Back in 2018, ABC made the difficult decision and pulled the plug on an iconic 1980s sitcom after its succesful return. Luckily, it was able to find a perfect replacement that made the original even better. The past decade and a half brought an influx of stories from the past getting revisited on the small screen, whether that’s in the form of a revival or a reboot. Some of them ended up doing decently, including Netflix’s Fuller House and even Paramount+’s Criminal Minds, with both shows running for at least four shorter seasons on streaming. Meanwhile, others simply failed to recapture the magic of their original counterparts, such as Paramount+’s Frasier and Punky Brewster.
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There’s an entirely different group of revivals, however, that has somehow been able to return without feeling like it never left. This is incredibly rare, considering the success rate of this storytelling approach on the small screen. Somehow, however, ABC’s Roseanne was able to do it when it returned for season 10 in 2018 — 21 years after the original Lanford, Illinois-set comedy wrapped up its original run in 1997. The original nine-episode revival was met with decent critical reviews, but it was a smash hit commercially, with its two-part premiere garnering a whopping 27.6 million viewers.
It was a no-brainer for CBS to continue Roseanne beyond season 10 at that point, and it already greenlit season 11, guaranteeing its return for the 2018-2019 network TV cycle. However, on May 29, 2018, Disney pulled the plug on the show after Roseanne Barr’s remarks on social media about ex-President Barack Obama’s former advisor, Valerie Jarrett, effectively ending the revival’s run. Considering how successful Roseanne season 10 was, however, ABC, alongside the remaining creatives from the series, found a way to continue the story of the middle-class family from Lanford without its matriarch with The Conners.
Roseanne’s Cancellation Paved The Way For The Conners
Diversifying its storytelling was born out of the Roseanne revival’s unexpected cancellation. Because Barr was at the center of its storytelling, both in front and behind the camera, ABC needed to make sure that the replacement series would be able to address her absence without moving forward, as that was the only way that it could continue without being hounded by questions about the character’s whereabouts. In the end, Roseanne died of an opioid overdose in the narrative, leaving Dan, their kids, and the rest of their extended family grieving over her unexpected demise.
Admittedly, it made for a compelling narrative, especially since it’s a very real crisis in the country, and the flagship never shied away from tackling difficult plots like this one. The Conners may have started with a tragedy, but the franchise as a whole wasn’t a stranger to such losses. In fact, its genius was rooted in its ability to address these life-altering moments with levity that made the viewers feel like they were part of the family. Because The Conners kept the majority of the creative forces and talents behind Roseanne, the spinoff sequel didn’t take long to find its footing. It became the most-watched new comedy for the 2018-2019 TV season, with ABC even adding an extra episode, increasing the original season order from 10 to 11.
Unsurprisingly, ABC renewed The Conners for six more seasons after its debut, ultimately releasing 112 episodes by the time it wrapped up in 2025. Considering how popular it still was when it wrapped up, the show could have continued for at least a couple of more years. Based on the comments from people involved, it did seem like it was the cast’s decision to end the series as opposed to ABC cancelling it.
How The Conners Made The Roseanne Franchise Even Better
In an ideal world, Roseanne could have continued with the Conners’ beloved matriarch as its titular character. ABC’s short-lived revival highlighted the ensemble’s chemistry, with Barr’s character being its anchor. Had it continued, the network wouldn’t have had to go through a tricky rebranding. That said, The Conners‘ performance was the best-case scenario that anyone could have hoped for, considering the circumstances. The loss of Roseanne paved the way for the spinoff sequel to dig deeper into the more emotional depth of the characters, and in doing so, it effectively showcased the resiliency of the family.
Despite what happened behind the scenes, Roseanne and The Conners don’t feel disjointed, even on rewatch. The fact that the sequel series ended with a storyline that involved the late matriarch and her death was a great full circle moment. At the very least, it’s a much better ending than what Roseanne had in 1997.
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