she starred as Jamie Lloyd in both Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 in the '80s. (Not to mention her return to the general franchise for Rob Zombie's pair of remakes.)

The Conners airs new episodes every Wednesday night on ABC, with Danielle Harris' return as Molly kicking off a back-to-back airing on April 7. Fans still have yet to hear whether or not ABC will bring The Conners back for a fourth season, but be sure to tune into the Season 3 finale, which will feature a tribute to the crew worker who died during filming.

After a long period of uncertainty regarding Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s marriage, we’ve now learned that Kardashian has filed for divorce from her husband of six years. The development marks the end of an era for the two stars (as well as the reality TV-viewing public). It goes without saying that the two will now be looking to the future and moving on to new things, while still making time for their kids. However, their futures could potentially include new suitors. It’s unknown if either is seeing anyone at this time, but comedienne Roseanne Barr appears to be playfully thirsting for West.

Roseanne Barr hasn’t done too many interviews since her rebooted sitcom was cancelled back in 2018 after she posted a tweet that was widely viewed as racist. However, Barr still takes to social media to drop in posts. She recently posted an image to Instagram, which showed her sporting a bathing suit, and she name-dropped Kanye West in the caption. Check it out for yourself below:

Well, that’s certainly one way to get someone’s attention online. Roseanne Barr has never been one to hold any feelings back, so this kind of post does seem to be her style. But seriously, it’s probably safe to say Barr doesn’t really harbor intimate feelings for West. With the bathing suit photo and Kanye-centric caption, she was likely playing on the various bikini photos taken by West’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Whether or not Kanye West sees Roseanne Barr’s post is anyone’s guess, especially since he’s contending with divorce proceedings at the moment. According to reports, Kim Kardashian is currently seeking joint physical and legal custody of her and West’s four children. Trades report that the rapper and fashion mogul is in agreement with her desire for joint custody.

As previously alluded to, the lead-up to Kanye West and Kim Kardashian’s divorce was filled with numerous stories and updates. At the end of last year, it was reported that the two were “living separate lives” and, by the beginning of 2021, another story alleged that the two had stopped attending marriage counseling.

In addition to the usual rumors that accompany celebrity breakups, a number of other “unusual” rumors popped up that were said to be connected to the then-potential divorce. This included a claim that the divorce was due to Kanye West cheating on Kim Kardashian with YouTuber Jeffree Star. So an Instagram shout-out from Roseanne Barr is definitely not the weirdest thing to pop up for the couple during this time.

Instances like these are still likely to crop up for the two stars, during and after their divorce. But if anything, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian appear to be blocking out the noise and focusing on their kids during this time. The public will no doubt continue to watch as the divorce proceedings play out.

For those eager to see more of Kim Kardashian, and possibly more of her martial situation with Kanye West, check out the final season of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which premieres March 18 on E!.

Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 premiere of The Conners on ABC.

The Conners returned to ABC for the Season 3 premiere that revealed how the Conner household is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, which involved Becky and Darlene needing to search for new jobs, Dan facing an eviction unless he starts charging his daughters rent, and Jackie going on a blast to the past that involved a throwback to none other than a very young George Clooney from Roseanne. Showrunner Bruce Helford explained why.

Speaking with TVLine about the Conners Season 3 premiere and the appearance of a very young George Clooney from his Roseanne days, Bruce Helford said:

Back before he became a big-name movie star, George Clooney played a character by the name of Booker Brooks for eleven episodes of Roseanne, and his time on the show involved a brief romance with Jackie. Booker was the foreman of Wellman Plastics when Jackie and Roseanne worked there early on in Roseanne. His time on the show involved a bowling date with Jackie that The Conners revisited, courtesy of Jackie thinking back to days gone by.

When Wellman Plastics started hiring again, Jackie reminisced about her time there after Darlene said it would be "too easy" to catch something in an assembly line during a pandemic, saying:

The trip down memory lane involved a flashback to Roseanne including a young and very charming George Clooney flirting with Jackie as Booker Brooks. While this wasn't quite Clooney returning to TV to reprise his role as Booker, it did establish that both Booker and George Clooney exist in the Conners universe. Who knew?

That said, the mention of the actor George Clooney doesn't mean that the return of Booker Brooks is out of the question, should the stars align. Bruce Helford weighed in on the idea of Clooney actually appearing on The Conners:

Bruce Helford further revealed that there are no plans to introduce a new foreman at Wellman despite Darlene and Becky beginning to work there, so fans can always dream sweet dreams of George Clooney making an appearance in the present. The Conners has already managed to land some big-name guest stars, including Dan Aykroyd, Jennifer Grey, and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, not to mention Katey Sagal.

Still, George Clooney is on a whole other level. His TV appearances have also been few and far between since his days on ER, with the exception of a six-episode run on Hulu's Catch-22 limited series adaptation. At least Conners fans can appreciate the Season 3 premiere throwback!

New episodes of The Conners will continue to air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. If you're in the market for some additional viewing options now and in the coming weeks, be sure to check out our 2020 fall TV premiere schedule!

It's kind of weird to think back to just two years ago, when ABC was riding high on the successful revival of the classic sitcom Roseanne, which dominated in the ratings and earned its share of critical backing. Everything imploded not much later, however, when the already Twitter-controversial Roseanne Barr posted the social media message that got her fired and led to one of that year's biggest TV cancellations. Now, the flagship series' Roseanne-free spinoff The Conners continues reaping smaller-scale rewards, and it sounds like the vocal comedian is not only still angry, but may be seeking financial retribution.

Having largely avoided becoming headline fodder in recently months, Roseanne Barr returned to form as a guest on Norm Macdonald's upstart web show Quarantined with Norm Macdonald. The conversation touched upon a variety of topics, with the subject of self-quarantining coming up several times. Macdonald made the statement that people who have the luxury of being able to stay at home during this time can't make the mistake of dismissing how valuable it is, which is when Roseanne went hard on the notion that she'll soon get litigious on Hollywood. In her words:

The conversation shift seemed to take Norm Macdonald by surprise, as he thought she was talking about having problems with her own personal studio. But no, she confirmed in no certain terms that she was referring to getting fired from the show that shared her first name and serves as her TV legacy. Roseanne only uses the loosest terminology when talking about that situation, throwing it all into the "Hollywood" bucket.

Another good reason to generalize her wording there is to avoid bringing up names in a way that might cause legal blowback while she's still in planning mode. It's not clear if she's actually speaking with lawyers about any of this, or if she's handling the situation on her own for the moment. It will be interesting, to say the least, if she ever does take her former studio bosses to court over Roseanne's cancellation.

Roseanne Barr then brought up the time she sued the National Enquirer under the RICO act, referring to the lawsuit that she and then-husband Tom Arnold brought against the Enquirer and other tabloids for publishing the couple's pre-marriage love letters. The RICO element came in part through accusations that the Enquirer caused celebrities distress by conspiratorially using others to illegally obtain celebs' personal property. Roseanne's translation of those details to Norm Macdonald sounded just a bit more convoluted:

Norm Macdonald has released five episodes so far of the Quarantined side project, though it's not exactly on a strict schedule for future releases, so check back to see when new ones will be added. In the meantime, while waiting to see if Roseanne Barr takes down Hollywood with a perfect lawsuit, head to our Summer TV schedule and our TV finale rundown for an idea of everything that's coming and going.

A really refreshing thing about the always growing library of streaming services is that it makes it easy to revisit some classic TV shows. We live in a time where there are groundbreaking, smart, and cinematically gorgeous shows being made and released daily. New TV shows are great. However, sometimes watching classic TV brings a sense of nostalgia, a necessary lesson, and a new appreciation for the TV art form.

Classic TV shows remind us of the evolution of the nation and of the television world. These TV programs are also just a fun trip down memory lane. Everyone’s definition of classic TV varies, but for me, I think of series that premiered before the 1980s. However, to account for others who may view classic TV as anything pre-2000s, I included a couple choices from the 1980s and 1990s.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show (Hulu)

The Mary Tyler Moore Show follows thirty-something Mary Richards (Mary Tyler Moore) as she takes a big leap by moving to Minneapolis to start a new life after a breakup. Lou Grant (Ed Asner) hires Mary to be an associate producer of the evening news at WJM-TV. The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired from 1970 to 1977. The cast also included Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, and Betty White.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show was revolutionary in the 1970s for its empowering message about a single woman more career-focused than family-oriented. Even modern series rarely have a female character that puts career before love and family. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was the ideal classic TV show: it was funny, trailblazing, and had a dynamic cast of characters. The Mary Tyler Moore Show was truly one of a kind.

Stream It Here: All seven season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show are available to stream on Hulu.

The Andy Griffith Show (Netflix)

The Andy Griffith Show is about Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) is a widowed sheriff of the quiet town of Mayberry. The Andy Griffith Show cast also includes Don Knotts, Ron Howard, and Frances Bavier. The series highlights the hilarity that can come from a small town and its colorful townsfolk.

The Andy Griffith Show aired from 1960 to 1967 and had eight seasons. The show has a very nostalgic feel, even for the 60s; it feels even older--reminiscent of the 1930s. The Andy Griffith Show is a show with wholesome comedy and values. It may appeal to those who want a simpler brand of comedy. Also Barney Fife (Don Knotts) is just one of the funniest characters of all-time.

Stream It Here: All eight seasons of The Andy Griffith Show are available to stream on Netflix.

The Carol Burnett Show (Amazon Prime)

Comedian Carol Burnett displays her many talents in The Carol Burnett Show, a one-hour variety show. The Carol Burnett Show team included Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, and Dick Van Dyke. It originally ran from 1967 to 1978 with 279 episodes.

Some of The Carol Burnett Show’s most popular skits include “As the Stomach Turns,” a soap opera parody, “Carol and Sis,” a skit loosely based on Carol’s life growing up in New York raising her sister, “ and “The Family,” a married couple named Eunice and Ed have to deal with Eunice’s very difficult mother. “The Family” sketch led to a made-for-TV movie called Eunice and the 1983 sitcom Mama’s Family. The Carol Burnett Show is a must-see for anyone who enjoys sketch comedy and appreciates the comedic legend that is Carol Burnett.

Stream It Here: All six seasons of The Carol Burnett Show are available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Star Trek: The Original Series (Netflix)

Star Trek followed the adventures of the Starship Enterprise crew as they explored strange new worlds with different species. The series main cast featured William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock, and DeForest Kelley as Leonard “Bones” McCoy. The original series aired for three seasons from 1966 to 1969, but spun six series and 13 feature films, including the 2009 reboot Star Trek movie and the recent Star Trek Picard.

Star Trek was one of the earliest space westerns and it helped make science fiction stories popular among the masses. Set far in the future, Star Trek’s stories and issues reflected the major problems that faced the nation at the time (and still do), like racism, sexism, and war. Star Trek became a global phenomenon that continues to find new audiences with the introduction of streaming platforms and with its various reincarnations. Star Trek is one of the most popular and influential series of all-time.

Stream it Here: All three seasons of the original Star Trek are available to stream on Netflix.

I Love Lucy (Hulu)

Lucile Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley star in I Love Lucy. The series follows Lucy as she gets involved in various schemes to the detriment of husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz). I Love Lucy ran from 1951 to 1957 for six seasons.

I Love Lucy has had a major impact on pop culture, with many modern television series parodying or drawing influence from the spirited sitcom. Lucile ball is a highly skilled physical comedian who often showed this talent throughout the series. I Love Lucy is a rare series that breaks time barriers by being funny in any decade.

Stream It Here: All six seasons of I Love Lucy are available to stream on Hulu.

Family Ties (CBS All Access)

Family Ties reflected the cultural clash of parents and children. Steve (Michael Gross) and Elyse Keaton (Meredith Baxter)’s political and moral liberal beliefs conflicted with their young Republican son Alex (Michael J. Fox), shallow daughter Mallory (Justine Bateman), and tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers). Family Ties aired from 1982 to 1989.

Family Ties mirrored the changing standards and ethics of generations, while taking a critical look at the flaws of consumerism and greed. Alex has very questionable morals and beliefs, but Michael J. Fox’s charm makes it hard not to like this character. Family Ties deals with the typical problems of every day Americans with a keen cleverness.

Stream It Here: All seven seasons of Family Ties are available to stream on CBS: All Access.

The Twilight Zone (Netflix)

The Twilight Zone is an anthology series that features fantasy, science fiction, suspense, and horror stories. All these stories involve unexpected twists, and make observations or commentary about society.

The Twilight Zone is a genuinely creepy series that’s also very insightful and brilliant. The Twilight Zone may be an anthology created in the 1950s and the 1960s, but the stories still resonate with today’s audience, like the episode “Eye of the Beholder” shows the definition of beauty really depends on the company you keep. The evolving definition of beauty is still an important topic even in 2020.

Stream It Here: All five seasons of the original Twilight Zone are available to stream on Netflix.

The Brady Bunch (Hulu)

The Brady Bunch is a series that follows a blended family consisting of a man with three sons and a woman with three daughters. Mike Brady (Robert Reed) meets and marries Carol Martin (Florence Henderson) and they become the Brady bunch.

The Brady Bunch is the true definition of a family comedy with the humor and comedic situations mainly coming from the children and their various kid problems, especially pertaining to their new blended family lifestyle. It’s a straightforward show with its own brand of clean comedy.

Stream It Here: All five seasons of the original Brady Bunch are available to stream on Hulu.

The Mickey Mouse Club (Disney+)

The Mickey Mouse Club aired its original season from 1955 to 1958. It featured kids called Mousekeeters led by Jimmie Dodd. The kids performed various musical and dance numbers while also acting in educational shorts. The Mickey Mouse Club also featured Mickey Mouse animated shorts.

The Mickey Mouse Club is a great series for younger kids for its animated nature and lesson driven programming. The show also appeals to older generations who want to travel back to their childhood.

Stream It Here: The first season of The Mickey Mouse Club is available to stream on Disney+.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus (Netflix)

Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a sketch comedy show created by the British comedy group Monty Python. The cast consists of John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin. Monty Python’s Flying Circus ran for four seasons.

The clever sketches that involve very absurd situations is what makes Monty Python’s Flying Circus so hilarious. Monty Python and their brand of humor isn’t for everyone, but if you love them, then this is a great series to watch for their unique and witty comedy.

Stream It Here: All four seasons of Monty Python’s Flying Circus is available to stream on Netflix.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Hulu)

The original Alfred Hitchcock Presents aired from 1962 to 1965. Alfred Hitchcock introduces each episode of the series and most episodes are under 30 minutes. The episodes revolve around tales of suspense, horror, and mystery.

Alfred Hitchcock proves why he’s the master of suspense with these curated collection of short stories. They satisfy dark drama cravings. Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a must-watch for suspense and Hitchcock fans, because it takes a simple concept and builds tension—something Hitchcock does effortlessly.

Stream It Here: The original four seasons of Alfred Hitchcock Presents are available to stream on Hulu.

The Dick Van Dyke Show (Amazon Prime)

Dick Van Dyke plays Rob Petrie a television comedy writer. It mainly revolves around his work related problems and his home life with wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore) and son Riche (Larry Matthews). The Dick Van Dyke Show aired for five seasons from 1961 to 1966.

The Dick Van Dyke Show was a sophisticated comedy that dared to be different. One reason that the series worked so well was due to the exceptional talent and charisma of Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. The Dick Van Dyke Show’s blend of physical comedy and smart writing makes it a show that still causes big laughter.

Stream It Here: Four out of five seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show are available to stream on Amazon Prime.

Roseanne (Crackle)

And for those looking for a more "recent" classic, Roseanne centers on the Conner family led by Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) and Dan (John Goodman). The original series ran from 1988 to 1997, and then a continuation series began in 2018. After it was canceled the same year, a spin-off series The Conners began without Roseanne Barr.

The series dealt with the struggles of the Conner family and their blue-collar lifestyle with quick wit and a realistic approach to working class life. While other series created a glamorized version of the lower-middle class, Roseanne strived on its honest portrayals, leading to huge ratings and a devoted fan base.

Stream It Here: Eight of the original nine seasons of Roseanne are available to stream on Crackle.

Hopefully as more streaming services grow, our choices for great classic TV shows expand as well.

With such a huge chunk of the population currently quarantined due to COVID-19 safety concerns, it's only natural for families to gather around their televisions to find entertainment. Not everyone has access to a wide range of TV shows and movies, with many people are temporarily out of work as the crisis continues, but the cord-cutter-friendly Sling TV has stepped up to provide free streaming programming to anyone with Internet access, without any monthly subscriptions necessary.

On Wednesday, March 18, Sling TV launched the streaming initiative being dubbed "Stay in & SLING!," as a way to keep people around the country entertained and informed without having to worry about costs. To be expected from a free service like this, Sling TV can't offer the kinds of shows and movies that major streaming services like Netflix and Disney+ are constantly adding, but there's still a lot to dig into for those who need laughs, scares and knowledge.

Basically, Sling TV's free programming falls under four categories.

News

In an effort to give American citizens more than just entertainment, Sling TV has made available ABC News Live, which is the network's 24-hour streaming platform focused entirely on breaking news and live events. The service is also hosting Fox News' live programming for streaming purposes.

Bingeable TV Shows

For those who want to escape the news for a while, Sling TV is offering an eclectic selection of scripted and unscripted TV shows spanning quite a few decades. On the comedy front, fans can check out the entire series runs of former hits like Roseanne, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Grounded for Life, Cybil, Grace Under Fire and more. Sling TV also has a decent selection of episodes from Adult Swim series such as Rick and Morty, Black Dynamite, Aqua Teen Hunger Force and more. Cartoon Network hits such as Teen Titans GO!, DC Super Hero Girls, Adventure Time and others are also available. Stand-up specials from Eddie Griffin, Bryan Callen and more comedians are there as well.

Sling TV's TV drama side is just as random, with shows such as The Commish, the UK Shameless, Silk Stalkings, The Greatest American Hero, and Bonanza, to name a few. On the unscripted front, there are reality competitions like Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, as well as true crime shows like Forensic Files, Unsolved Mysteries, Killers: Behind the Myth and more.

Movies

The movie selection for Sling TV's freebie section is another grab bag. There's a horror section with some decent flicks such as Triangle, Dog Soldiers, Intruders and more. On the action and drama side, films like Nicolas Cage's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, Reese Witherspoon's breakout Freeway and Scott Adkins' Ninja stand out more than some other B-sides from Wesley Snipes, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal and other action stars.

Live TV

Beyond the ABC News Live and Fox News feeds, Sling TV is also hosting a small selection of networks hosting live streaming of TV shows and movies. There's the vintage game show channel BUZZR, the trial-centric Law & Crime Rewind, the vintage TV and movie channel The Film Detective, and the news and opinion network Free Speech TV.

For anyone who wants to check out Sling TV's "Stay In & SLING!" promotion for themselves, just head to Sling TV's My TV website and get to streaming without any delays. That's also where potential future customers can check out the subscription streaming packages that Sling offers.

With some premiere dates possibly being shifted due to coronavirus setbacks, our Winter and Spring TV schedule will also help quarantined audiences figure out what to watch in the coming weeks and months.

Funko Pops are amazing. You know what I’m talking about. Those little figurines with the big heads and adorable eyes you’ll see in book stores, movie theaters, and game shops. We already covered movies that we can’t believe haven’t been Funko-ized yet. Now, we’re delving into TV shows territory.

There are some crazy omissions from the TV side of Funko Pops. Sure, series like Friends, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad all have a slew of Funko Pops. But there are some shows you would think would have several that don’t have any. That is what this list is all about. Once again, prepare to be shocked.

Seinfeld

(In Jerry’s voice) What… is up… with there being no Seinfeld Funko Pops? Sure, there are Seinfeld toys, but they’re not the Pops we’re looking for. We want big-headed George Constanza to have an even bigger headed Funko Pop. Is that too much to ask? These Pops would all definitely be “sponge-worthy.”

I would of course want George, Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer, but I would also want J. Peterman, Elaine’s other boss, Mr. Pitt (eating a candy bar with a fork and knife) Newman with his mail bag, and even Steinbrenner, but it would only be the back of his head. Why is Seinfeld not a Pop again?

The Wire

Yo, Omar’s coming! Omar’s coming! But I’ll tell you what’s probably not coming anytime soon. The Wire Funko Pops. Which is strange, since The Wire has such a large cast and is such a cult favorite, you would think the whole crew would have Funko Pops by now. I mean, Firefly has Funko Pops, and that show never even got a finale (Unless you count Serenity, of course.)

But The Wire Pops would be super cool. I'd want Omar, of course, but I’d also want Bunk, Herc, Stringer Bell, McNulty… I mean, the list goes on and on. Brother Mouzone. Proposition Joe. Seriously, I have more than enough Funko Pops in my house right now, but I would buy Pops for every single character from The Wire if they made them. It would probably take up the rest of my basement, but I don't care. Make it happen.

The Sopranos

Woke up this morning… got myself a Funko Pop. Except, it was Xena: Warrior Princess since I couldn’t find any for The Sopranos. This is fascinating, too, since The Sopranos was one of the biggest shows in HBO history, and yet it doesn’t have a single Funko Pop. Not even Tony, so you know they don’t have my favorite character, Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero.

If there were Funko Pops of The Sopranos, I'd want Tony in his black and white bowling shirt, his Hawaiian shirt, and his suit. I'd want Vito in his gay club outfit, and Junior with his white hat and glasses. Man… I miss The Sopranos. Don’t stop believing… that we’ll eventually get some Funko Pops for this beloved show.

24

Dammit, Chloe! Where the hell are my 24 Funko Pops? Jack Bauer and the gang at CTU used to be super popular in the Bush-era, so it’s understandable that Funko isn’t rushing to produce 24 Funko Pops today. But I have a Topanga Pop from Boy Meets World staring right at me now as I type this, so if Boy Meets World can get some Funko love, I’m not sure why 24 hasn’t.

I'd want all of CTU. Jack, Tony, Chloe, Edgar (Aww, RIP, Edgar). I want President Palmer. Hell, I'd even want a cougar for when the show jumped the shark all the way back in Season 2. We're running out of time! Bring on the 24 Pops NOOOOW!

Grey’s Anatomy

Grey’s Anatomy is in its 16th season (!) and yet, it doesn’t have a single Funko Pop to its name. How is that even possible? I haven’t watched Grey’s Anatomy since about Season 4, but from what I remember of it, the doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (Formerly Seattle Grace) have so many cast members, that I’m surprised Funko didn’t start popping these bad boys out years ago.

There were a lot of deaths on the show, but Funko could bring them back to life again. Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Sloan, Dr. O’Malley, bring them all back. Plus, you could, of course, have the regulars, like, I don’t know... Dr. Meredith Grey? There are just so many doctors to choose from, and I can't even choose one. Why?

Family Matters

It’s a rare condition, in this day and age... to go to the Gamestop and find the Funko Pop you’re looking for. Especially if you’re a fan of the Winslow clan, to which there are no Funko Pops for Family Matters. At least ones that aren’t custom-made. But again, if Boy Meets World has Funko Pops, I’m not sure why other popular series on the TGIF line-up don’t.

As for what I'd want, well, I'd want Steve Urkel, of course, but I'd also want Stefan Urkel. I'd want Eddie, I'd want Waldo Faldo, I'd want Carl. And like Steve, I'd want Laura! Is that so much to ask?

The Twilight Zone

At the signpost up ahead, your next stop is…The Twilight Zone. Granted, this is a pretty old show, but it’s such a classic one, that you would think there would at least be a Funko Pop of the big-headed aliens from “To Serve Man” or the little boy from “It’s a Good Life” who can make anything happen with his mind. I envision that one would feature the boy pointing.

But really, there’s so much to pull from The Twilight Zone, that I’m pretty surprised that there is nothing on the market from Funko Pop. Not even a Rod Serling Pop, which is just criminal. There’s a gremlin on the wing!

Roseanne

Granted, I understand that Roseanne is currently pretty much barred (get it?) from TV, but that doesn’t mean Funko has to exclude the rest of the Conner clan from getting popped. Roseanne is one of those shows that will forever remain in syndication somewhere, and will forever have an audience. It’s the perfect time capsule of the 90s and was a great companion piece to Married… With Children, which, I might add, has a number of Funko Pops.

Roseanne would be a fun series to have a collection since there are multiple phases of the characters. You would of course have two different Becky’s for the different actresses who played them, a Dan pop, Jackie, Roseanne’s mother and also grandmother, D.J., Darlene’s boyfriend, who would later go on to star on The Big Bang Theory. Again, lots of characters, but no Funko Pops. What gives?

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

While I would love to get jiggy with Will Smith and the gang, alas, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is yet another immensely popular TV series that never made the jump to being made into Funko toys. It’s not that Will Smith hasn’t been made into a Funko Pop. He has, of course. His Agent J from Men In Black became a Pop, as did Steve Hiller from Independence Day, as well as Detective Mike Lowery from Bad Boys. So there is no shortage of Will Smith Funko Pops.

But I want a Pop of the character that started it all. I want Will from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air! I'd also want Jazz, Uncle Phil, Aunt Viv (Both of them), Carlton mid-dance, Ashley, Hillary, and of course, Geoffrey the Butler. Plus, the Will one has to have the classic outfit with the sideward hat and the blue shorts, as well as his school days wearing the jacket inside out. I want to know how he became the prince in a town called Bel-Air!

The Critic

Last but certainly not least, it stinks that there are no Funko Pops of Jay Sherman, a.k.a. The Critic. I understand that The Critic wasn’t the most popular cartoon in the world, but if Daria can get a Funko Pop, I’m pretty sure The Critic can get a Funko Pop, too.

Now, the thing about The Critic is that while there were several characters on the show, most of them were forgettable, which is why the animated series may not have lasted all that long. Instead, most of the jokes came from the parodies of movies that the show lampooned. So, all I’m really asking for is a single Pop, but of Jay Sherman sitting in his chair. The Pop would have a dialogue bubble, which is something I’m pretty sure Pop has never done before, and it would simply say, “It stinks!” And yes, I understand I’m probably the only person in the world who would buy this Funko Pop. But what do you want from me? I love The Critic.

So that’s 10 TV shows that still have no Funko Pops whatsoever. I’m sure there are plenty more TV shows that deserve to be Popped (Peewee’s Playhouse, anyone?) that haven’t yet. But those are my picks. What Pops for TV series would you like to see be made? Sound off in the comment section below.

The Conners is having to write out a character for Season 2. The reason being the star who plays the role is leaving for another comedy on another network. Who is exiting? For now, actress Maya Lynne Robinson. She portrayed DJ’s wife and Mary’s mother, Geena, throughout the spinoff’s first season.

Maya Lynne Robinson is leaving to star in CBS’ new sitcom, The Unicorn, in a full-time capacity. What does this mean for The Conners' Geena when the show returns this fall? The Conners is going to write Geena off in a way that reasonably explains her absence and leaves the door open for her to return.

Geena is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. Hence, Geena’s career in the military will be utilized to explain her departure. How will she be written off? The Conners showrunner, Bruce Helford, explained how they would handle the exit of Maya Lynne Robinson’s Geena, telling TVLine:

There is some good news. There is a strong chance that fans of The Conners could see Geena again. The series’ showrunner expressed hope that Maya Lynne Robinson would be able to guest star at some point in the future. It would be easy to do. Geena could have a video call with her family or eventually return.

There are reportedly no current plans to recast the role. Fans will recall that Maya Lynne Robinson took over the part of Geena from The Mindy Project’s Xosha Roquemore. Roquemore played Geena on the Roseanne revival. Robinson took over the role when The Conners spinoff got the greenlight. She subsequently played Geena throughout the series' first season.

Now that Geena is away, DJ will be parenting his and Geena’s daughter with the help of his family. The Conners will be losing the presence of one family member and welcoming another.

Becky is set to welcome her first child in Season 2. The second season will be comprised of more episodes than the first. So, there will be more episodes for The Conners to explore how DJ and Mary are handling Geena’s deployment.

Johnny Galecki will be back for Season 2, and he has already shared the first look at his return. Wanted back for the second season is Katey Sagal as Louise, who had a romantic interest in Dan. The Conners’ producers were reportedly interested in expanding her role in the second season.

If and when Geena eventually returns, The Conners should have followed quite a few life-changing events. It took a while to get renewed, but it is on its way back! The spinoff will return later this month on ABC. When exactly?

The Conners will be among this fall’s premieres. Season 2 premieres Tuesday, September 24 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Yes, he's back! Now that The Big Bang Theory is over, Johnny Galecki is making time for more episodes of The Conners Season 2.

Johnny Galecki brought back his Roseanne character David Healy for two episodes of The Conners Season 1. The Season 1 finale ended with David breaking up with his girlfriend Blue (Juliette Lewis) and making his pitch to Darlene (Sara Gilbert) for her to stay there and not move to Chicago with Ben (Jay R. Ferguson). Darlene ultimately decided to stay in Lanford, telling Ben it was because she couldn't leave her dad (John Goodman). But David may still be a factor -- with or without his pants on.

Johnny Galecki teased his Season 2 return with a photo of David sandwiched between Darlene and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) as they help him with his pants.

Awww. It is kind of amazing how long these characters have been beloved guests in our own living rooms. Johnny Galecki joined the Roseanne cast in Season 4 in 1992 and had a role on the show until it ended in 1997. He has been very fortunate in his sitcom success, since 10 years after Roseanne ended he hit the jackpot as one of the leads of The Big Bang Theory.

Speaking of The Big Bang Theory, one recurring star on that show was Wil Wheaton, who replied to Johnny Galecki's heartfelt post with his own wistful words:

Very sweet. The Roseanne cast went through a tough time when the show was abruptly cancelled after its big ratings-win of a return, following star Roseanne Barr's social media comments. The show was rebranded as The Conners without Roseanne, following the rest of the family.

After The Conners Season 1 finale in January 2019, Johnny Galecki was asked about maybe returning to The Conners full-time for Season 2. He said he'd rather return as David on a recurring basis:

Sara Gilbert, who is an executive producer on The Conners as well as the actress who plays Darlene, also told TVLine she was very hopeful about having Johnny Galecki back in Season 2.

And now Johnny Galecki has confirmed he'll be back in The Conners Season 2 for "one or two more stories," whatever that might entail.

September is almost here! Seems like the summer flew by, but The Conners Season 2 premiere is right around the corner on Tuesday, September 24 at 8 p.m. EST. Here's everything we know so far about Season 2 to get you back up-to-speed.

As one of the most popular comedies on the small screen right now, ABC's The Conners has the pressure of trying to maintain the impressive numbers it earned with its "first" season after shedding the Roseanne branding. A presumably easy way to do that would be to bring back elements that made Season 1 memorable, so The Conners producers are doing just that by trying to re-recruit Sons of Anarchy vet Katey Sagal for an expanded role in Season 2.

Weekly viewers will remember Katey Sagal first entering the Conners-verse in Episode 8 of the first season, titled "O Sister, Where Art Thou?" In the episode, she portrayed Louise, a former Lanford resident who moved back to town and picked up a job as a bartender at Casa Bonita, where Becky works. She also happened to be a former romantic interest of John Goodman's Dan, and though Louise tried to get those embers burning again, Dan ended up turning her down, still mired in the memories of his late wife Roseanne.

It doesn't take much TV sitcom math to figure out that Katey Sagal's return to The Conners won't be to expand upon her interesting in the restaurant industry – although that would be an interesting detour for this show to take with its sophomore effort. Rather, viewers can likely expect to see Louise and Dan becoming closer friends, and possibly even more, depending on how many episodes the writers have planned for Sagal if she's able to return.

The Conners Season 2: What We Know So Far

For now, ABC's advances on Katey Sagal for The Conners' second season aren't being commented on by the network. However, TVLine reports that she'd be returning for a "significant" arc in Season 2, so it's 99.9% likely that Sagal would be reprising Louise for at least two episodes, but hopefully more. The Conners' schedule got greatly expanded for the 2019-2020 season, with 18 episodes as compared to the eleven ordered in Season 1. (Which was itself raised from the ten episodes that were initially ordered.)

Considering Katey Sagal initially gained worldwide popularity as the co-lead on Fox's Married with Children just over 30 years ago, the actress could tackle sitcom-acting in her sleep. Combine that talent with all the praise The Conners' cast and crew heaped on Sagal when she appeared last season, and there's not a lot of mystery behind why the ABC comedy is reportedly looking to sign her up for even more.

At the moment, Katey Sagal's schedule appears to be open enough to allow for a return to The Conners this fall. She currently has a recurring role on ABC's soapy drama Grand Hotel, which is executive produced by Eva Longoria Bastón. (To live in a world where those two actresses are co-leading a major show together...) Beyond that, Sagal doesn't have any widely reported projects in the pipeline.

She did make a surprise appearance in the Season 1 premiere of FX's Mayans M.C., Kurt Sutter and Elgin James' SoCal-set spinoff of the hit drama Sons of Anarchy. Katey Sagal's role of Gemma Teller became arguably as iconic as her stints as Peggy Bundy in Married with Children and as Leela in Futurama, and fans would love to see her return for a Sons prequel series. For now, though, those plans aren't in development, leaving Sagal free to try and woo John Goodman anew.

Are you guys pumped to see Katey Sagal possibly returning to her sitcom roots for more episodes of The Conners this fall? (Or spring, depending on when they would slot those episodes.) Stay connected to CinemaBlend for more Conners talk, and tune into the Season 2 premiere when it hits ABC's fall schedule on Tuesday, September 24, at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Roseanne, who? Roseanne Barr still sounds angry about ABC cancelling her show, but The Conners family is doing just fine without her. ABC just renewed The Conners for Season 2, with returning stars including John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, and Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy.

According to TVLine, Season 2 of the Roseanne spinoff will feature 13 episodes, an increase of two over Season 1's 11 episodes. The site added that John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Sara Gilbert all got raises for Season 2 and will reportedly make $375,000 an episode -- up from $250,000 for Season 1 -- plus a piece of the back end. Lecy Goranson also reportedly got a raise and will make $165,000 an episode, which TVLine said was a double-digit increase.

ABC's renewal announcement said more cast members would be announced at a later date. TVLine said Michael Fishman (D.J.), Emma Kenney (Darlene and David’s daughter Harris), Maya Lynne Robinson (D.J.’s wife Geena), Jayden Rey (D.J. and Geena’s daughter Mary), and Johnny Galecki (David) are all expected to return in some capacity in Season 2.

The Conners came to life when ABC cancelled Roseanne after its Season 10 revival. The network had already renewed Roseanne for Season 11 before backtracking after Roseanne Barr's controversial tweet. ABC decided to continue following the Conner family without Roseanne, killing off the character of Roseanne Conner at the start of The Conners. Roseanne Barr was not happy about that. She recently blasted ABC in a new stand-up routine, and apparently she lays a lot of the blame specifically at former co-star Sara Gilbert's feet, with Gilbert as one of the show's executive producers as well as a star.

ABC bragged that The Conners Season 1 was the #1 new comedy in the 2018-2019 season in total viewers (9.5 million) and in the key 18-49 demo (2.2/10). It also topped the ratings of its Tuesday at 8 p.m. competition by 16%, and gave ABC a five-year high for the half-hour.

Last month, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke said they were close to a Season 2 renewal for The Conners, they just had to finish finalizing deals with the main cast. On March 22, Burke praised the cast when announcing the show's second season:

The Conners Season 1 had an amazing guest cast -- including Matthew Broderick, Juliette Lewis, Katey Sagal, Mary Steenburgen, Justin Long, Jay R. Ferguson, and Sarah Chalke -- and fans can probably expect more stars to stop by in Season 2. A premiere date has yet to be announced for 2019-2020, so stay tuned for updates.

Some of 2018's biggest TV headlines swirled around the meteoric career burst of comedian Roseanne Barr, whose famed sitcom Roseanne was the year's biggest scripted premiere. Of course, she was fired over a controversial Twitter post just two months after it premiered, though Barr hasn't ever seemed to hold herself responsible. In fact, she recently went hard on blaming former co-star Sara Gilbert for getting ousted by ABC and the rest of Hollywood, making a Hannibal Lecter comparison in the process.

Roseanne Barr has never ever been one to mince words or shield her genuine opinions from the rest of the world, a trait that she has doubled down on during the ten months since Roseanne was swiftly cancelled. (She did not like how The Conners killed her off, either.) Yet some were still likely surprised to read that Barr referenced Anthony Hopkins' iconic Silence of the Lambs killer Hannibal Lecter when referring to her former friend and co-star Sara Gilbert.

Granted, Roseanne Barr also took time to call ABC a "shit, fuckin' low-rated network" during a recent stand-up comedy set when she surprised Las Vegas audience members attending an Andrew Dice Clay performance. As such, it was already clear that the outspoken comic is still smarting from losing Roseanne over a tweet she still alleges was made in jest. Comparing someone to a fictional cannibal, though, is slightly different, even without the thppp tongue noises.

Roseanne Barr's comments to the Washington Post about Sara Gilbert were made in reference to the tweet below, in which the Roseanne revival's spearheader condemned Barr's post about Barack Obama's former aide Valerie Jarrett.

Sara Gilbert was a big reason why Roseanne's revival came about, as she took steps to reasserting the sitcom's popularity through her job hosting The Talk, where she had John Goodman appear for a mini-reunion in 2017. It was only a few rumor-filled months later when ABC put in the series order, and it looked like Roseanne Barr would be the queen of primetime for the second time in her career.

Alas, the comedian's shift in political ideologies and embrace of social media were apparently near-constant worries for those behind the scenes on Roseanne, and she'd reportedly been contacted on multiple occasions about curbing her Twitter rage. So whenever Roseanne Barr made the now-infamous Valerie Jarrett tweet, ABC's then-President Channing Dungey seemingly didn't need a long time to deliberate how to handle the situation, and Roseanne was axed.

Clearly, Barr holds Sara Gilbert as responsible as anyone else for Dungey's decision to cancel Roseanne, but for her part, Gilbert doesn't appear to be holding any long-form grudges against her former TV mom. Here's how she explained her position.

While I’m extremely disappointed and heartbroken over the dissolution of the original show, she will always be family, and I will always love Roseanne.

It's also reported that two of Roseanne Barr's children are now responsible for keeping the stand-up comedian's rabble-rousing comments off of Twitter. While her son Buck had attempted to stop her Twitter habits soon after Roseanne was cancelled, Barr reversed his decision. Now, though, daughters Jenny and Jessica Pentland are each responsible for a different portion of their mother's Twitter password, so that she can't log on.

At this point, ABC has yet to renew Roseanne's spinoff The Conners for Season 2, although it's being reported that most of the main cast got big contract updates, meaning a renewal is all but imminent. While waiting to hear more about renewals and cancellations, take note of all the other big midseason shows that are currently airing.

Roseanne Barr recently returned to her stand-up roots, and used the opportunity to throw more shots at ABC for firing her from her high-rated show Roseanne. Barr was introduced by Andrew Dice Clay, her friend of more than 30 years, at the Laugh Factory Las Vegas. She immediately launched into some expletive-heavy jokes -- if they were jokes -- about the network that not only cancelled her show last year, it also killed off her character on the spinoff show The Conners.

"I ain't dead, bitches" is also what she tweeted after The Conners premiere explained the absence of Roseanne Conner by killing her off.

Roseanne ran for nine seasons before the nine-episode Season 10 revival in 2018. The Season 10 premiere had 18.44 million viewers and a 5.2 rating in the 18-49 demo, making it the highest rated comedy in years. ABC had renewed Roseanne for Season 11 just a few days after the success of the premiere. But the show was cancelled in May 2018 after Roseanne tweeted a comment about Valerie Jarrett that was considered racist.

Roseanne said she begged ABC execs not to cancel the show, saying she'd do anything to make it right. It was decided to continue the show with the rest of the cast and crew as The Conners. Roseanne seemed to make peace with the original team going on without her, but she was not happy that they killed off her character, and how they did it.

Roseanne Barr joked that she hadn't done stand-up since the 1960s, but that wasn't quite the case. Still, it had been a while, and the audience seemed to appreciate her brief Laugh Factory bit. Andrew Dice Clay was happy to share the stage with her. He also gave her a shoutout on Instagram:

The Conners Season 1 ran for 11 episodes from October 2018 to January 2019. The premiere had 10.56 million viewers and a 2.4 rating. Last we heard, ABC was finalizing deals with the core cast for a Season 2 return, which is expected to have 13 episodes. Midseason 2019 is winding down, but keep up with everything now airing with our midseason premiere guide.

Some of the juiciest drama happens behind-the-scenes of TV shows. Offhand, you can probably think of any number of actors/actresses from Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones and beyond with shocking exits. Sometimes the actors leave under let's say cloudy conditions, and other times it's the showrunners who create controversy with the writing of the exit. It's kind of amazing to think that we've had so many such departures just in the past five years. This list only scratches the surface -- starting with the exit that should be coming up next...

George Eads, MacGyver

George Eads is leaving MacGyver, with the show setting up an exit for his character Jack Dalton in the Friday, February 1 episode. Eads reportedly had an on-set altercation of some kind back in October and subsequently stormed off the Atlanta set. When he returned, he asked to be released from his contract, reportedly due to a desire to spend time with his daughter in Los Angeles. Eads also left a different CBS show under similar circumstances. He left CSI after 15 seasons, one season after an on-set problem with one of the writers. It seemed like he might quit, but he took a leave of absence and came back for another season before being written off.

Clayne Crawford, Lethal Weapon

Clayne Crawford's departure from Lethal Weapon was ugly from every angle. He was cut from the show before Season 3 due to alleged misconduct. The show decided to kill off Martin Riggs and give Damon Wayans' Roger Murtaugh a new partner. Some of Crawford's bad behavior was caught on camera, including clashes with Wayans, who didn't come across so good himself. In one instance, Crawford had a meltdown over filming scenes at an L.A. area pool. After that, he agreed to undergo counseling. Ultimately, his character was killed off and -- after a time jump -- Seann William Scott stepped in as the new co-lead Season 3. In late 2018, Wayans said he planned to leave the show after Season 3, but that may not be the case anymore. Then again, Fox has yet to renew the show for a Season 4, so it may be a moot point.

Thomas Gibson, Criminal Minds

Thomas Gibson's character Aaron Hotchner was written off Criminal Minds after the actor had an on-set altercation during production on Season 12. Gibson was directing an episode and had a heated incident with the episode's writer, allegedly kicking at him. He was fired. Hotch, a main character of the show, was written to have taken a consulting job off screen. Later, that was said to be a ruse, and he went into witness protection to get away from Mr. Scratch. Hotch could've returned to the BAU later, but fans were told that he decided to retire and be a full-time parent to Jack. It's not clear if Hotch will return for the Criminal Minds finale. That wasn't the first time something like that had happened; in 2010, Gibson allegedly pushed an assistant director, and had to take anger management counseling.

Danny Masterson, The Ranch

Danny Masterson was fired from Netflix's The Ranch during filming for Season 3, after five women came forward with rape allegations. His character, Rooster, appeared to leave town at the end of Part 5. But that wasn't the end of his story. When Part 6 premiered, Beau Bennett (Sam Elliott) got a call that Rooster's motorcycle was found at the bottom of a cliff. Apparently he went into a curve too fast, his brakes locked up, and he went over the guardrail. Rooster's body wasn't found, but he was presumed dead, and the family held a memorial for him. So they killed Rooster off, but also left the door open for the character. Danny Masterson asked fans to keep supporting The Ranch, even with Rooster "MIA."

Roseanne Barr, Roseanne

Roseanne had a hugely popular revival Season 10 when it returned in 2018. But Roseanne Barr has never been shy with her opinions, and she took a tweet a step too far for ABC. Since it was Roseanne's show, with her name on it, when ABC wanted to fire Barr after a racist tweet, the network decided to cancel the entire show. ABC boss Channing Dungey called Roseanne's tweet about Valerie Jarrett "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values." The rest of the Roseanne cast, who were basically collateral damage in the drama, returned for a spinoff called The Conners.

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Kevin Spacey's personal house of cards came crashing down after Star Trek: Discovery and Rent star Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of trying to have sex with him when Rapp was just 14 years old. After that, several members of the House of Cards also came forward with stories about Spacey's alleged misconduct. Netflix decide to cut ties with Spacey, and cut him out of the final Season 6 entirely. Robin Wright's President Claire Underwood was instead the lead of the shortened final season. The show killed off Frank Underwood, and also buried the character somewhere he would never want to be. Spacey later revived his character for a bizarre holiday video called "Let Me Be Frank."

Erinn Hayes, Kevin Can Wait

This casting drama started when it was announced that Kevin James' former King of Queens co-star Leah Remini would be joining Kevin Can Wait full-time in Season 2. That news was followed by reports that Erinn Hayes was fired after Season 1. The show decided to kill off her character, Donna, wife of Kevin's lead character. That allowed Season 2 to focus on Kevin's relationship with Remini's Vanessa Cellucci. The change didn't sit well with fans, and Hayes didn't seem to be happy with it either. CBS decided to cancel the whole show after Season 2 anyway.

Connie Britton, Nashville

It was a huge shock to Nashville fans when Rayna James died due to injuries from a car crash. It seemed like Rayna was going to be fine ... until she wasn't. Fans were devastated. What was Nashville without Rayna James? Connie Britton said leaving was her decision. She felt it was time to exit Nashville after it found a new home at CMT for Season 5. But the show continued for another season on CMT, and Britton even brought back Rayna back in the finale for two scenes -- a flashback and the big musical number at the end.

Sophia Bush, Chicago P.D.

Sophia Bush left Chicago P.D. after playing Det. Erin Lindsay for four seasons. She was tight-lipped about her reasons at first, and only opened up more over time, talking about her unhappiness on the set. Bush said (via TVLine) that she experienced "a consistent onslaught barrage of abusive behavior." She said producers initially dismissed her complaints, and they even seemed irritated that she was asking them to investigate negative conditions on set. She gave them notice that if things didn't change by the end of Season 4, she'd quit. She threatened to sue the network and write an op-ed on why she was unhappy, but NBC ultimately allowed her an early exit from her seven-season contract.

T.J. Miller, Silicon Valley

T.J. Miller's Erlich Bachman was one of the main characters of HBO's Silicon Valley. When Miller announced he'd be leaving the show after Season 4 wrapped, plenty of reasons flew around as to why. Initially, Miller said he wanted to do more things like The Emoji Movie and have time to develop animated features. After that, more stories started coming out about his allegedly unprofessional behavior on set. He also reportedly didn't get along with star Thomas Middleditch. The more that came out, the more toxic and mutual the departure sounded.

Stana Katic, Castle

Stana Katic played co-lead Kate Beckett on Castle, so it was baffling to fans to hear she'd be leaving after Season 8 -- and not by her own choice. Nathan Fillion's contract was renewed, and he and some of the other stars were ready to return for Season 9. But how could Castle continue without Beckett? Rumors flew as to what happened, from recycled talk of tension between Katic and Fillion to discussion of various contracts. There was huge fan outcry, and ABC ultimately decided just to end the show with Season 8. Two different endings were filmed -- one with a cliffhanger if Season 9 had happened, and the happy ending that fans got to see. But the behind-the-scenes drama toward the end of the show's run was still fresh to fans, and soured the happy ending a bit.

Josh Charles, The Good Wife

So much of The Good Wife was the love story between Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and Will Gardner (Josh Charles). So it was a massive shock to see Will gunned down inside a courtroom in Season 5, Episode 15. Will was dead. Josh Charles had wanted to leave the show, and the creators wrote an open letter to fans to try and justify the end of Will's story. Charles' exit wasn't even the only dramatic one for the legal show. You may have heard about the rumored tension between Margulies and Archie Panjabi, who played Kalinda Sharma. When Panjabi left in Season 6, the show filmed a final scene for best friends Alicia and Kalinda. But there was speculation that the stars filmed their respective sides of the scene separately.

Patrick Dempsey, Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is now in Season 15 but fans are still pissed about Derek's death. There was already behind-the-scenes drama suggesting Patrick Dempsey would be leaving the show, but the way they wrote out his character in Season 11 was just brutal. Derek had stopped to help some people in a car accident, and ended up hit himself. He was rushed to a hospital, but not Grey Sloan, and his doctor made a mistake that ended up in Derek's death. Shonda Rhimes defended the decision to kill off Derek, saying it was better than having him just disappear on Meredith Grey. At least this preserved their love story. Some fans said they would stop watching after Derek's death. Even some current viewers still don't want Mer to be with anyone else.

Columbus Short, Scandal

Columbus Short brought his own scandal to Scandal. He played Harrison Wright on the first three seasons, but confirmed he wouldn't return for Season 4. Harrison was ultimately killed in the Season 3 finale. Short opened up later about the personal drama that led to his departure, saying, "I'll be candid. I was struggling with drugs. I had a lot on my plate, and you know, I was using unhealthy ways to kind of self-medicate and deal with a lot of heavy duty stuff in my life." He was jailed after getting into a fight in a restaurant, and his wife filed for divorce following a misdemeanor spousal battery charge. Short said Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes and the cast knew about his drug and alcohol problems and tried to protect him and hold him down. "And that was one of the real reasons – they just wanted me to get my stuff together."

Chandler Riggs, The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead loves a shocking exit, but if there was any character that seemed safe, it was Carl Grimes. Chandler Riggs apparently though he'd be safe for a while too, so it was shocking for him as well as fans when Carl was killed off halfway through Season 8. Riggs said it was "devastating" for him and his family, especially since he had just bought a house in the Atlanta area where Walking Dead films. Riggs' father also spoke out on social media, slamming showrunner Scott M. Gimple for firing Chandler two weeks before the actor's 18th birthday, despite telling him they wanted him on the show for the next three years. The very next season, the show's main star, Andrew Lincoln, also exited the show -- although this time it was by choice, and AMC didn't kill off Rick Grimes, the network is giving him his own set of films.

Those are just a few of the controversial departures from the past few years. There are more -- and many more if we went back even further in time. At this point, we've just started the second month of 2019, but it will surely add more names to the list. That's the way of the TV biz. For now, keep up on everything airing with our handy midseason 2019 schedule.

2018 was a big year for reboots and revivals, as audiences once again proved that revisiting what's familiar is still a safe bet in Hollywood. At least, that seems to be true in the coveted 18-49 age group demographic, in which viewers turned out in sizable numbers for some of the more popular offerings of the year.

Advertisers often view this audience as the most valuable, so this crowd takes precedence in our ranking guide of 2018's top reboots and revivals over the viewership numbers. As a note, Netflix doesn't offer official ratings for its service, but unofficial data and the company's general enthusiasm about two of its shows in particular earned them some honorable mentions on this list. Without further ado, let's jump on in to the Top 8!

8. Showtime At The Apollo - Fox

Fox revived the classic Showtime At The Apollo, which has been famous for its showcasing of artists both big and small. In an age where talent and reality singing competitions are all the rage, it seemed obvious for this program to get a weekly run in 2018. Fox brought back Steve Harvey to host who, outside of specials he was a part of before, returned full-time for the first time since the 90s.

Showtime At The Apollo averaged a 0.6 in the ratings with an average of 2.45 million viewers tuning in over the course of the revival season. Those viewership numbers aren't bad, but the show routinely placed behind other network TV offerings in the same time slot, and the ratings aren't anything to brag about for Fox. It's still up in the air whether or not the show will return for 2019; with the show performing above other reboots like Charmed, it's earned a spot here all the same.

7. Murphy Brown - CBS

With political tensions in America seemingly as high as they've been in some time, the timing seemed right for CBS to bring Murphy Brown back. The revival went guns blazing and checked in with Murphy in a brave new world, where the show attempted to remain timely despite a rapid news cycle. Unfortunately for fans, it doesn't appear to have succeeded in drawing folks in as CBS has made moves that make it feel it won't get another season.

Murphy Brown pulled in some enviable numbers. Though its 0.85 rating share isn't much to write home about, its average viewership of 6.06 million isn't bad by most measures. Of course, most familiar with television ratings know CBS has a much higher standard than other networks, and it doesn't look like Murphy Brown or its ratings are high enough to warrant a continuation.

6. Magnum P.I. - CBS

After years of trying to get a reboot or revival off the ground, CBS finally succeeded in bringing Thomas Magnum back to television. Reactions to Jay Hernandez's Thomas Magnum and the show's overall tone has been somewhat mixed, but CBS still has the program returning in 2019 to finish out Season 1.

That's more than Murphy Brown can say, which is surprising considering the two shows' ratings and viewership are somewhat similar. While Magnum P.I. edged it out in ratings with its 0.87 share, it's slightly behind in average viewership with its numbers sitting at 5.89 million. Time will tell if that number means the revival won't find its way back to television for Season 2, or if its 2019 run just delayed an eventual cancellation.

5. Jersey Shore Family Vacation - MTV

When it was first announced that the cast of Jersey Shore would be getting together for a revival series, some were confused as to why. Now, after two seasons and drama-filled episodes arguably more intense than the original series, Jersey Shore Family Vacation is a big hit at MTV. The reality revival is already headed into 2019 with a Season 3 renewal, although we're still kind of questioning how that will play out.

Jersey Shore Family Vacation has been a ratings success for MTV, and has earned its place thanks to a 0.88 rating. That is especially impressive when considering its viewership of 1.53 million is way lower than Murphy Brown and Magnum P.I. In its defense, it's also aired 20 more episodes than both, and still managed to hold a consistently high rating. Probably because it speaks to a younger audience more than the others, but the facts remain the same!

4. Last Man Standing - Fox

Last Man Standing had been attempting a television comeback since its cancellation at ABC but didn't have much luck until Fox took notice of it. A deal went through, and despite some thinking there was a better chance of Home Improvement returning, Last Man Standing had successfully rallied its way back to television.

Last Man Standing is doing pretty well in its return to television, with current totals bringing in an average rating of 1.21. Take that in addition to its 6.23 million average viewership number, and all the jabs it took at ABC for cancelling it in its premiere feel justified. It's still up in the air as to whether or not it'll get renewed for Season 8, but The Cancel Bear is thinking its odds look pretty good.

3. The Conners - ABC

It took some back and forth between Roseanne Barr and ABC, but eventually, both parties were able to ensure the rest of the cast wouldn't suffer from her controversy. The Conners is, as many know, a Roseanne-free revival that's attempting to recapture the appeal of the original series. Without Barr around to drive the show's direction, there's hope that it can tone down the politics and get back to the family-based storylines it became famous for.

So far, things are going alright for the spinoff as its ratings average comes in at 1.62, with viewership averaging 7.6 million. While those aren't the insane numbers the Roseanne revival was pulling in, it's still pretty solid and a sign that the show can survive without the person who helped make the Conner family iconic. Whether or not it can continue on if more stars drop out is another question, but for now, that doesn't seem to be a problem.

2. American Idol - ABC

ABC's revival of American Idol had a lot of hype going in, with all news about the competition's return indicating it could be bigger and better than before. A big contract with pop superstar Katy Perry and the addition of other judges Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan helped that narrative, and retaining Ryan Seacrest sealed the deal. The network did all it could to make the revival feel big, and all audiences had to do was watch.

American Idol's return season didn't disappoint and pulled in a ratings share of 1.63, with an average of 9.23 million viewers. That's great news for ABC, who may have been nervous initially when the show premiered to the lowest ratings of any prior season of the program. It all worked out in the end, and now audiences get another year with more of Katy Perry and her crazy shenanigans as a reward.

1. Roseanne - ABC

The Roseanne revival is without question one of the most infamous television shows of 2018 and a situation that will be talked about for some time. ABC gave the show a quick renewal after audiences turned out in huge numbers for the first few episodes, which ended 2018 as some as the most-watched primetime telecasts. Of course, that all turned on its head after a controversial tweet that led ABC to cancel it immediately.

While ratings did taper off in later episodes, the massive turnout of audience members at the start helped Roseanne gain a 3.5 rating and an average audience of 12.6 million. The world will never know if the show would've remained a television juggernaut had ABC kept Roseanne Barr with the show, or if the early viewership spike was just folks excited for the return. Regardless, the single-season revival will live on indefinitely for the headlines it made throughout the year.

Now, onto some honorable mentions courtesy of Netflix!

Queer Eye - Netflix

With inclusion and positive LGBT representation more valuable than ever to Hollywood nowadays, there is no denying the Queer Eye reboot wasn't one of television's most buzzed-about shows in 2018. The new Fab 5 got two seasons in 2018, and have Season 3 on the way. With the guys frequently popping up in other Netflix promotions and shows, it would seem audiences responded to the transformation series in a big way.

While Netflix didn't release official viewership statistics for its shows this year, the Queer Eye cast did find their way onto the company's the "Stars We Fell In Love With This Year" list. The show didn't make the list for top ten binge-watched shows, although that list wasn't really indicative of viewership or ratings. The renewal and cultural impact certainly count for something though, which is why Queer Eye at least gets an honorable mention on this list.

Lost In Space- Netflix

Netflix's reboot of Lost In Space took the classic series and modernized it into a tale that's still fun for the whole family. Audiences have responded well to the reboot despite some creative changes with characters, such as the gender-swapped Dr Smith. Those decisions were by and large embraced by audiences, especially the sexy robot that had a few Netflix subscribers feeling some kind of way.

While unofficial, Nielsen did manage to rustle up some viewership data for Lost In Space. The data alleged that around 6.3 million viewers tuned in within its first three days of release, and while that's not as impressive as its estimated viewership for Stranger Things, it's still pretty solid by cable television standards. It was also good enough for Netflix to sign the drama on for Season 2, and really, that's all that matters to viewers.

2019 is a new year with other television reboots and revivals on the way, so be sure to see what's coming by visiting our midseason premiere guide.

Divorces are never fun. There are a lot of complicated factors that go into splitting up with your legal partner, and it can be a major headache for everyone involved. But when your job is also on the line, that can cause even more difficulties to arise. Sure enough, when Roseanne was abruptly canceled by ABC after Roseanne Barr's inappropriate tweets, it also played a big part in actor Michael Fishman's divorce from Jennifer Briner, his wife of 19 years.

According to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Michael Fishman has been in the process of splitting up with his wife in an "amicable" fashion since June 2017, although there was a hitch in the proceedings when Roseanne was taken off the air and the professional plans of the cast and crew were left uncertain. It's not entirely clear why the show's halted production put a pause in the divorce, but it resulted in a temporary delay in the separation.

In any case, now that The Conners -- the spin-off series which premiered this fall -- is moving forward in due fashion, Michael Fishman and Jennifer Briner are continuing onward with their divorce. The legal documents were filed by Briner on Thursday, and the one-time couple is figuring out their divisions.

Among the primary focuses in this divorce is how Michael Fishman and Jennifer Briner will split custody agreements with their 16-year-old daughter. Each party wants to share joint custody with their child, both physical and legal, and they are currently figuring out how to separate the bank accounts and vehicles and other factors which are currently at hand for the couple. It's certainly going to be a matter they'll continue discussing in the future -- though it is encouraging to know that they are figuring it out in relatively conflict-free fashion, at least as far as these tricky divorce matters typically go.

The two were married while Michael Fishman was still in his teenage years, and they share two children together. It's not known publicly what caused the couple to split after nearly two decades by each other's side. But alas, sometimes these things happen. Divorce is common in Hollywood. You often hear more about actors' break-ups than hear about them getting together. And ultimately, it's a private matter that's between the two people.

Michael Fishman played D.J. Conner on Roseanne from 1988 to 1997, then he reprised his famous role in ABC's controversial reboot. The new season was on the air for a year before it was cancelled only earlier in the spring. Fishman now continues to play the role of adult D.J. Conner on The Conners. From as far as we can tell, the schedule for The Conners has not been affecting his divorce plans, which is why the ex-couple is moving forward again.

The Conners will return from winter break on Tuesday, January 8 on ABC, as one of the many midseason 2019 returns. Meanwhile, for the latest news in film, television, pop culture, video games and a whole lot more, you can be sure to check back with CinemaBlend.

2018 was a great year for television across the board, which almost always means it's chocked full of moments no one saw coming. From the casual "wtf" to the actual "WTF," this past year had many using the term in confusion, sadness, shock and excitement. Ranked from wild to wildest, here are our top 11 of TV's WTF moments of 2018.

Jeopardy- Alex Trebek Grew A Beard

Alex Trebek shocked America at the start of Jeopardy Season 35 when he revealed he'd be starting the season off with a well-groomed beard. It was a shock to the system, as one of the world's most recognizable game show hosts had only gone with a mustache or clean shaven to that point. The change got so much traction that Jeopardy polled people online and asked them to decide if the beard stayed.

In what may have been a WTF moment for Trebek, he seemed to realize the mistake he'd made in allowing the world to have control of his appearance. Trebek announced his wife overruled all voting, and that she preferred him clean shaven. Trebek is now back to his hairless look, but has teased viewers it would only take a few days without a razor for his beard to make a triumphant return.

Dancing With The Stars- Bobby Bones Wins

Dancing With The Stars had a WTF year in general, with a handful of things happening that had viewers saying the phrase. Fuller House star Juan Pablo Di Pace was eliminated despite having a perfect score, and while that was crazy, the wildest was yet to come. That came when Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess ended up winning the competition, despite never scoring above a 24 the entire season.

Bones' win sparked some outrage, and that, along with other factors, led to ABC taking a step back and opting to skip a return of Dancing With The Stars in Spring 2019. That's a big deal given the show's been a staple on ABC for quite some time. Whether the show returns to widespread acclaim or is worse than before, it goes without saying this year's season will always be remembered for its "wtf" ending.

The Voice- Adam Levine Throws A Contestant Under The Bus

Season 15 of The Voice created quite the controversy in later episodes, as a contestant fought to stay alive in the competition in spite of his coach's lack of support. Adam Levine could've encouraged America to rally behind DeAndre Nico shortly after his performance, but instead decided to use that time to plug another of his contestants facing elimination, Reagan Strange.

Strange was unable to compete due to sickness, but despite that, she advanced into the Top 8 over DeAndre Nico. The moment didn't sit well with fans, who sounded off enough for The Voice to acknowledge the moment in a later episode. Reagan Strange was eventually eliminated, and with all of Adam's contestants out of the running, the controversy faded. Still, him turning on his own team member may make others more wary of joining his group in future seasons.

The Bachelor- Arie Dumps Becca On Camera

Arie Luyendyk Jr. will go down in The Bachelor's history after dumping his then-fiance Becca Kufrin for runner-up Lauren Burnham. It wasn't necessarily controversial that Luyendyk Jr. decided to end things with Kufrin, but rather how he and ABC decided to have it go down that had folks saying "WTF." Luyendyk Jr. invited the cameras along to film the breakup with Kufrin and air it all on television unedited.

Surprisingly, Kufrin hasn't publicly shown any ill will towards her ex-fiance following the incident. In fact, Kufrin said she doesn't think Arie Luyendyk Jr. did it maliciously, but rather didn't think the situation through entirely before inviting ABC along for the breakup. Kufrin might've been onto something with that thought, as Luyendyk Jr. caught some heat again shortly after the finale with an ill-timed April Fool's prank with Lauren Burnham.

Star Trek: Discovery- Enterprise Meets Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery blew minds in Season 1 when the USS Discovery ended up facing another famous Starfleet ship, the USS Enterprise. At the time, all that was known during the reveal was that Captain Kirk was not on board, but Captain Christopher Pike and potentially Spock were. For fans who had been asking when the iconic Star Trek character and adopted brother of main character Michael Burnham would appear, this was huge.

Since then, Star Trek: Discovery has revealed a bearded Spock will appear in Season 2, and he'll be played by Ethan Peck. Fans will also get to see more of the infamous Captain Pike, who will be given more canon Star Trek adventures thanks to Anson Mount. Surprisingly, all reveals have lived up to the WTF hype of the original moment. Unfortunately, its set a precedent, so we'll be expecting something even crazier at the end of Season 2!

"Elseworlds"- Crisis On Infinite Earths Announced

There was a lot of WTF going on throughout the Arrow-verse's "Elseworlds" crossover, as heroes swapped bodies and Batwoman made her debut. None of that held a candle to what came later, however, as The Monitor teased it was all a test for a greater threat that was on the way. At the end of the special, it was confirmed the Arrow-verse was adapting "Crisis On Infinite Earths" as the crossover for next year.

The reveal that The CW is adapting one of DC's most popular comic book storylines was massive and had viewers speculating as to how the upcoming event will impact each superhero franchise. "Crisis On Infinite Earths" had been thought to be a possibility, but no one expected it would arrive in 2019 like it's currently being planned for. No doubt the special will provide at least one future "WTF" moment for us to gush over next year.

Westworld- The Hosts Escape

After a season that didn't make a lot of sense, Westworld kicked the crazy into high gear right as Season 2 was coming together. Long story short, Dolores switched her consciousness into a host that looked like Charlotte, and killed the actual Executive Director of Delos. Dolores then escaped with the help of Stubbs and with several cores in her possession.

Now in the real world, Dolores brought back Bernard and convinced him they're in this thing together. As for what that means exactly is unknown, but the hosts being out of the facility has the potential to be wild. It was a big move for Westworld, or should it be called The Real World when it returns? The better question is what is Dolores planning now that she's outside? Hopefully not revenge, I don't like humanity's odds against the hosts.

Roseanne- Cancelled After Controversy

Roseanne's return to television was a big success for ABC, but 2018 proved that even the biggest stars can fall in the midst of controversy. Roseanne Barr's controversial Twitter remarks led to ABC immediately cancelling Roseanne, despite renewing it for Season 2. The cast, crew and Barr were stunned, as it looked like their massive collaborative effort was all for nought thanks to a tweet.

Fortunately, ABC eventually met with Roseanne Barr and worked out an exit deal that allowed the rest of the cast and crew to return to a new version of the show called The Conners. Things have simmered down past the initial WTF factor brought on by the cancellation, although Barr did pop up on Twitter once specifically to voice her displeasure with how the spinoff decided to write off her character.

13 Reasons Why- The Broomstick Scene

13 Reasons Why is never afraid to create controversy and, on the heels of a disturbing suicide scene in Season 1 that had a lot of folks talking, the Netflix drama had something wilder in store for Season 2. The scene involved Devin Druid's Tyler suffer a vicious attack at the hands of bullies. After a brutal onslaught, Tyler had his head shoved into a toilet and was sodomized with a broom handle.

The scene may have been a little extreme for some, but a harsh reality as it was another scenario seemingly ripped from headlines portrayed in the drama. Devin Druid later advocated for continuing the conversation started by his scene on Twitter, and was thanked by groups for his raising of awareness. As as the scene may have been, it wasn't enough to stop the run of 13 Reasons Why rolling as Season 3 is coming in 2019.

The Walking Dead- Rick Grimes Survived

The announcement that Andrew Lincoln was leaving The Walking Dead was shocking, and fans wondered en masse how the series' flagship character was going to exit the drama. The episode prior to his exit, the answer seemed clear. Rick was impaled on a steel rod, while Walkers closed in on him from both sides. It seemed as though the writing was on the wall, and Rick was going on to join Lori and Carl.

Of course, the big moment came and Rick was flown away from an otherwise certain death via helicopter. That scene was WTF worthy all on its own, but then AMC's follow-up announcement that Rick would be getting standalone movies really sent it over the top. All credit to AMC for flipping the script, and giving the world a shocking survival in 2019 over a death.

This Is Us- Nicky Is Alive

Mandy Moore teased This Is Us Season 3 would be the most ambitious season the series has done to date, but the show hitting a series low in viewership showed interest was waning. That changed in the midseason finale, as the show had America talking once again after the fate of Jack's brother Nicky Pearson was revealed. As it turned out, Nicky didn't die in Vietnam, and was alive and living in Pennsylvania.

Fans of This Is Us quickly got over the lacklustre reveal of "Her," and began to wonder exactly how Jack's brother was alive in the present. After all, Jack said Nicky died and he wouldn't lie, right? Did Nicky survive without his brother knowing, or is there a sadder story behind this? This Is Us will get a chance to captivate America again, and hopefully, provide an answer as popular as the circumstances behind Jack's death in Season 2.

Those who have a WTF moment they think should've been added can list their selection in the comments below. For a look at other things coming to television, visit our fall and midseason premiere guides.

Roseanne Barr is doing fine, despite what the Internet might believe. While there were reports claiming the Roseanne star fell ill to a sudden heart attack, the outspoken comedian went on social media to let everyone know that wasn't actually the case. In fact, Barr claims the whole thing was a "prank."

First, Roseanne Barr confirmed that she is alive and well by posting an unusual photo of herself in what appears to be a pirate outfit of some kind. Take a look.

Later, in response to this tweet, Roseanne Barr elaborated more on her condition. Barr claims that not only was this rumor completely false and not at all authentic, but the former television star also says she was "the victim of a prank." It was seemingly a way to spread lies based on her lack of Internet usage over the past few months. She has been focused on different things since Roseanne was canceled by ABC earlier this year. At the moment, the comedian claims that she's currently relaxing and spending time with family thanks to the Thanksgiving holiday that recently occurred in the U.S. last Thursday.

The Internet carries no shortage of false rumors and even death hoaxes. It can be hard to know what's real and what's false. Regardless, Roseanne Barr wants to set the record straight about her health, and she wasn't afraid to do it in a fairly bizarre fashion. For the last time, despite what might be said online, Barr is not in the hospital at the moment due to a holiday heart attack. She's alive and seemingly doing pretty well, keeping her focus on her family and loved ones now.

As for where the bogus heart attack story originated from, Today says it was reportedly an individual claiming to be Rosanne Barr's assistant who phoned into a Periscope segment with Lee Stranahan. The fake assistant was the person who suggested that Barr was in the hospital due to a heart attack, but Barr broke her Internet silence to dispute those allegations and to let her followers know they shouldn't worry.

Meanwhile, while Roseanne Barr has been axed from Roseanne, the rest of the cast and crew have focused their attention on the new spin-off series, The Conners, which premiered earlier this fall. Roseanne hasn't been shy about expressing her thoughts and feelings about the show. The comedienne claims she won't watch the new show, even spoiling the fate of her demised character before the new spinoff series premiered a couple months earlier. In the meantime, Barr hasn't been happy about how the show handles more than a few different plot points, but that didn't lead to a heart attack.

While it's hard to know what will happen next for Roseanne Barr, it appears the recent hoax regarding her flailing health was simply fabricated. Meanwhile, for more updates and developments in television, pop culture, film, video games and a whole lot more, you can be sure to check back with CinemaBlend.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Conners' latest episode.

Whenever Roseanne's revival hit ABC earlier this year, quite a few of the sitcom's most familiar elements got changed up to reflect modern times. Perhaps the most effectively heartbreaking revision involved Sara Gilbert's Darlene being separated from Johnny Galecki's David. Sadly, The Conners got just two episodes into its spinoff run before it brought Johnny Galecki back to seemingly bring a legitimate end to their decades-long relationship. At least they can try and enjoy their other relationships now, right?

Fans were likely pumped to see that Johnny Galecki was returning to ABC for The Conners, and everyone probably hoped for the writers to have found more ways for Darlene and David to rekindle their feelings for one another. Unfortunately, the episode's final minutes saw the pair making the hard decision to officially go through with finalizing their divorce. They'll sill be co-parents to Harris and Mark, of course, but no longer with a dragged-out separation to keep them tethered together.

Darlene and David may very well both want to end their marriage for good, since their togetherness has always caused complications to arise. However, the act of verbally acknowledging and mentally accepting the concept of divorce proved to be a bit tougher than they might have imagined. But happen, it must.

In Darlene's eyes, there have been chances for David to come around to help turn their marriage into something good again. After all, he did made the decision to sleep with her again whenever he returned to Lanford in Roseanne. However, any residual feelings that David still has for Darlene have been compromised and upended by his arguably healthy ongoing relationship with girlfriend Blue. The girlfriend that still doesn't know about that David and Darlene's tryst.

The Conners presumably received a healthy dose of side-eye whenever Juliette Lewis' Blue was introduced, putting a face and free-love personality to the love interest David had previously spoken of. Blue is way more of a people-pleaser than Darlene ever could be, for better or worse, whether it means dropping someone a quick compliment or letting a teenager girl have sex against her mother's wishes. Naturally, it took half a nanosecond for Blue to earn Darlene's ire, which only expanded from there.

Blue's presence in Lanford did have somewhat positive ramifications. Though she'll likely always have feelings for David, Darlene was in the proper headspace to accept a date with another man in "Tangled Up in Blue." That man was Neil, the bar patron played by guest star Justin Long, who joined her for post-drinks sex, which probably just clouded up Darlene's head even more, even if it was a fine enough release.

Darlene facetiously called Neil her "soulmate" when telling David about him, which was mainly a response to David's use of the word when talking about how happy Blue makes him. Still, the two did get along long enough to have that one-night stand, so it's possible we'll be seeing Neil show up in Darlene's life with more regularity in the future, if that's what she wants. (Or if it's what David doesn't want, since that's how divorced couples do things sometimes.)

One thing is for sure, though. Neil had better put his best foot forward if he ever visits Darlene within the Conner family household. At least if he wants to start off on Dan's good side. Before the episode ended, David and Dan had another one of their classic conversations that looked about as comfortable as overalls made out of piranhas.

Could The Conners pull a 180 by later having David and Darlene decide to not finalize their divorce? Of course. Knowing how sitcoms and general TV marriages work, the two are almost guaranteed to make at least ONE more attempt to return their courtship to its former glory. But since relationships in this comedy franchise always seem to end in ostensibly dark ways, I'm confident that Darlene and David aren't destined for eternal bliss together.

The Conners airs on ABC every Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m. ET, so be sure to tune in to see where the show goes next. (Good luck getting sober, Becky!) The fall TV schedule is full of brighter and happier relationships, though, so don't miss everything else that primetime has to offer.

The cancellation of Roseanne earlier this year in the wake of a controversial tweet from leading lady Roseanne Barr marked the end of a revival that scored huge ratings for ABC. The premiere of the Barr-less spinoff The Conners had the potential to pick up some of those huge ratings, and the first episode has finally aired to give an idea of how the numbers compare. The Conners did well, but it's no Roseanne. Here's why.

The premiere scored a 2.3 rating in the key 18-49 age demographic and was viewed by 10.46 million viewers in Live+Same day calculations. While those numbers were enough to put it on top in ratings (beating NBC's freshman series Manifest by 0.1) and second in overall viewership (behind NCIS on CBS), they still mark a big drop from Roseanne.

The Roseanne premiere back in March 2018 scored a massive rating of 5.2 in the key 18-49 demo and was viewed by 18.44 million people. The numbers for The Conners mark a 56% drop in the ratings and a 43% drop in viewership. The Conners numbers are around the same as those for Roseanne's finale back in May, which won a 2.5 rating and 10.58 million viewers.

Basically, although The Conners didn't perform nearly as well as the short-lived Roseanne revival, ABC still has a lot to brag about with the premiere numbers. In fact, thanks to the fact that Roseanne was technically a revival and not a new series, The Conners is able to break some records with its premiere numbers already.

Yes, with Roseanne disqualified, The Conners ranks as TV's most-watched series debut since ABC's The Good Doctor first hit the airwaves back in September 2017. It can also claim the spot as ABC's most-watched comedy series debut in four years overall and best in three years in the 18-49 demographic.

If that's not enough, the Conners premiere numbers mark a huge bump from the same time slot in October from the 2017-2018 TV season. That slot was previously occupied by The Middle, which premiered its final season with 6.2 million viewers and a 1.6 rating. The Conners improvement marks a bump of 69% in total viewers and 44% in the demographic.

A big question is whether The Conners can hold onto its numbers in a competitive time slot as the season progresses. It's possible that a chunk of the audience really only tuned in to see how the spinoff would handle Roseanne Barr's absence. Although Barr herself spoiled how her character was killed off, there were still a lot of blanks to be filled in.

The premiere certainly did deliver a lot of information, and it was a surprisingly heavy episode, especially given a fair amount of the promotion for the show focused more on the upcoming comedy than the drama stemming from Roseanne Conner's fate. We'll have to wait and see if the ratings and viewership change drastically now that the mystery of how her death would be handled has been solved. It's worth noting that the Conners numbers will likely increase once delayed viewership can be calculated in the coming days.

New episodes of The Conners air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. For more viewing options now and in the not-too-distant future, take a look at our fall TV premiere guide.

*Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Conners. *

This week marked the premiere of ABC's The Conners, the slightly less-than-anticipated spinoff of the ratings-slaying Roseanne revival. The biggest hook of the series premiere was the explanation for why Roseanne Conner wasn't around anymore, and it was revealed she'd died of an opioid overdose. Regardless of how the episode handled it, Roseanne Barr herself had things to say about it, and her Twitter declaration couldn't have been presented more appropriately.

Considering it was a tweet that got Roseanne Barr's titular sitcom axed on ABC, her lively message here is most fitting. Judging from all the attention that the tweet got, with over 94,000 likes, the comedian's fans are extremely pleased that she didn't suffer the same fate as Mrs. Conner. Many of her followers championed Barr and hoped for her character to find new life elsewhere, as Tim Allen's Last Man Standing successfully did on Fox. Which, to be sure, isn't at all likely.

It was back in August when The Conners star John Goodman let it slip that the fictional Roseanne matriarch would be killed off in the spinoff, although it wasn't confirmed or explained at the time. Roseanne Barr herself actually spoiled her character's fate in full, down to the overdose angle. (It's assumed that someone from the show contacted her about it, whether through open or private communication.)

Roseanne Barr wasn't pleased about the overdose news at the time, and her feelings about that TV death haven't changed much since. She actually put out an official statement on the matter through her Rabbi and friend Shmuley Boteach, with whom she's been in constant communication with since Roseanne's cancellation.

The statement went on to note that Roseanne was a show that gave viewers teaching moments on a weekly basis, and its inherent sense of forgiveness and repentance should have been granted to the star herself. While not stating it directly, the statement pegs Roseanne Barr's controversial tweet as "inexcusable" but not "unforgivable."

It's hard to picture how many ways The Conners could have written off Roseanne Conner without directly killing her off. She and Dan definitely weren't going to split up and divorce after all these years and all the problems they faced. Plus, the revival's solo season had already introduced Roseanne's prescription medicine tendencies when it came to pain medication, as caused by an injured knee. So, universally enjoyable or not, at least the overdose was enough of a logical conclusion, if an extreme one.

With only memories of Roseanne Conner to go on, The Conners airs Tuesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET. And if you're looking for more to laugh at and cry about in the near future, our fall TV premiere schedule will set you up properly.