Latest news with #Conners'
New York Post
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
'The Conners' ends — what happens to famous 'Roseanne' couch?
They're couching it. After 37 years of sitting on their iconic plaid couch, the Conner family is getting up – and you might be able to own their sofa. 'They're actually auctioning it,' the 'Conners' executive producer Bruce Rasmussen exclusively told The Post. The original 'Roseanne' piece is what's up for grabs. It's unclear what will happen with 'The Conners' fixture. 'When we did the reboot, we wanted to find the original couch,' Rasmussen said, referring to the 2018 'Roseanne' revival that was ultimately cancelled after Roseanne Barr's controversial tweets. 11 Actress Lecy Goranson poses on the couch from the television show 'Roseanne' at a press preview for Julien's Auction's 'Channel Surfing TV' Auction at Julien's Studios on April 22, 2025 in Gardena, California. Getty Images The show continued without her with 'The Conners,' starring John Goodman, Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf. The show aired its series finale Wednesday, April 23 (8 p.m on ABC and streaming on Hulu). Rasmussen said they weren't able to use the original 'Roseanne' couch on the 2018 revival because 'somebody bought it.' 'I don't even know whether they bought it from a prop house or what the heck. But, they had bought the couch. And the guy wanted like $2,000 for the couch. We said, 'We can make it for like $75.' So, we remade the exact couch…we didn't buy the couch from the guy.' 11 Estelle Parsons, Shelley Winters, and John Goodman on 'Roseanne.' Courtesy Everett Collection 11 Roseanne Barr and John Goodman on the couch in 'Roseanne.' Courtesy Everett Collection Now, however, the auction house Julien's Auctions currently has the 'Roseanne' couch. It's listed as being up for auction on May 7 and 8, with a starting bid at $10,000. They estimate it could go for as much as $40,000-$60,000. In an Instagram post, Julien's Actions proclaims, 'Featured in all 222 episodes of the groundbreaking series Roseanne (1988–1997), this original Conner family living room sofa and Afghan blanket are up for bid in our Channel Surfing: A Broadcast to Binge auction, taking place LIVE May 7–8 at 10AM PDT from Julien's Studios in Los Angeles — and streaming online to bidders worldwide.' The auction house describes how the beige plaid sofa with its multicolored Afghan blanket 'wasn't just a prop — it was a character of its own, a symbol of blue-collar America, and the heart of the Conner home in Lanford, Illinois.' 11 Sara Gilbert and Johnny Galecki on the couch in 'Roseanne.' ©Carsey-Werner Co/Courtesy Everett Collection 11 John Goodman and Roseanne Barr in 'Roseanne' Season 1. ©Carsey-Werner Co/Courtesy Everett Collection The furniture was originally purchased at Sears in North Hollywood in 1988 and custom-altered for the show. 'This sofa held the likes of Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, and more,' the description reads. 'The afghan was so beloved that cast members joked it was 'as much a member of the family as any of the kids.'' In 2018 when the 'Roseanne' revival premiered, The Post reported that the 'Roseanne' couch was owned by collector John Comisar. 11 Lecy Goranson and John Goodman in 'The Conners.' Disney 11 'The Conners' cast on the couch: Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, John Goodman as Dan Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner,Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben. Disney When asked if Comisar is the person who is now selling the couch to Julien's Auctions in 2025, a Julien's rep told the Post, 'The owner wishes to remain anonymous.' At the time that the 'Roseanne' revival aired in 2018, production designer John Shaffner told The Post that Comisar's demands were not compatible with TV production. 'The show said, 'We can't have a full-time security guard for a sofa and store it in a temperature-controlled environment,'' Shaffner recalled. Together with set decorator Anne Ahrens, he bought two couches in LA on Craigslist for a total of $400, cut one, and combined them to fashion his own design. 11 Michael Fishman as DJ Conner, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner, Alicia Goranson as Becky Conner, John Goodman as Dan Conner and Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris on 'Roseanne.' ABC 11 John Goodman as Dan Conner in 'The Conners.' Disney They then embarked on a search for the famous plaid pattern, ultimately finding an RV manager in the Midwest who had bolts of brown plaid. 'I call it 'Middlebrow Brown.' It's the definition of 1970s brown,' Shaffner said, while commenting that the color has fallen out of fashion. He also aged it by bringing in 'a guy with a sander to wear down the edges to make them look softer' for that 'hard-used, 15- to 18-year-old sofa.' 11 John Goodman and Roseanne Barr on the couch in 'Roseanne.' Courtesy Everett Collection 11 Roseanne Barr and John Goodman on the couch in 'Roseanne' in 2018. AP 'The Conners' aired for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025 — and there's no sign of future spinoffs just yet. 'There's no discussion of it,' Rasmussen told the Post. 'We really want this moment to be a genuine celebration of the scope of 37 years of keeping this family alive, and just honoring that legacy right now.' The show, however, is 'never' dead. 'Because we literally brought people back from the dead to do the show,' he noted, referring to how Dan was killed off on 'Roseanne' Season 9, before he was brought back for 'The Conners.' 'Right now, it is just about this end, and this moment.'
USA Today
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Roseanne makes grave appearance as 'The Conners' family bids farewell
Roseanne makes grave appearance as 'The Conners' family bids farewell Show Caption Hide Caption 'Conners' finale scene: Watch Dan prep for Roseanne deposition Dan Conner (John Goodman) prepares for his deposition against an opioid company after the death of wife Roseanne in "The Conners" two-part finale. Spoiler alert: This story discusses "The Conners" April 23 series finale. It's a TV miracle that ABC's "The Conners" has existed, much less survived – even thrived – for seven seasons without the family's working-class superstar matriarch, Roseanne Conner, famously played by Roseanne Barr. Barr was the Emmy-winning star and the Conner family glue on America's must-watch No. 1 show, "Roseanne," from October 1988 to May 1997. The star and executive producer briefly revived the series in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois, two decades later in March 2018. But two months into the hit reboot, ABC abruptly pulled the plug after Barr's racist tweets, which ABC parent Walt Disney Co. called "abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values." Against the odds, "The Conners" rose from the ashes that fall, with Roseanne's TV absence explained by an accidental opioid overdose. Still, the major question going into the two-episode series finale (now streaming on Hulu) remained: Would Roseanne somehow show up? She doesn't. "I'm sure there were a lot of fans who would like to have seen it," says executive producer Bruce Helford, who also executive-produced five seasons of "Roseanne," including the short-lived revival. However, the series finale is primarily devoted to Roseanne Conner, which includes a graveside family farewell. "She's not there physically," says Helford. "But we wanted to honor something that she really gave birth to and cared for. We did right by her memory. The audience certainly loved her and her family." It's the middle-class family that has picked up the comedic and dramatic load. John Goodman, 72, who has lost 200 pounds since his "Roseanne" heyday as loving husband Dan Conner, anchors the cast with Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne's sister Jackie), and Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson (grown daughters Darlene and Becky, now parents). No lottery, but a payout check opened at Roseanne's grave "Roseanne" was initially revived as a do-over of the fan-loathed Season 9, which saw Dan die and the Conners win the lottery. "Our whole mission to start this thing was to undo that," Helford says. The finale features Dan's passionate support of his dead wife during a deposition for a lawsuit against the opioid company. The entire family meets at Roseanne's grave to open the resulting settlement payment. Rather than lottery riches, the check is for a paltry $700. "We wanted to stay true to what's really happening in the legal system," says Helford. "It's about family resilience, and shows that money does not create happiness. That comes from the group." Each family member gives a grave farewell to Roseanne's cemetery marker. Dan's is the last: "Well, Rose, we always said that if the kids were alive at the end of the day, we did our job," Dan says. "I think we did better than that." Dan also says he's "cool" if Roseanne has met another love, "wherever you are." Roseanne is Dan's 'true love,' even if he's married to Louise Before starting "The Conners," Goodman told Helford he didn't want Dan to quickly enter a new relationship. In Season 4, he remarried high school classmate Louise Goldufski (" Children" star Katey Sagal). The couple shows genuine love and devotion. But Dan's deposition in the finale makes clear that Roseanne was "the love of my life." "He declares that in front of Louise," Helford says. "We hit that in an interesting way." The $700 pizza party leads to an emotional 'Conners' farewell The $700 is enough to have the entire family over for a pizza party around the family's famed couch and afghan. Only core characters have seats. Dan, at the center of the couch, gives the final defiant toast: "No matter how much crap life throws at us, all we got to do is look around. Because if we hang together, nothing can stop us." Metcalf starts the farewells, tearing up at the door with "Good night." Goranson and Gilbert follow with tearful exits that are deeper than a pizza-party ending. "That was 'goodbye' forever," Helford says. "They wanted to say goodbye to each other. So that's the actual people saying goodbye, breaking the fourth wall. Once Laurie (Metcalf) said hers at the door, and said it for real, everyone got emotional." Goodman, alone on the couch, looks to the camera and says with a wry smile, "Good night," before walking off, beer in hand. 'The Conners' ends with 'Roseanne' nostalgia, but without Roseanne The episode concludes with big-hair vintage clips of the characters from "Roseanne." Barr is noticeably missing, even in this tribute. But the moment shows how the core "Conners" crew have been together for nearly four decades. "These actors have been friends for 37 years, playing these characters for 15 of these years," says Helford. "Literally, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson grew up on this show. Just seeing the changes in everyone and the passage of time shows how momentous this is. 'Roseanne' was a very big thing in people's lives. For many people, this is their family."
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Did 'The Conners' End? Inside the Decision to Conclude the Sitcom After 7 Seasons
So long, Lanford. After nearly 40 years, it was finally time to bid adieu to Delaware Street when The Conners came to a close with an emotional series finale. The Conners first premiered in 2018, after the cancellation of the Roseanne revival. The sitcom spinoff focused on the continuing adventures of the Conner clan after the death of the family's matriarch, Roseanne (Roseanne Barr). Seven seasons later, the beloved TV family said goodbye with a six-episode farewell event, which gave a proper sendoff to the blue-collar characters who have become as iconic as the Conners' couch and afghan blanket. 'I think we just have such a good time and we laugh a lot,' Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene, told PEOPLE in April 2025, when asked about the ending of the show. "It feels like family, and because we did it for so many years, it's sort of deep in our soul. And so that is hard to imagine being without," she continued. "I think people feel like they get to laugh and they also get to feel at home with these characters, hopefully.' So why did The Conners end? Here's everything we know about the decision to sunset the series, and what the cast had to say about the finale. After seven seasons and more than 100 episodes, the emotional two-part series finale of The Conners aired on April 23 on ABC. In May 2024, the series was renewed for a seventh season, consisting of six episodes, to give a fitting conclusion to The Conners. "This to everybody feels like the appropriate time. We're going out on top," executive producer Bruce Helford told Deadline after the renewal news. "We're the most watched comedy on ABC, we had a great season, and this just feels like the right time to do this." Executive producer Dave Caplan added, "We didn't want to try to squeeze blood from the stone until it was over. We just wanted to go out strong on top when we were on top of our game. And that's how we feel like we're doing it on our terms." The core Conners cast played their characters on and off since Roseanne premiered in 1988, and it was an emotional farewell for the TV family, who had to say goodbye after 37 years. "I'm happy with what we have. We could have taken a full season to do it but, that said, there was something nice about working in this smaller framework, almost like a limited series," Gilbert told the Los Angeles Times. "I'm not sure these last six episodes [of Season 7] were as much about discovery as they were about wrapping things up and enjoying being these characters for the last moments," she explained. In a March 2025 interview with PEOPLE, Laurie Metcalf (who played Jackie) said "there's a lot to wrap up" in the final episodes. 'It's not going to have a big bow tied up with the Conners and it will remain true to their storyline," she shared. "But, it's a very short amount of time to wrap up this many seasons of a family that's covered decades." Emma Kenney (who portrayed Harris) teased the final episode was "probably going to hit home for a lot of people," after a final season she described as "definitely bittersweet." Meanwhile, in a retrospective behind-the-scenes video leading up to the finale, Gilbert said, "We always knew this would come to an end. Somehow it felt like it would be forever." John Goodman (who played patriarch Dan) added, "I'm going to miss it very, very much. Above all, we had fun." All seven seasons of The Conners are streaming on Hulu. Read the original article on People
