Why 'The Conners' producers invoked Roseanne in series finale: We were 'a little nervous'

New York Post

24-04-2025

Even after Roseanne Barr was booted off the 'Roseanne' reboot, she cast a long shadow on the spinoff show, 'The Conners.'
The show aired its series finale on Wednesday – taking the famous blue-collar family off TV after 37 years on the air – and Roseanne was a prominent part of the episode.
Executive producer and showrunner Bruce Helford told The Post, 'I have to say, I was a little nervous, because there was so much backlash about her not being on the show.'
8 Roseanne Barr and John Goodman on 'Roseanne' in 1988.
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8 Roseanne Barr and John Goodman attend An Evening With The Cast Of 'Roseanne'at The Paley Center for Media on March 26, 2018.
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Exec producer Dave Caplan added that they felt it was natural to include Roseanne so much on 'The Conners' series finale because, 'The truth is, we never really shied from giving Roseanne Conner her due, because she was a matriarch of the family. And, she was the center of that family for so many years.'
To avoid talking about her in 'The Conners,' would have felt 'really wrong, and really shortchanging the audience.'
Caplan continued, 'She's a central character in all these people's lives. So, it felt like the right thing to do.'
Starring John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, and Lecy Goranson, 'The Conners' aired for seven seasons, from 2018 to 2025 – succeeding the original show 'Roseanne,' which aired from 1988 to 1997 (and briefly returned for a revival in 2018, until Roseanne Barr's controversial tweets got it axed, Barr got fired, and her fictional counterpart was killed off).
The series finale of 'The Conners' saw Dan attend a deposition regarding the family's wrongful death lawsuit, as they were going after big pharma for Roseanne's death from an accidental opioid overdose.
Towards the end of the series finale, Dan, Darlene, Becky, and Jackie spoke to Roseanne's grave.
It's a bold choice for 'The Conners,' considering that Barr, 72, has been vocal about her displeasure towards her former co-stars.
8 Roseanne Barr in 2023.
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8 Sara Gilbert, John Goodman, Lecy Goranson, and Laurie Metcalf on 'The Conners.'
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'The Conners' exec producer Bruce Rasmussen told The Post that they decided to make so many references to Roseanne in the series finale because, 'regardless of how you felt about what happened at the end of the reboot, she did birth that show. And so we wanted to honor the memory. It's right. She was beloved by the viewers.'
He continued, 'She's beloved by the family, and all that. And we just felt it was the appropriate thing to do.'
Referring to the scene where the family talks to her grave, he added, 'And having everyone say goodbye to her was very important. And I think it'll be to the fans, too.'
8 Laurie Metcalf, Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson, pose backstage after winning the 1989 People's Choice Award for best TV Comedy.
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8 Emma Kenney, John Goodman, and Sara Gilbert in 'The Conners.'
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When asked when they last spoke to Barr, Rasmussen said, 'really not since back then,' referring to her 2018 firing after her controversial tweets.
'We were forced with a situation where we had almost 300 people who were about to be out of work,' he said, referring to how the 2018 'Roseanne' reboot got cancelled following Barr's controversy.
'And in order to continue [with 'The Conners], Roseanne had to step aside,' he said.
'And she did, gracefully, to allow us to continue with 'The Conners.' But there have not been any conversations. And I think she's been pretty vocal about not being happy about the way things transpired. And I understand.'
8 Laurie Metcalf, Emma Kenney, Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Jayden Rey and John Goodman of 'The Conners.'
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8 John Goodman and Roseanne Barr at a 'Roseanne' premiere event in 2018.
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Caplan added that despite that controversy, invoking the Roseanne character in 'The Conners' series finale, 'was always something that we wanted to do…to make her departure from the show matter.'
'When the character died, she died because people in their economic situation can't afford the kind of medical care that they should be having. And so we wanted the life of her character to amount to something,' he told the Post. 'And that was always in our head, and we carried that.'