In the age of reboots and revivals, Roseanne (one of my all-time favorites) is a show no one expected could ever come back because one of the show’s biggest characters, Dan Conner, was announced to have died at the end of the series. In what proved to be figments of Roseanne’s imagination, the show took twists and turns in the last couple of seasons that made it apparent the show had jumped the shark.
As we learned last week about the upcoming Will & Grace revival, the new generation of the show will completely ignore what happened or what was ‘said’ during the show’s ending. The end of the hilarious show starring Roseanne Barr and John Goodman showed Roseanne walking through her house at 714 Delaware Street as we heard an omnipresent Roseanne voice over explaining that the majority of the show had been a fabrication of Roseanne’s writing—including the death of Dan. The twelve-year-old me is still crying!
So I guess in following the deus ex machina style of today’s reboots and revival, it’s safe to say that “Why the hell not? Of course they can bring back Dan!” And that’s exactly what ABC is doing.
During the Television Critics Association, ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey said:
I don’t want to talk too specifically, but I wouldn’t say we’ll ignore the events of the finale. Dan is definitely still alive.
If this is the case, will we find out if Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) is actually a lesbian and not Roseanne’s Mom Beverly (Estelle Parsons), if Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is actually romantically linked to Mark (Glen Quinn) instead of David (Johnny Galecki) and if the Conners had actually won the Illinois State lottery?
Dungey also continued to mention that The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki is currently in talks for reprising his role of emo artistic David Healey.
When Roseanne was first rumored to be coming back, it was assumed that the show was returning as a response to the current political climate. The official press release for the show mentioned:
Roseanne 2.0 will find the Conner family dealing with the economic challenges of living pay check to pay check in 2018.
During the TCA, Dungey touched on more on what fans can expect from the revamped show:
Very much tonally be similar to the original, unflinching, honest and irreverent at times. Very topical.
And while the show will not be a direct pushback on politics, it will have show Roseanne and the Conners trying to navigate through daily life trying to solve issues like getting medical insurance.
It’s a great time to be alive! While so many are miffed about the classics coming back from the dead, I for one am excited—especially about Roseanne whose humor and wit helped teach me about blue collar struggle, the spirit of Halloween, and loose meat sandwiches.
Roseanne was one of my
Roseanne was one of my favorites, then and now. It is still funny today. And it was the first major tv show to paint a realistic picture of what so many of us lived like..living paycheck to paycheck, having struggles on how to pay the bills, how to survive with less than perfect living/family conditions.