Dan and Roseanne Conner are headed back to ABC for an eight episode series revival
As previously reported, the groundbreaking sitcom Roseanne is going to make a return to The ABC Television Network with eight new episodes featuring the original cast — Roseanne Barr (Roseanne), John Goodman (Dan), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Michael Fishman (D.J.) and Lecy Goranson (Becky) — that will air in 2018. Sarah Chalke, who played the character Becky in later seasons, will also appear in another role.
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When it premiered on ABC in 1988, Roseanne garnered immediate acclaim for its realistic portrayal of a working-class family, the Conners, barely scraping by in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Roseanne also dominated the ratings as one of the highest-rated television series on the air for its near-decade run. A comedy about ordinary people who faced day-to-day survival with a sense of the absurdity of it all, the inimitable Roseanne was its epicenter. Lauded for its humor, relevance, warmth and honesty, the Conner family will continue to deal with the economic challenges of living pay check to pay check in 2018.
“The Conners’ joys and struggles are as relevant – and hilarious – today as they were then, and there’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne,” says ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey.
In its nine seasons on ABC, in addition to being a primetime ratings hit, the series won a Peabody Award and a Golden Globe Award for best television series (comedy or musical). Barr and Goodman each won Golden Globes for best performance by an actress and actor. Barr went on to win an Emmy as lead actress, and Metcalf won two supporting actress Emmys for her work on the series. Roseanne Barr will executive produce, along with Sara Gilbert, Tom Werner, Bruce Helford, Whitney Cummings and Tony Hernandez. The series is from Carsey-Werner Television.
One of the biggest questions on the mind of Roseanne fans is how the revival will address the series’ unique ending, which offered a number of surprising reveals, including that Goodman’s Dan Conner had died. Barr herself previously mused on what a Roseanne reunion might look like in a blog post on her website back in 2009, writing: “DJ gets published; Darlene meets a woman and they have a test tube baby; Roseanne and Jackie open the first medical marijuana dispensary in lanford illinois, and pay off the mortgage before the house is foreclosed on; Mom sells a painting for ten grand; and most importantly, Dan shows up alive after faking his death.”
What do you want to see from the new Roseanne? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
UPDATE: ABC has released a Roseanne teaser of sorts, collecting some memorable moments from the original run of the show. Check it out in the player below!
