The Roseanne revival on ABC has been a runaway hit of midseason 2018, winning huge ratings with the premiere, breaking records almost immediately, and scoring an early renewal for a second season. The revival managed to bring back almost the entire cast who played the extended Conner family with the notable exceptions of the Healy brothers. Mark was absent due to the tragic passing of actor Glenn Quinn (who received a touching tribute at the end of the latest episode), but David was gone because he and Darlene divorced and he was no longer a part of his kids' lives. Johnny Galecki is reprising the role of David for one episode, and a new promo reveals his big return. Take a look!
Well, it's pretty clear that David isn't going to get a warm welcome at the Conner household, and presumably not just because he showed up by creepily lurking outside of a window. Surprisingly, the promo doesn't actually show much of Darlene's reaction to her ex-husband lurking outside her childhood home, although she does look unhappy and even on the verge of tears. The reunion we do get a good look at is the reunion between David and Dan.
Dan is understandably not especially warm toward David, given how Darlene's life turned out and his absence from his kids' lives. The fact that David turned up out of nowhere by lurking outside of a window almost certainly didn't help. Really, I can't emphasize enough how weird it is that David was lurking outside in the dark. There are doorbells and telephones for a reason, David!
On the one hand, David's bizarre arrival, the reasons why he's been absent, and the chilly reception from Dan and Darlene seem to point toward David not being welcomed back into the family. On the other hand, the first portion of the promo is dedicated to sweet/silly clips of David and Darlene from the original run of the series. Would Roseanne really go with a promo packed with nostalgia for the original series sweethearts if David was going to remain a deadbeat in the revival? He's returning in the sixth episode of the revival for his daughter's birthday despite being gone for years, and Darlene will have to reevaluate their relationship as well as the rest of the family. The episode will rather fittingly be called "Darlene v. David."
We do know that Johnny Galecki won't appear in more than one episode of the revival's first season, but he expressed interest in appearing in more if the revival was renewed. Perhaps the renewal means that we will indeed get a lot more David in the next batch of episodes. It might depend on Galecki's schedule with The Big Bang Theory moving forward.
New episodes of Roseanne air on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Be sure to tune in to see David reunite with Darlene and more of the Conner clan. For more of what you can watch now and in the not-too-distant future, swing by our midseason TV guide and our summer TV schedule. If you're now in the mood to watch David and Darlene in some happier times, you can catch all nine seasons of the original Roseanne run streaming on Amazon Prime.
