ABC announced on Thursday, a Roseanne spinoff that won’t feature Roseanne Barr.
Last month, the Roseanne reboot that premiered in March with 18 million viewers and ended its revival season in May was canceled after Barr posted a racist tweet. It was going to have a second season (not anymore).
The decision didn’t seem rash for it seems Barr’s Twitter page was heated with controversy and her racist tweet was the boiling point. Many people who were a part of the show were going to quit the show before ABC announced the cancellation.
With the cancellation, ABC made a statement that reflects how Hollywood is changing today. Sometimes it’s better to do the right thing even if it will cost you money.
Now with this spinoff ABC is doing something that may seem unthinkable to some.
The new series is currently titled The Conners and it will star original cast members: John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman. Barr will have no involvement, creative or financial, in the show, according to ABC.
A Roseanne show without Roseanne may seem unreasonable and pointless to some. Though ABC may have fair reason to produce this show. Besides the success of the revival, another explanation can be to quickly give jobs to the people who lost their jobs due to the disrespectful actions of one cast member.
This cast member, Barr supposedly understands this and that’s why she agreed to a settlement.
“I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne,” Barr stated. “I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved and I wish the best for everyone involved.”
The main stars of the spinoff released a joint statement about their feelings and reasons for wanting to do The Conners.
“We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience. We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”
Truly, the absence of Barr will definitely push some viewers away from the show. It probably will not be as successful as the Roseanne revival. Still the show might earn some new viewers due its controversial origins.
It is also a wonder how this spinoff will explain the absence of Barr’s character. It is certain though that there will be many eyes on this spinoff when it premieres this fall.
