Latest news with #TheConners'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Prince Harry wants to reconcile with royal family, BBC reports
(NewsNation) — Prince Harry has said he 'would love a reconciliation' with the royal family during an interview with the BBC. Harry told the BBC that King Charles 'won't speak to me because of this security stuff,' but he doesn't want to fight with the family anymore. He also said he doesn't know how long Charles has left. After Harry lost his appeal to restore his UK government-funded security detail, he spoke with the BBC. Harry told the news outlet, 'I can't see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.' Actress Lecy Goranson reflects on 'The Conners' and 'Roseanne' The prince wanted to overturn the 2020 changes to his security detail when he stepped down from working as a royal. He told the BBC that this decision to remove his security detail always has an impact on him, and he feels as though he can't safely return to the UK. 'Everybody knew that they were putting us at risk… they hoped that me knowing that risk would force us to come back. But then, when you realize that didn't work, do you not want to keep us safe?' Harry said. The BBC asked Harry if he had talked to Charles about intervening in the dispute, and he said, 'I never asked him to intervene. I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs.' One insider told NewsNation's Paula Froelich that Charles is 'very upset over Harry's insistence on fighting the government for police protection. He feels Harry knew what he signed up for when he and Meghan left the monarchy, but Harry, being Harry, just can't accept it.' Harry reportedly said that his defeat in court was a 'good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up.' The BBC reported that he blamed the Royal Household for having influence over the decision on his security detail. He also said the treatment he faced during this process 'uncovered my worst fears.' Overall, Harry explained that he is devastated about the decision. 'Not so much as devastated with the loss that I am about the people behind the decision, feeling as though this is OK. Is it a win for them? I'm sure there are some people out there… (who) consider this a huge win.' Despite his loss, Harry reportedly spoke with the BBC about how much he misses his family and how he has forgiven them. Rachel Zegler 'unhireable' as 'Evita' box office struggles: Source 'There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family… I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious.' He also said he misses his home country, telling the BBC, 'I love my country… and I think that it's really quite sad that I won't be able to show my children my homeland.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Roseanne' star Michael Fishman breaks silence on his absence from ‘The Conners' series finale
They're fishing for a reaction. Former 'Roseanne' star Michael Fishman is speaking out about missing 'The Conners' series finale, which aired Wednesday, April 23. Fishman, 43, starred as D.J. Conner – the only son of Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne (Roseanne Barr). Advertisement In a video posted to Instagram on April 24, Fishman, who returned as D.J. for the first four seasons of 'The Conners,' said, 'It's the day after The Conners' finale, and I have been inundated with people looking for a reaction.' Addressing his absence in the series finale, he said, 'People seem to want to have there be some kind of conflict or controversy, especially on my part. The reality is, all I really have is empathy and understanding for all of the people on set and for all of our audience that's grieving.' 9 Michael Fishman in 'Roseanne.' Everett Collection / Everett Collection Advertisement 9 Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman in 'The Conners.' ABC via Getty Images 9 Michael Fishman in his April 2025 Instagram video. reelmfishman/Instagram He went on to say, 'I prefer to be a lighthouse in the dark. It's for that reason that I'm creating a safe space to build community to process difficult emotions and transitions.' He shared that when he reflects on the legacy of the show – that started with Barr – 'I have only gratitude. I really believe that that legacy belongs to all of you in the audience.' Advertisement Fishman ended by saying, 'I've been really lucky to be rewarded for my professionalism and kindness and collaboration by the Carci Warner Company, who owns it, who has asked me to keep shining a light on the series. And it's been my honor, because I believe it's a comfort show for many. So in this time, I keep thinking to myself, it's the perfect time to reconnect. It's the perfect time to go back and celebrate. And so I'm looking back and starting over and watching from the beginning with a whole new perspective.' Starring 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. 'Roseanne' briefly returned for a revival in 2018, until Barr's controversial tweets got it axed, she got fired, and her fictional counterpart got killed off. 9 John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, and J. R Ferguson in 'The Conners.' Disney Advertisement 9 Estelle Parsons, John Goodman, Michael Fishman and Roseanne Barr on 'Roseanne.' Courtesy Everett Collection Fishman was in both shows, but he announced that he was leaving 'The Conners' in 2022. In a statement at the time, he said, 'While I was told I would not be returning for season 5, Lanford was a valuable place to grow up, learn and develop. I was incredibly lucky to return home and demonstrate my expansion. As I venture into the world to build the future, I send tremendous love and success to everyone involved in production.' 'The Conners' ended with the family – including Dan (Goodman), Jackie (Metcalf), Darlene (Gilbert), and Becky (Goranson) – tearfully saying 'goodnight' to each other before Dan was left alone in the family living room. Goodman then looked right at the camera, smiling with tears in his eyes, and said 'goodnight' directly to the audience. 9 Laurie Metcalf, Emma Kenney, Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Jayden Rey and John Goodman of 'The Conners.' Penske Media via Getty Images 9 John Goodman and Michael Fishman in 'The Conners.' ABC Executive producer and showrunner Bruce Helford told The Post, 'he had pitched that; it was his idea.' Advertisement 'I think [Goodman] just felt that was the right way to say goodbye, and acknowledge the bond, because the audience is part of that show,' exec producer Dave Caplan added. 'We are so much connected to the audience; we're not just an entertainment. It's been a family for 37 years.' Helford added, 'He felt the bond of all those years with the audience. And I think just as a decent guy, his instinct was to say, 'Thank you.' How do you argue with that?' 9 Roseanne Barr, Michael Fishman, John Goodman, Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert in 'Roseanne.' ©Carsey-Werner Co/Everett Collec Advertisement 9 Katey Sagal, John Goodman, Jay. R. Ferguson, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Sean Astin, Laurie Metcalf, and Nat Faxon in 'The Conners' series finale. Disney 'The Conners' series finale also featured a scene where the characters talk to Roseanne's grave. Caplan told The Post, '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.' Advertisement To avoid talking about her in 'The Conners' would have felt 'really wrong, and really shortchanging the audience.' He added, 'She's a central character in all these people's lives. So, it felt like the right thing to do.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roseanne' and ‘The Conners' made me the progressive Appalachian I am today
ABC broadcast the series finale of 'The Conners' on Wednesday, closing out character arcs that began more than 36 years ago with 'Roseanne.' When the first run of Roseanne Barr's eponymous working-class comedy premiered on ABC in 1988, it stood in stark contrast to the prime-time glamour of 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty,' which then dominated television. Instead of sparkling gowns and champagne-fueled catfights, plots on 'Roseanne' involved unpaid electric bills, broken washing machines and kitchen-table spats. For many Americans, like the ones I grew up with in Appalachia, 'Roseanne' gave us a mirror, instead of an escape. It transformed working-class humor-as-a-survival-tool into a relatable sitcom format. It helped viewers — those seeing themselves for the first time and those seeing others for the first time — grow toward each other. 'Roseanne' and 'The Conners' had an almost magical ability to speak to the haves and the have-nots. The shows invited the wealthy to laugh with, not at, working-class struggles, which helped generate empathy. They invited white working-class audiences into progressive conversations from which they may have previously been excluded. Both shows discussed topics including racism, queerness, gender equality, LGBTQ youth, immigration — often characterized as issues for liberal elites or big-city residents — in the language of Lanford, Illinois. As a kid growing up in rural Kentucky in the 1980s and '90s, 'Roseanne' introduced conversations I wasn't having in church or the living room, and I'm not alone among my blue-collar friends in saying that it was 'Roseanne' that made me the political progressive I am today. The show made us aware that we, too, should be a part of these conversations, that we were worthy of being taken seriously, and that the issues we associated with others were intimately tied to our lives, as well. The power of the series to do this work — in its original incarnation, its reboot and in the renamed show after Barr's character, Roseanne Conner, was killed off — came from its capacity to invite and add. For rural or blue-collar viewers, the show presented new ideas in a world they were comfortable in. For others, the show presented ideas they were already comfortable with but in a world new to them. The show's legacy, then, is making progressive ideas digestible to poor and working-class people. This legacy may be surprising to some, given Barr's disappointing evolution. Now a controversial conservative figure, her 2018 reboot was canceled after a racist tweet. ('The Conners' starts after her character on the show has died.) In 2024, Barr released a pro-Trump rap video called 'Daddy's Home.' Those choices should certainly shape how we understand Barr, but they don't erase the complexity or impact of her earlier work or the original show's spinoff. In 2013, when I taught a course on gender and television, I had my students analyze shows using the Bechdel test, which asks only: Are there two women on screen talking about something other than men? It took 50 years of randomized TV episodes before we hit one that passed: 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' a 1994 episode of 'Roseanne' that tackled homophobia, performative allyship, gender expression and included a same-sex kiss. Revolutionary doesn't begin to describe it. The show earned that moment because its viewers trusted the characters. Viewers, at least the ones I knew, felt like they were watching 'one of us' — which made room for growth. Throughout 17 years of the Conners' lives shown across two series, viewers were watching stories about difficult topics, but 'Roseanne' invited them in. It said: You're a part of this. To the same extent, the show said to Americans quick to dismiss the struggles of the poor and working class: This is how hard life is when you're living paycheck to paycheck — you, too, are a part of this. No one gets a pass because everyone is included. Few shows have had such political stamina. In the highly criticized original finale, the Conners win the lottery and live out their wildest dreams, but it's later revealed to be a story made up by the character Roseanne. 'The Conners' echoed the original series' finale in its final season, with a story arc involving a lawsuit the family filed over the opioid-induced death of Roseanne. Given the scourge of opioids in working-class America, that storyline made sense. This time, though, there is no big payout. In the end, the Conners get a check for only $700, which they use to throw a party with pizza and beer. Ultimately, this is a more fitting conclusion because there is no magical ending for America's problems. No lottery win. No glamour and champagne. Just moments of pain and fleeting relief. All we can do is care enough to see our own — and each other's — stories. 'Roseanne' and 'The Conners' gave us just that. One episode at a time. This article was originally published on
New York Post
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Roseanne Barr reacts to ‘The Conners' series finale after 7 seasons
Out of sight, out of mind. Roseanne Barr's son, Jake Pentland, revealed that the comedian had no idea that the hit ABC show 'The Conners' was ending, according to TMZ. Pentland claimed his mother was glad that 'The Conners' crew got seven seasons of work out of it even though Barr and her family refused to watch the show after the jokester was fired. 5 Roseanne Barr allegedly wasn't aware that 'The Conners' was ending. Getty Images 'We don't care about cheap knockoffs,' Pentland told Us Weekly on Thursday. 'We support the real brands. We only pay attention to things that matter to the American people.' 'Roseanne' first ran from 1988 to 1997 and was revived by ABC in 2018 with Barr starring as the titular character. The revival that captured life in a middle-class household with conservative-leaning views didn't last long, despite massive ratings. The show was cancelled after only one season after the Emmy-winning comedian compared former President Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to the offspring of the 'Muslim brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.' At the time, former ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey condemned her tweet as 'abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.' 5 ABC launched 'The Conners' after firing Barr and canceling the 'Roseanne' revival. Penske Media via Getty Images ABC fired Barr and reimagined the series as a spinoff called 'The Conners' — which starred 'Rosanne' regulars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson. The creators of 'The Conners' killed off Barr's iconic character by claiming she died from an accidental opioid overdose. The pilot episode of 'The Conners' took place three weeks after Barr's character's funeral. 5 ABC booted Barr after she compared former President Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to the offspring of the 'Muslim brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.' AP 5 Barr's character was killed off by an accidental opioid overdose. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Barr defended herself by saying she was 'Ambien tweeting.' 'I shoulda not did it, but by God, I was really pissed that day,' Barr said. 'And I did something I wouldn't do if I hadn't been on that Ambien. It makes you do a lot of crazy s–t.' Ambien is a medication that treats insomnia by helping users fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In 2023, Barr said she never watched an episode of 'The Connors' after she was booted from the show. 5 The original show debuted in 1988. ABC 'I just can't bear it, so I don't,' Barr told The Los Angeles Times. 'When they killed my character off, that was a message to me, knowing that I'm mentally ill or have mental health issues, that they did want me to commit suicide.' 'The Conners' aired its series finale on Wednesday, capping off the Conner family's 37-year run on television. The series ended with the family tearfully saying 'good night' to each other, before Dan — played by Goodman — was left alone in the family living room. Goodman then looked right at the camera, smiling with tears in his eyes, and said 'good night' directly to the audience.
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.'
