Latest news with #TheConners'
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Roseanne Barr Claims The Conners Wanted Her Back — Here's What the EPs Told Us About a Possible Cameo
In a new documentary chronicling her career in comedy and television, Roseanne Barr alleges that she was asked to appear on The Conners as a ghost, after her family matriarch landed six feet under. 'They called me and asked me if I would like to come back as a guest star,' the Emmy winner claims in Roseanne Is America, according to People. 'You're asking me to come back to the show that you f—king stole from me and killed my a—, and now you want me to show up because you got s—t f—king ratings and play a ghost.' More from TVLine The Conners Was a Good Revival — But If They'd Honored Roseanne History, It Could've Been Great The Conners Series Finale: EPs Reflect on Roseanne's Absence, Fourth Wall Break and Parallels to Original Ending Casting News: Felicity Huffman Joins Doc, Jen Garner Drama Adds Chloë Sevigny and More Barr insists that she turned down the request, telling producers, 'I'm gonna be bowling that f—king week.' But a source tells TVLine that Barr's claims are 'inaccurate.' TVLine reached out to Barr's rep for further clarification on when, exactly, she received the invite. Barr declined comment. Barr was famously fired by ABC in 2018 after she hit send on a bigoted tweet that nearly took her sitcom family down with her. But the beloved series, not unlike the working-class family at its center, persevered: Three weeks after Roseanne was cancelled, Barr reached a financial settlement with Werner Entertainment that allowed the production company to move forward with a spinoff without her participation. That agreement also forbade The Conners from using her likeness — hence the offshoot never showing Roseanne Conner in pictures or in flashbacks. When the agreement was reached, Barr put out the following statement: 'I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. 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.' Seven years later, ahead of The Conners' series finale, TVLine spoke with executive producers Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen and Dave Caplan, and asked if they considered having Barr make a cameo. At the time, Helford was quick to remind me, 'We pulled a Newhart the first time!' (He was referring to 2018's Roseanne revival, which kicked off with the resurrection of John Goodman's Dan Conner, who was killed off in the original series' 1997 finale.) To do it again, this time with Dan's late wife, 'would have felt to us like a rug pull,' Rasmussen said. According to Helford, the only conversation they ever had was about preserving the memory of Barr's character, 'and we felt we did that. People loved her, her family loved her, and we wanted to make sure that this was something that honored that.' Added Caplan: 'We never ran away from, or disrespected her character. That was a conscious decision on all our parts.' Disney/ABC also declined comment for this story, while reps for the EPs have not responded as of press time. The Conners Series Finale Explained View List Best of TVLine 'Missing' Shows, Found! Get the Latest on Ahsoka, Monarch, P-Valley, Sugar, Anansi Boys and 25+ Others Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More
New York Post
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Furious Roseanne Barr claims she was asked to appear on ‘The Conners' — as ‘a ghost'
The ghost from ABC's past. In her new documentary 'Roseanne is America,' Roseanne Barr claimed that she turned down an offer to appear on 'The Conners' after the 'Roseanne' revival was canceled. 'They called me and asked me if I would like to come back as a guest star. You're coming back as a ghost,' Barr, 72, said in the doc directed by Joel Gilbert, per People. 9 Roseanne Barr at the 'Roseanne' press conference in Beverly Hills in 2018. WireImage 9 John Goodman and Roseanne Barr in 'Roseanne' in 2018. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images The comedian continued, 'You're asking me to come back to the show that you f—ing stole from me and killed my ass, and now you want me to show up because you got shit f—ing ratings and play a ghost.' Barr said that her excuse to decline the invite was: 'I'm gonna be bowling that f—ing week.' 9 The 'Roseanne Is America' documentary. The Post has reached out to ABC for comment. Barr co-created and starred in 'Roseanne,' which aired from 1988 to 1997 and captured life in a middle-class household with conservative-leaning views. ABC revived the series in 2018 with Barr returning as the titular character. 9 John Goodman and Roseanne Barr in 'Roseanne' in 1988. ©Carsey-Werner Co/Courtesy Everett Collection Despite massive ratings, the show was cancelled after one season following Barr's racist tweet about former President Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. At the time, former ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey condemned her tweet as 'abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.' Barr has since claimed that God told her to send the offensive message and that ABC was spying on her and were trying to censor her because of her support for Donald Trump before she was fired. 9 Roseanne Barr at Fox News in New York City in Feb. 2023. Getty Images 9 Sara Gilbert, Roseanne Barr, Alain Washnevsky and Anne Bedian in the 'Roseanne' revival. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images After 'Roseanne' was axed, ABC reimagined the series as a spinoff called 'The Conners' starring '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. 'Within three weeks, they revived the show as 'The Conners,' and of course they killed off my character Roseanne in an opioid overdose,' Barr reportedly said in her documentary. 'Which was staggering because Glenn Quinn, who played Becky's husband, actually died of an opioid overdose.' 9 Roseanne Barr in her new documentary. Show Me Television/Youtube 9 Roseanne Barr and John Goodman in the 'Roseanne' revival. AP 'The Conners' wrapped up in April after seven seasons. During the series finale, Dan (Goodman) attended a deposition regarding the family's wrongful death lawsuit against Big Pharma for Roseanne's death. Later on, Dan, Darlene (Gilbert), Becky (Goranson) and Jackie (Metcalf) spoke to Roseanne's grave. 9 John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf in 'The Conners.' Disney via Getty Images Executive producer and showrunner Bruce Helford told The Post in April they were 'nervous' to invoke Barr in the final episode. 'I have to say, I was a little nervous, because there was so much backlash about her not being on the show,' said Helford. Exec producer Dave Caplan added that not talking about Barr in the spinoff would have felt 'really wrong, and really shortchanging the audience.'
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
