As impossible a concept as it may have once seemed, the Conner family won’t be popping up again as an upcoming 2025 TV show for Season 8, with audiences bidding farewell to the all-time great sitcom clan after its emotionally on-brand series finale. “The Truck Stops Here” actually provided a literal farewell to audiences, which wasn’t only a surprise to those watching at home, but also for those seeing it play out behind the cameras.

Time will tell how The Conners’ conclusion will ultimately stack up against those of 2025’s other canceled and ending shows, but as someone who grew up on Roseanne and was a parent by the time the revival and The Conners came into existence, it was a successfully bittersweet affair. From the disappointment of the non-impactful $700 payout to the messages delivered at Roseanne’s grave, the final hurrah was both authentic to their middle-class legacy and ability to find humor in dark moments.

No such darkness came in the series-capping scene, despite all of the genuine tears shed by the cast when making their characters’ final exists. Those on-camera reactions weren’t planned ahead of time, and executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan also revealed Goodman’s reality-breaking “Good night” to the camera also wasn’t written into the episode. As the showrunning Helford told The Wrap:

Considering how many past Conners (and Roseanne) episodes also wrapped up inside the family's instantly recognizable living room, spending the last few moments with Dan, Becky, Darlene, Jackie and the extended fam was the just-right choice. And it no doubt made for a more visceral experience for the cast as they exited a stage set that became a home away from home.

Surely, Dan could have just stayed seated on the couch as the lights dimmed, or turned the TV on while grabbing a can of something sudsy. But John Goodman took it upon himself to share the final words of the series with the fans both in-studio and at home. Goodman copped to being "old and resistant" to change when talking about saying goodbye to Dan Conner, and you can really feel how much he's holding back the waterworks in the moment.

Dave Caplan said it was "a surprise to us" that the cast's emotions were so readily on display during a moment in the family members' lives that wouldn't necessarily call for tears to fall. To that end, he addressed why the creative team chose not to give the family a more dramatic or otherwise over-the-top ending, saying:

Perhaps we'll one day see one or more Conner family members back on the small screen for a follow-up sitcom in the future, and hopefully before nearly two decades pass if it happens. But for now, fans can watch all seven seasons of The Conners with a Hulu subscription.

The original ABC run of Roseanne made it one of the most popular sitcoms in its day, and it's since become one of the most popular sitcoms ever. Its follow-up The Conners has followed in those footsteps. Many of the original shows' cast and regular characters have made appearances in the follow-up series, but when The Conners comes to a close tonight, it will do so without bringing back a few notable names, including George Clooney.

It’s something of a piece of historical TV trivia that one of George Clooney’s earliest roles was as Roseanne’s supervisor, Booker Brooks, on the first season of Roseanne. While he would go on to bigger and better things, in everything from Batman movies to Oscar wins, the producers of The Conners revealed they did try on more than one occasion to get Clooney to return, but he turned them down because it would have opened the TV guest star floodgates. Executive Producer Bruce Helford told TVLine:

Clooney, like most actors, did a lot of TV appearances before joining the main cast of his own show with ER, which then led to his successful film career. While The Conners is the only one of those shows to get a direct revival, one imagines that many of the people who worked on those shows are still in the industry, and if Clooney did the favor for that show, the rest would come calling.

It's not a completely unreasonable feeling. There have been talks of a Murder, She Wrote reboot, and Clooney appeared in a couple of episodes of the original series. If Clooney appeared on The Conners there would be a precedent that might result in more of these offers, and if Clooney says yes to some and no to thers, he'd have different people upset with him.

While George Clooney hasn’t exactly retired from Hollywood, he’s certainly not appearing on screen with the frequency he once did. He’s in a position where he can choose to work or not. He’s likely already turning down plenty of work and isn’t looking to say no more often than he already is.

Assuming Cloney was on the level with this comment and wasn’t just trying to let the producers down easy, it sounds like he might have been willing to make an appearance on The Conners if it had truly just been a one-off. It’s too bad, as it would have been a pretty cool TV moment, and certainly a full circle one for Clooney, if they’d been able to pull it off.

Of all the major shows ending or getting canceled in 2024, The Conners is one of a relatively limited minority whose fate wasn’t necessarily solidified by low ratings, behind-the-scenes controversies, schedule snafus or any other contentious reasonings. In the case of the Lanford family, ABC confirmed Season 7 will be their last one without any noteworthy catalysts beyond the growing idea that it was just time to hang it up. Which is apparently the way to end a series if you want the Showrunner & Co. to come away feeling okay with having to say goodbye.

For years now, The Conners has more or less existed on the edge of the cancellation bubble, where contracts were set up so that new agreements needed to be made after each new season, as opposed to multi-year deals. The show’s viewership numbers and ongoing legacy always helped fuel the impetus to bring it back for another year, but it sounds like all involved were ready to pack it in once The Conners’ hit its milestone 100th episode.

Showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan spoke with TheWrap about the way Season 6’s finale left the breadcrumbs for what’s to come, and why ending the show with a six-episode final season isn’t a downer as some might imagine. According to Helford:

While it's hard to make a lot of direct comparisons between The Conners and Seinfeld that make organic sense, this is certainly an area where the two series dovetail a bit. Jerry Seinfeld chose to pull away from continuing that show's run at NBC when it was already considered one of the best sitcoms of all time, and was bringing in 30 million viewers each week.

TV ratings are obviously far lower than they were 25 years ago, but the same principle still holds here, which Dave Caplan also addressed, saying:

While the last batch of Season 6 episodes took a viewer dip due to schedule changes caused by Jeopardy! Masters, The Conners does still manage to bring in more primetime eyeballs overall, on average, than even Grey's Anatomy. And reruns airing on The CW have likely helped boost its popularity in the last year or so, not to mention the sitcom's first five seasons being available to stream with a Netflix subscription.

And while pushing the final season's debut to the midseason might also affect how many people tune in, it sounds like ABC will be promoting the six-episode stretch quite a bit.

How The Conners' Final Season Will Be "A Big Event"

Rather than ABC sweeping The Conners’ swan song season under the rug with little fanfare, it sounds like the upcoming episodes will be treated as something akin to event television, albeit the sitcom variety. The two executive producers explained how it’ll be big for fans, as well as for the network’s own promotional purposes.

• Dave Caplan: These last six episodes are a very big event for ABC. I think they want to use it to also launch some other shows. A lot of people are going to be interested in seeing the saga of the Conners wind down to its end for now.
• Bruce Helford: We’re also happy to have a little extra time to put this all together and not have to rush it into the fall schedule. That’s a benefit for us to do this properly, because it’s going to take some time… We’ll be back in July writing and probably won’t be shooting until August.

It was obviously implied that starting later in the season would give the creative team an advantage, but knowing that ABC wants to go big here makes that extra time all the more lucrative. This is a show that pulls off some of broadcast TV's best guest stars, and there are plenty of Roseanne characters we haven't seen return yet, with Martin Mull's Leon being a hopeful. (Also gotta love Caplan saying "to its end for now," leaving that front door open for more.)

As far as what fans can expect to see from the not-so-lucky family, Bruce Helford didn't share any details, but did imply this won't necessarily be a victory lap for all involved. As he put it:

Considering the way Roseanne's final season went, The Conners could quite literally set off a bomb in every scene and still not quite mess things up the way the lottery storyline did. But since we already talked about Seinfeld earlier, what if Helford and Caplan took a page out of Curb Your Enthusiasm's book by using the Season 7 finale to poke fun at the way Roseanne's original run wrapped? Now I'm a little too excited by this idea that won't happen.

The Conners will be back for the final seventh season stretch in 2025, but fans can watch the sixth season with a Hulu subscription, and head to our 2024 TV premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are popping up soon.

Having celebrated its milestone 100th episode in Season 6, The Conners continues cementing itself as one of TV’s most successful spinoffs. It’s also one of the most unique, in the way that it can directly pull from, and tie back to, the nine O.G. seasons of Roseanne for storylines and cameos. We’ve already seen Natalie West’s Crystal resurfacing this season, but there are plenty of Roseanne characters we still want to see, with Martin Mull’s Leon Carp near the top of that list.

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners’ showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan ahead of Episode 100, which is always a good time for yours truly. During our chat, I mentioned that Mull is one of the long-gone characters that fans most want to see back in Lanford in whatever capacity, and when I asked if there had been conversations about any Leon storylines, here’s what Helford told me:

On the one pragmatic hand, it’s an answer that is obviously very understandable. Without a great reason to bring back such a beloved character, it’s the safer choice not to do it, rather than shoehorning in a cameo that runs the risk of tainting a legacy. I dunno that Leon’s legacy would be that tarnished regardless of how he returned, but the point is still valid.

A big reason why Leon’s return would be difficult to bring about impulsive is because Martin Mull’s on-screen dynamic with Roseanne Barr was key to the character, as was his marriage to Scott, portrayed by Mull’s Fernwood 2 Night co-star Fred Willard. But with Willard having passed away in 2020, and with Roseanne Conner being killed off in the spinoff’s premiere (following Barr’s off-screen controversy that got Roseanne canceled), it means Leon’s story would need to connect with someone else from the show’s ensemble. Not a terrible idea, mind you, but not necessarily one that feels inherently necessary.

But then on the other hand, it’s like…”Come on, guys! It’s Martin Mull! Just put him in a room, and he’ll be hilarious!” And to that end, Dave Caplan makes it clear the sitcom’s creative team isn’t outwardly avoiding bringing Leon back, and would welcome it if and when genius motivations strike. Here’s how he put it:

It’s almost shocking that Caplan & Co. would be surprised by fans calling for Martin Mull’s return, given how big of a staple he was on Roseanne from his Season 3 introduction through his final Season 9 appearance. They’re firmly aware that fans like me would love to see Johnny Galecki’s David again — which Sara Gilbert told us she’d also love – and they’re also good about left-field returns like Eric Allen Kramer’s Bobo. A potential Leon return fits pretty squarely between those, so here’s hoping Helford and Caplan figure out a way to make it happen before ABC pulls the plug.

Just gonna put my grand Conners finale theory out there now, though: the final episode will involve the family having to sell the iconic house, which Leon swoops in to buy, similar to his actions involving the Lunchbox during Roseanne’s run.

Roseanne can be streamed in full with a Peacock subscription, while The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, with new episodes airing the next day with a Hulu subscription.

Hitting 100 episodes is a noteworthy pinnacle for any TV show, and all the more so in the modern era of shortened seasons and widespread cancellations. Which makes The Conners a stand-out on top of a stand-out for reaching the milestone in its sixth season after its predecessor Roseanne had gone well beyond 200 episodes. It’s a pretty unique honor for the little Lanford family that could (which Sara Gilbert celebrated with cake and scripts), and CinemaBlend got showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan’s thoughts about the big accomplishment.

With the episode “Smash and Grab and Happy Death Day,” The Conners gave audiences its 100th outing as a proper spinoff, and thankfully without actually having any of the characters get killed repeatedly as the Happy Death Day title reference implies. I talked to Helford and Caplan — not quite as catchy as Laurel and Hardy — ahead of the airing, and also inquired about the duo’s favorite guest stars from everyone who’s appeared so far.

While some shows might choose to use Episode 100 to go all out with big-named guest stars, The Conners already pulls that kind of move on a regular basis, and turned past guest star Sean Astin into a Season 6 regular as Becky's newest. beau. And for what it's worth, this ep did feature Extended Family's Sofia Capanna.

When I asked both Helford and Caplan about which guest stars stood out as their favorites, there wasn't much hesitation before the answers started flowing:

• Bruce Helford: From the first hundred, I think Candice Bergen is one of them for me.
• Dave Caplan: Yeah, that's right up there.
• Bruce Helford: She was just wonderful, and she fit so beautifully into the group. I mean, she's just a natural actor, and definitely very honest.
• Dave Caplan: It was fun for me to work with Jason Alexander. I had never done that. That was fun.
• Bruce Helford: Yeah, Jason was great. He was great. Bill Macy was wonderful. I've always been a big fan of his.
• Dave Caplan: And of course, Paul Reubens. You get to work with Pee-Wee Herman, why wouldn't you?

It feels like something of a missed opportunity not to follow Season 2's "Lanford, Toilet of Sin" by reconfiguring the plot to center entirely on Paul Reubens' town historian Sandy Bitensky. But I guess I can't hold it against anyone.

Bruce Helford continued, ackowledging how The Conners and its cast have the ability to convince just about anyone to show up.

Truer words never spoken. And clearly, the aforementioned Sandy Bitensky revamp would have also included Katey Sagal. (R.I.P. Paul Reubens.)

Why The Conners Hitting 100 Episodes Is Such A Surprise

To the average non-jaded TV viewer, The Conners' continued existence isn't such a surprise, considering its TV legacy, its stars, and the fanbase that continues truckin' along with it. But showrunner Bruce Helford says it's still altogether surprising for those behind the scenes, since the family's return to TV wasn't intended to last this long. As he put it:

I suppose in some ways, the fact that Roseanne only returned for the lone tenth season before its cancellation fits into those original short-lived expectations, even if I'm sure no one involved would ever have wished for things to go the way they did. But the flagship sitcom did get ordered for a second season before the cancellation and retooling, with The Conners emerging as both a continuation and its own entity.

Which means it had to start over from the bottom as far as episode counts though, making it seem even less likely that the cast and crew would one day celebrate 100 episodes. Here's what Dave Caplan had to say:

No word yet on whether or not ABC will order up a seventh season to follow the truncated Season 6, which was affected along with everything else on TV by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But so long as there are more stories to tell, and there always will be for this family, I wouldn't be surprised to be talking to Helford and Caplan about hitting Episode 150 in a few years.

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, with episodes available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. (And the first five seasons are currently streaming with a Netflix subscription for anyone who missed the first 93.)

So often, the fates of TV casts and crews are decided by the whims of audience behavior, and that’s only become more clear as streaming’s hold on entertainment grows stronger. Thankfully, not all shows deal with such precipices, with ABC’s The Conners trucking along while still holding strong as one of the network’s top comedies alongside Abbott Elementary. And while there hasn’t been much worry about the Lanford family facing the cancellation axe directly, it sounds like the comedy’s sixth season may be its endgame, with both star John Goodman and showrunner Bruce Helford speaking to that fact in the aftermath of Season 5.

Making the planning process even more difficult at the moment is the ongoing WGA writers strike, which has completely shaken up the TV industry months after it went into effect. We know that ABC already prepared for a lack of Fall TV premieres and is set to hold off on its big scripted shows until the new year. While it’s unclear if that will have any direct effect on how The Conners will continue exploring the titular family’s livelihood, let’s dig into what’s been said about this next year possibly being the final outing.  

What John Goodman Has Said

Despite previously considering a step back from working so much, John Goodman has been crushing the double-series life in recent years, bouncing between The Conners’ lo-fi dysfunction and the far higher-profile chaos at the heart of HBO’s The Righteous Gemstones. But while the televangelist comedy’s future isn’t up for discussion at the moment, Goodman did address the idea that Dan Conner & Co. may only be around for another year, while also pointing out that ABC already defied expectations by renewing the show as many times as it already has. Here’s how he put it to France 24: 

Goodman sounds like he might be of two minds on the idea, in that he might be perfectly fine with saying goodbye to the TV set he’s called home for more than 15 (non-continuous) years, but also wouldn’t fight against the idea of keeping The Conners going until the last possible moment. We probably shouldn’t expect to see him reuniting with Roseanne Barr during the show’s swan song, but that would be one of the biggest TV moments of the century if it happened.

What The Showrunner Has Said

For all that John Goodman has and can say about The Conners possibly wrapping up, it’s technically not his area of expertise to speak to the creative and production side of things. That falls more on showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, who have been steering the ship throughout all the seasons that have aired to date, as well as co-star and fellow EP Sara Gilbert. When things hit the point where Gilbert isn’t interested anymore, that’s when everyone will hang it up, and Helford hinted at that being a likelihood going forward, telling this to TVLine around the time when Season 5 was wrapping up: 

When it comes to ongoing goals for the show's creative team, Bruce Helford previously talked to CinemaBlend about the desire to bring Stranger Things and The Goonies vet Sean Astin back on the show as Becky’s latest love interest for the long haul, even if that only ends up being a single season. Becky deserves it more than fans do, but fans also deserve seeing these characters reaching points of extended glee. As well, Lecy Goranson talked with us about the guest stars she'd love to see join the show before it all wraps up, so here's hoping the powers that be can make more magic happen once the strike is over.

Fans can rewatch the fifth season of The Conners in its entirety with a Hulu subscription while waiting to see if and when Season 6 will indeed be the final batch of eps for this multigenerational clan. 

With The Conners Season 5 finale wrapping up with various family members celebrating the high school “graduations” they weren’t privy to in the past, it might have been a unique way for the network sitcom to close out entirely. Luckily for the show’s loyal fanbase, ABC is all about keeping its most popular comedy series around, with the Season 6 renewal officially getting announced this week amid all the cancellation news. What can we expect to see from the Lanford clan whenever new episodes arrive? If it looks like a happy Becky romance, and sounds like a happy Becky romance, I think we can assume that’s what it’ll be, assuming past guest star Sean Astin can make the scheduling work.

CinemaBlend talked with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford and fellow executive producer Dave Caplan ahead of the Season 5 finale (and thus ahead of the now-ongoing WGA writers strike), and also ahead of ABC’s renewal announcement. But considering both of them are aware enough of how well the show has been doing for ABC, they talked with confidence about where they’re interested in taking the story next, and everything may be coming up roses for Lecy Goranson’s Becky and Sean Astin’s Tyler, who was first introduced as a possible love interest in the episode “What's So Funny About Peas, Love and Understanding?” Here’s how Helford teased things: 

What what? Becky Conner in an actual loving and romantic relationship for the long haul that (presumably) won’t involve potential deportation or an unplanned pregnancy from freezer sex? That sounds like a winner on all fronts, since Becky has gone through a whole lot of hardships and emotional wrangling without many avenues to long-lasting happiness. Obviously her and Emilio’s daughter Beverly Rose counts as one, but since she’s not always in Becky’s care, even she feels like less of a permanent source of glee. 

But it was very clear from Episode 520 that Becky and Tyler shared a connection that felt as if it extended to the actors themselves successfully bonding in the relatively short amount of time Sean Astin was available for filming. To that end, Dave Caplan said they also feel Becky is now at a centered place where she’s ready to take on a serious romance from a sensible perspective.

For as much as The Conners’ producers probably wanted the best from bringing Sean Astin into the cast, especially since the show is a proven magnet for awesome guest stars, it sounds like Bruce Helford & Co. weren’t initially hooked to the idea of bringing Tyler in on a more permanent basis. Rather, it sounds like everyone’s experiences filming the episode led to further conversations about where that storyline could go. In his words: 

As awesome as all of the above is, we’ll close things out on a slightly more bittersweet note, with Dave Caplan sharing hopes for a lack of setbacks from the writers strike, not realizing it would soon derail the networks’ Fall TV lineup, with all scripted shows being currently held for midseason debuts.  

Somehow I doubt the strike counts as something they all wanted to do, but if anything, here's hoping it leads to the best storylines possible being conceived, if not yet put to paper. As well, nobody ask Sean Astin to be in any giant movies where he would have to turn down The Conners. Please, and thank you.

While waiting to see when The Conners will return to audiences for Season 6, fans can rewatch all of Season 5 with a Hulu subscription.

Scripted TV shows aren’t always the best at telling extremely timely stories, since episodes are often written weeks, if not months, ahead of their eventual airdates. But as The Conners proved with its Season 5 finale, it’s easier to achieve currency relevance when angling to the future, leading to not just one, but two scenes referencing Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. And one of them involving Mark ripping on his mom, which doesn’t seem like it would be approved by Star-Lord.

In The Conners’ latest season capper, an early scene showed Jay R. Ferguson’s Ben rocking a sweet T-shirt featuring Chris Pratt’s Walkman-adoring hero, while a later scene specifically namechecked the second and third Guardians of the Galaxy films. When I talked to showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about crossing paths with space-faring superheroes, at least in reference form, the latter confirmed that was indeed a request made by ABC and Disney, saying: 

Bruce Helford chimed in, stressing that it was more of a friendly ask and not a corporate demand, while also explaining why he was perfectly happy with giving it a thumbs up.

In the scheme of things, it now seems weird that Ben doesn't wear way more T-shirts that display all of his pop culture loves. And without even bringing the Disney/Marvel-ness into it, none of the characters central to The Conners would stand out if they'd be seen in a movie theater chowing down on popcorn while watching Quantumania, The Marvels, or the slew of upcoming Marvel movies down the line.

On the flip side, it was slightly more bizarre to see Nathan Fillion’s John Nolan wearing a Guardians of the Galaxy T-shirt in The Rookie’s cliffhanger finale, even though Fillion is actually IN GOTG Vol. 3. Which isn’t to say Nolan looks like he abhors superheroes, but it still felt like more of a shoehorned-in approach. 

The Conners circled back to the super-squad later, when Ben was attempting to bond more with Mark in light of all things David-related coming back into play temporarily. They had the following exchange:

• Ben: Come on, we can watch Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Get ready for Guardians 3. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm gonna say that they'll be guarding the galaxy.
• Mark: Do you think they'll be battling intergalactic monsters like Mother?

How sweet would it be if the real villain for the franchise was actually Sara Gilbert's Darlene? I mean, it wouldn't be sweet for the universe.

Can we expect any other upcoming Disney movies to show up on The Conners in the future? Dave Caplan joked about another highly anticipated blockbuster, but don’t actually expect it to happen. (Especially if the WGA writers strike continues.)

The Conners recently enjoyed some synergy-driven fun by bringing in Whoopi Goldberg as a guest star, with Lecy Goranson saying it was “such a delight” to have the View moderator on the set. And to a similar, I asked her, Helford and Caplan about their thoughts on what a Conners Disney theme park ride would be like if it happened, and they offered up some A+ ideas. 

For now, it’s unknown if and when The Conners will be back on ABC, with Season 6 news still unconfirmed. But it seems likely, even with the strike, so keep those fingers crossed, whether they’re human, raccoon, tree, or otherwise.

Spoilers below for the Season 5 finale of The Conners, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!

The Conners spent a lot of Season 5 exploring Darlene and Ben’s complete life reversal as a newly married couple living together, outside of Dan’s house, with Darlene’s professional life shifting around for the betterment of the family. (What show does she think she’s on?) But the season finale focused on two characters who rarely get paired up together narratively — Ames McNamara’s Mark and Jay R. Ferguson’s Ben — while addressing one of the familial elephants (not) in the room: Mark and Harris’ absentee father David Healy. While the episode didn’t get to bring Johnny Galecki back to reprise his Roseanne-originated role, it served as a fitting chapter-closing for the character, whose lingering relationship with Darlene was put to rest back in Season 2. Executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan even think it worked out better for Mark and Ben that David never popped up. 

CinemaBlend spoke with both of the EPs ahead of the finale, and when I jokingly asked if all the comments made at David’s expense were secretly aimed at past guest star Johnny Galecki, they laughingly denied that being the case in any capacity, with Caplan saying, “We love Johnny!” They went on to explain that they did indeed reach out to see if the former Big Bang Theory star was available, but it doesn't sound like acting is something he's interested in jumping back into anytime soon. Here's how they put it:

• Bruce Helford: It got to be a situation where he just wasn't available, and we love him, and he loves being on the show. And we just felt we had to finally deal with that.
• Dave Caplan: Yeah, David was still kind of in the life of the show, certainly living through the kids, and we sort of had to deal with it. We made an initial approach to Johnny to see if he was available, but he's sort of not engaging with the business at the moment. But we still felt that to tell a good story about Mark and Ben, we needed the ghost of David in the show. 

It might have been interesting to see how David would have reacted to Darlene and Ben's domestic life, but it probably would have just involved him sleeping with some floozie and disappointing Mark and scoring weed off Harris, amirite?

While both the episode and my convo with the Conners bosses revolved around David a lot, showrunner Bruce Helford pointed out that the episode allowed them to put a spotlight on the value that Ben brings to the family in various forms. And that certainly includes the way he quite easily took on light fatherly duties, even if Harris is probably too old for any of it to truly make up for David's absence over the years. Here's what Helford said about that:

Considering how everything played out in "The Grad Finale," it's hard to think of how David would have fit into things smoothly, and so the story would have needed some huge changes in order for his presence to have an impact. When I asked if that was the case, Caplan agreed and explained:

Mark's practice graduation speech did generate a legitimate "AWWW" reaction, and I do believe Ben's follow-up request for Mark to work in a plug for the hardware store was as organically "Conners" a comment as the dude could have made. Ben is soooo part of this clan. Now if we could just get Sean Astin back in the fold as Becky's romantic foil, we could possibly see peak happiness for The Conners' core squad. Make it happen!

Following The Big Bang Theory's series finale, Johnny Galecki largely drifted away from the limelight, putting more focus on both his family life and on handling projects more behind the scenes as opposed to in front of the camera. Two of the more recent projects he'd been developing were a workplace comedy dubbed AOK and a TV adaptation of J.D. Kleinke’s novel Catching Babies, though it's been a while since any news came out about that one. But even if he never takes on another acting role again, he'll always be David Healy to a lot of us. 

The Conners is ending Season 5 atop the slate of comedies at ABC, and will very likely be back for Season 6 at some point later this year, depending on what happens with the ongoing WGA writers strike. Until then, the entire past season can be streamed all over again with a Hulu subscription.

As hard as it may be to believe, the Conner family is getting set to wrap on 15 years of being front and center in primetime, after ten seasons of Roseanne and five of The Conners, after first arriving on ABC 35 years ago. Legacies like that are fairly rare on the small screen, and are worthy of celebrating in big and extravagant ways. For instance, as a very specific hypothetical, what if the iconic sitcom got its own attraction at a Disney theme park? I pitched that question to The Conners star Lecy Goranson, as well as showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, during a pair of Season 5 interviews. And hilariously enough, Goranson and Caplan were independently on the same page. 

When CinemaBlend spoke with Goranson ahead of Becky being called a bad mom by Katey Sagal’s Louise, the topic of Disneyland came up, as she’d recently paid a visit to that park’s version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, and absolutely loved it. (Even though she’s technically more of a Star Trek fan.) But she wasn’t picturing far away galaxies when I asked about a Conners ride, as she answered with:

Doesn’t it make ultra-perfect sense? Of all the Disney-created attractions that have graced the company’s theme parks around the world, none seem so befitting of this sitcom family than the one that’s arguably the weirdest, darkest, and most frightening to young children. And they’d no doubt be proud of that distinction. 

The answer is so perfect, in fact, that EP Dave Caplan had the same idea, even though I hadn’t mentioned Lecy Goranson’s idea when asking. In his words:

Oh, the humanity! The true hell of that ride would be for the person behind Darlene in line at the grocery store as she’s trying to use illegitimate coupons. 

Interestingly enough, Disney revealed in late April that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is one of three rides being closed for refurbishment within Disneyland proper. Just a coincidence, or is the park making some changes that’ll put ABC’s most iconic family in the dead-center of the ride? I guess we’ll have to wait and s…okay, it’s definitely just a coincidence. But how cool would it be to see John Goodman’s Dan in the underworld?

Beyond Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan had a few other silly ideas for rides and attractions that would match up with Lanford’s elite. 

• Bruce Helford: If there’s such a thing as an economic roller coaster, that would be good. 
• Dave Caplan: What about a haunted house with just creditors? 
• Bruce Helford: One of those sudden drop rides, but it doesn't go back up. It just drops.

Those ideas technically don’t sound as all-around awesome and must-have as some of the movie-themed Disney rides we’ve fantasized about over the years. But what if we could make all of this happen in VR? GET ON IT, GAME DEVS! I want to be dodging falling stew and running from haunted creditors by the end of 2023. 

While we’re on the subject, check out what we’d want to see from an all-Tom Cruise theme park, and don’t forget The Conners’ Season 5 finale will air on ABC on Wednesday, May 3, at 8:00 p.m. ET, and will be available for fans to stream with a Hulu subscription.

Primetime TV has been all over the place as of late, from World Series preemptions to Election Night takeovers and beyond. ABC’s Wednesday night comedy lineup took a break this week for the 2022 CMA Awards, so viewers had to miss out on new episodes of The Conners, among other shows. Thankfully, there’s lots more to look forward to from Season 5, which will be the sitcom’s biggest batch of episodes yet, and fans can look forward to seeing another familiar face in the form of Estelle Parsons’ Beverly Harris.

The Conners sparked speculation from viewers like yours truly when putting out the foreboding synopsis for its Thanksgiving-geared ep, which taps into Jackie coming to terms with Bev getting ill in some way. While it’s not exactly confirmed when Bev will be bring her motherly, grandmotherly, and great-grandmotherly judginess back to the small screen, CinemaBlend spoke with showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan following Season 5’s Halloween fun, and he talked about the show lucking out into landing the 96-year-old Estelle Parsons’ latest guest appearance. When I asked if we’d possibly be seeing Bev soon, he answered with:

Even though COVID-related filming precautions have been loosened as of late, it's no mystery Estelle Parsons warrants as much care and safeguarding as possible. Less than a year after bringing the then 83-year-old Christopher Lloyd back to reprise the role of Lou Vitore, The Conners' cast and crew is well aware that they need to give such living legends as much of a safety bubble as possible. Hopefully nothing too terrible comes of this impending illness.

Speaking of upcoming episodes, The Conners is also gearing up to introduce another new member of the extended family. Not long after meeting Louise and Neville's nephew Caleb, as portrayed by Emma Kenney's former Shameless co-star Ethan Cukosky, audiences will soon get to meet the woman who birthed the all-star siblings. According to Bruce Helford:

When I joked about them just using Estelle Parsons in a wig to play Louise's mom, the EPs laughed, and Helford showered praise on the Bonnie and Clyde star while saying they're hoping to cast someone in the same talent ballpark. In his words:

The next episode, airing on November 16, will also feature Darlene attempting to find a new job after getting shafted out of her previous position. I honestly can't tell whether it'd be more stressful to deal with a job hunt or a sick mom (specifically where the mom is Bev).

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:00 p.m. ET, leading off the network’s night of primetime comedy, with episodes available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. While waiting for new episodes, head to our 2022 premiere schedule to see what’s coming soon, while our 2023 TV schedule will allow for long-scale planning purposes.

Some spoilers below for the latest episode of The Conners, so be warned if you haven't yet watched.

Of all the character dynamics at play amongst The Conners’ main characters, one that has seemed extremely natural since the start has been Katey Sagal’s Louise and Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie. The two award-winning actresses are endlessly watchable when apart, so it seems like a match made in sitcom heaven to have them share the screen together for the ABC comedy. But before their relationship could hit smoother waters, Jackie had to first become self-aware about seeing Louise through Roseanne-colored glasses, so that she could move beyond that trauma-originated hump.

Following the big Halloween episode, which featured Jay R. Ferguson’s stellar Frankenstein’s monster, The Conners set up a situation where Louise and Jackie would necessarily be in close quarters more often, with Louise bringing her innovative ideas to The Lunch Box after her old job went belly-up. And while it seemed like Jackie was just humoring her sister-in-law regarding her business suggestions, an all-too-public outburst made it clear what Jackie’s issue really was. And when CinemaBlend talked to showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about the characters’ relationship, here’s how the former spoke to the Roseanne-ness of it all:

By all means, Jackie and Roseanne’s relationship was anything but streamlined and predictable. While things were friendly most of the time, they could go from casual sibling rivalry issues to super-specific problems regarding Jackie’s relationship choices, and then any number of directions beyond. And given it’s been a handful of years since Jackie was able to hear her sister’s more nagging tone, I don’t think anyone would blame her for falling back on her mental instincts upon having a strong slightly older female around again. Especially since she’s prone to some baffling mental instincts anyway. 

While Louise could never wholly fill out the void left by Roseanne’s death, it’s not really her place to, since she brings a completely different sense of love and respect to both Dan and Jackie. And the relaxed pace with which Jackie has warmed up to her is an intentional long-form initiation for Katey Sagal’s character to join the fam. Here’s what Dave Caplan had to say on that front:

Both Helford and Caplan talked to CinemaBlend in the past about not viewing any Roseanne references as off the table necessarily, and viewers have seen the various characters reflect on moments from their shared past with her, with Darlene calling up (or down) to her mom ahead of marrying Ben in the Season 4 finale, which paid homage to Roseanne’s props and set decorations that are still being used today. And we’ll no doubt get similar nods of that kind in the future, though Jackie may want to keep her Freudian slips limited to more private interactions. 

Bruce Helford also gives a lot of credit to Katey Sagal herself, and to co-star Jay R. Ferguson, for having the skills to cement themselves within this fictional family. In his words:

It’s been nearly 30 years since Roseanne’s infamous pot episode, with a very pregnant Laurie Metcalf playing into the bathroom scene, and The Conners only recently delivered its own weed-laced episode with Dan being introduced to the world of high-potency edibles. Just don’t expect Jackie and Louise to bond over such things, at least when there’s all kinds of booze around. 

The Conners airs every Wednesday night on ABC at 8:00 p.m., with new episodes available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. And head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see everything that still has yet to debut this year.

When The Conners returns to ABC for its anticipated fifth season, its instantly recognizable cast will be missing an O.G. Roseanne vet, with Michael Fishman being made to exit the sitcom between seasons, with his character D.J. being more or less written off in the premiere. But that surprising departure doesn’t mean the show won’t bring any new characters into the Lanford clan’s fold going forward. In fact, showrunner Bruce Helford has unveiled the new face that fans can expect to see in upcoming episodes. 

Helford offered a few select Season 5 nuggets of wisdom for The Conners fans to gnaw on while waiting for the Fall TV season to take off in earnest. Perhaps the biggest piece of totally new news, though, involves a previously unintroduced member of this ever-growing family. In an interview with TVLine, the showrunner revealed that the titular family will soon become a lot closer with one of their younger in-laws. According to Helford:

I’m almost surprised he didn’t offer the outsider option for the unnamed teenager to potentially end up living with Darlene and Ben, where Becky and Beverly Rose will also be homesteading. (A storyline Helford and the creative team were excited to dig into.) But that probably makes sense. And considering Harris will be sticking it out in the main abode with Dan and Louise, it seems likely that the new kid will move in with Jackie and Neville. 

Though whether or not that situation could possibly last longer than a single night is anyone’s guess. Jackie seems like a less-than-ideal roommate as far as embracing peace and avoiding chaos is concerned. And she’ll be going through the major post-marriage change of moving in with Neville herself, so I’d wager that adding another hormone-laden human to the mix would inspire something less than ideal for all involved.

 For those who would rather reflect on older elements rather than newer ones, Bruce Helford also revealed that Season 5 will be filled to the brim with surprises, and some of them will point back to the days of Conner yore. In his words:

That almost definitely means we’ll get to see easter eggs from the Roseanne years, and Helford already teased the impending arrival of an old school character that will make fans flip the hell out. But that apparently won’t be unveiled until the actual episode debuts, so let’s break out our guessing hats.

The Conners has a new time slot coming, and Season 5 will debut on Wednesday, September 21, at 8:00 p.m. ET.  

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched The Conners Season 4 finale, so be warned!

For 14 seasons of television, the Conners’ abode has housed the majority of the family members, and while that may have made ample sense during Roseanne when “the kids” were actually children, The Conners has hinged entire story arcs on the issues involved with so many generations living under the same roof. With Season 4’s conclusion, the ABC sitcom cemented the marriages of Ben and Darlene ahead of their impending move, with Jackie and Neville also tying the knot. Combine that with Harris and Aldo seemingly splitting up, and Season 5 already has quite a few storylines to return to for ABC’s fall schedule.

When CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners’ showrunner Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan, as seen in the video above, I asked what storylines they were excited about getting back into, with Season 5 having only been officially announced a few days prior. Caplan started off by speaking to what will certainly be more of a dysfunctional than functional household, saying:

As if moving into their own home as a newly married and newly reconnected couple wouldn’t be hard enough for Ben and Darlene by themselves, there’s the added bonus of Becky and Beverly Rose. And Mark, of course, but he likely won’t dip back into troublesome waters after his amped-up journey down Not My Prescription Blvd. Plus, we’ll get to him again in a few.

I’m interested to learn what Caplan meant by Becky’s drifting causing complications in Season 5. The single mom obviously had it rough for a while, though she seemed to be pulling through with success, and even got lucky a few times. At least as far as staying intentionally sober goes, save for the setback at Dan and Louise’s wedding. She tried being a tutor mentor, which sorta blew up in her face, and she experienced pure mom-fear during the neighborhood shooter episode. But I can only hope for the best where Becky is concerned.

Bruce Helford spoke to the joys (or the anti-joys) of Dan and Louise’s future when Darlene and Becky move out — which may or may not be happening soon after the season starts — and the strangeness of Jackie’s happiness with Neville. In his words: 

Dave Caplan followed up on that thought with a key insight that Roseanne and Conners fans are oh so familiar with, saying:

The way the executive producer words it, it sounds like Jackie may end up guilty for Neville’s murder in Season 5. Though perhaps we just have different definitions for how badly one can “muck it up.” So far, Jackie’s biggest issue in that relationship has been with Neville’s ex-wife and mother of his son, so that may play into things getting mucky. 

Speaking to the Dan and Louise of it all: while she was unfortunately missing for some of the season due to star Katey Sagal’s injuries after she was hit by a car, it’s safe to say Louise ranks among The Conners’ least content characters going into Season 5. Her wins are few and far between at this point, and while she obviously loves being with Dan, his insistence on not putting her on any kind of a pedestal is probably going to rock the boat a bit. 

Finally, Bruce Helford shined a little light on the creative process, saying they went into crafting the Season 4 finale with the confidence that the show would continue. He also talked about how Ames McNamara’s storyline for Mark will be a big hook for the season, and the family’s legacy as well. 

The Season 4 finale did specifically mention there being a music room in the new house for Mark to get his contrabassoon on, and following the episode with Christopher Lloyd’s return as a guest star, Ames McNamara told CinemaBlend that the character’s musical pursuits were indeed an organic part of the story going forward. It would be wild if Mark found success through an orchestra of some kind, if only to see this wayward family getting gussied up to attend a performance. But that’s for another season. 

For now, those with Hulu subscriptions will be able to catch up with The Conners Season 4 while waiting for the new episodes to hit ABC later this year.

Spoilers below for The Conners’ final Season 4 episode, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!

When all the dust settled on The Conners’ Season 4 finale — presumably that dust came from all of the furniture that was moved out of the living room — the ABC sitcom could boast two newly married couples in Jackie & Neville and Darlene & Ben, while Harris & Aldo went the reverse route with a break-up. But instead of going the usual route of delivering a scripted wrap-up scene to accompany the end credits, The Conners’ team chose instead to shine a well-earned spotlight on some of the set pieces and props that have been around since the Roseanne years. How many families do you know that still have a touch-tone phone hanging on the wall?

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about the Season 4 finale’s ins and outs, and when I addressed the end credits sequence, Helford praised the dual series’ shared legacy and said: 

It was downright bizarre to see the Conner family living room decked out for the wedding festivities, since this is one of TV's most iconic and recognizable sets. The episode itself did give a direct hat tip to the longevity of the family's belongings, with Mark asking Dan about the origins of the couch quilt, which itself was highlighted during the credit sequence. I did not see that story coming, but was impressed all the same, as I wouldn't have been too surprised if we'd learned the quilt came with the couch when they bought it. 

When I spoke with Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan early on in Season 4, I'd asked about whether the living room boombox still worked, which led to the pair talking about wanting to spend an entire episode digging into the family histories behind some of these very props. While that could still happen one day, it's awesome that they were able to achieve part of that goal with the finale.

Along with the quilt and wall phone seen above, the credits also showcased the kitchen wall decor (including the plates depicting oranges and the swordfish), the Godzilla figure, and the painting hanging in the living room. They also have the pantry jar of what I would believe to be pickled eggs, but my brain will not, cannot, shall not wholly register a jar of pickled eggs surviving for that long outside of Moe's Tavern. Instead, I choose to think of it as "that container of wet golf balls that no one ever refers to."

Interestingly enough, Roseanne Barr’s titular character wasn’t shown, though she was referenced during the episode, as has happened quite a bit in Season 4. The writers are fine to lean into Roseanne callbacks so long as they make sense in the moment, since people obviously do talk about their lost loved ones during big moments like weddings. But visual references are on a different level, it seems.

In any case, I also asked the showrunner and EP whether fans should expect for Season 5 to start off with Darlene, Becky and Ben all fully moved into their house, or whether there will be a bunch of renovating happening. And according to Dave Caplan, it'll probably be somewhere in the middle. In his words:

To circle back around to the topic of credits, now that Ben and Neville are officially members of the Conner family — spiritually speaking, of course, especially for Neville — here’s hoping they’ll be part of the opening credits for future seasons. Helford and Caplan told CinemaBlend previously that they’d love to film a new version of it, but scheduling and COVID-related issues made it all but impossible to have absolutely everyone around on the set to make it happen. 

The Conners may be finished with Season 4, but anyone with a Hulu subscription can relive all 20 episodes while waiting for Season 5 to hit ABC’s fall schedule. 

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Conners Season 4 finale, so be warned!

Closing out a TV season can be far trickier than filling out the middle, with a need to wrap up storylines in pleasing ways that are meant to pay it forward in a future season (not so much the case for the crop of recently cancelled shows). A sitcom like ABC’s The Conners ostensibly has it easier than twist-driven dramas in that respect, with something of a status quo to return to for the characters. But with its Season 4 capper, The Conners introduced some potentially permanent changes to many of its characters’ lives going into the fifth season premiering later this year (in a different time slot).

With its penultimate episode setting up a trio of family weddings for two generations of Conners and a Harris, The Conners didn’t get to fully deliver on that front, thanks to men being presumptuous, with Darlene and Ben tying the knot alongside Jackie and Neville, while Harris and Aldo put a halt to their nuptials. CinemaBlend talked with showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about the different ways things played out for Darlene and her daughter’s relationships, as seen above, and they shared a fun detail for what fans can expect to see in Season 5. 

 Darlene And Ben Successfully Got Married

Wedding episodes have long been a television staple, and The Conners previously delivered a rain-soaked ceremony earlier in Season 4 when Dan and Louise got married. When I asked Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan about landing on the idea to circle back around to weddings for the finale, here’s how Helford replied:

Which is to say, viewers can get used to Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie feeling more self-assured in her relationship with Neville now that they’re married, but I don’t think anyone should expect her to suddenly not be neurotic in every other way still. Never say never, I guess, even when it’s tattooed around your finger. (Seriously, how did Jackie not murder Aldo for that?)

According to Dave Caplan, the finale was the natural conclusion for where this season was already going with the characters. In his words:

Considering Darlene and Ben spent much of the fourth season being confrontationally pissy with one another (in largely amusing ways), fans might not have suspected their storyline would be telling the writers to bring them back together, but that’s indeed what happened after Darlene took her roof-breaking tumble a few episodes prior. When I asked the showrunner and EP if that speedy choice was partly set up to avoid spending another mini-arc on rekindling things, here’s how Bruce Helford answered:

Had Darlene and Ben spent the season flat-out ignoring each other following their doom-laden split, it wouldn’t have been as fun or as natural to see them eventually reach a point where they were married in front of an opera-singing clown. (Big props to the always magnificent Puddles as a guest star.) Dave Caplan also pointed out ways that their deeper emotional bonds remained intact even as their surface personalities clashed, saying: 

I guess they now have the rest of their lives to figure that one out, which should be slightly easier once they move into their own house. That will no doubt come with its own line of obstacles, but I digress. For now, we can still celebrate...at least for this couple.

Harris And Aldo Weren't So Successful With The Marriage Thing

Minus some lapses in good judgment every so often, Emma Kenney's Harris Conner has proven herself to be a dedicated significant other for Aldo and his kids, despite how often it put her out to do so. (She's definitely more like her father David and her brother Mark in that respect.) But even Harris has her limits, and Aldo found out the hard way what happens when someone attempts to breach one of those boundaries, a relationship sin he committed by blindly assuming a woman half his age would be perfectly fine with bearing his children simply because he himself is getting older. And so no marital bliss for these two, at least not yet.

It's probably best that she went through a relationship as uniquely tumultuous as this one so early in life, so that she has that as a litmus test to base other prospective mates against. But that's even assuming that Harris and Aldo are 100% split up for good, which may not be the case. 

Showrunner Bruce Helford revealed that Aldo will return in Season 5, and had nothing but good things to say about actor Tony Cavalero. Helford also revealed that Dan won't be going through complete empty nest syndrome when Darlene and Becky move out. In his words:

That presents its own interesting array of scenarios that could play out in the new season. Will Harris take over Darlene's old room and find herself becoming more and more like her mom? Will Aldo and his father Jesse, brilliantly portrayed by Joe Walsh, be hanging out at the house more with Dan, without others around as much? How long before Louise drops ultimatums on Dan and Harris? Somebody needs to start keeping Louise content.

For now, The Conners is over and done with on ABC (though episodes are available to stream for those with Hulu subscriptions), but fans can look forward to Season 5 starting up at some point in late September. Until then, there are lots of other options in the 2022 TV schedule to get hooked on.

Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t watched The Conners’ episode “Triggered,” so be warned!

While The Conners often keeps its emotional drama locked into personal struggles for the various characters — Darlene’s relationship woes and Becky’s dedication to sobriety, for instance, although Becky’s own questionable relationships certainly count here — the ABC sitcom opted for trauma on a different scale with its recent episode focusing on gun violence and its aftermath. Strangely enough, that also happened to be the installment highlighting the long-awaited return of star Katey Sagal, who was largely sidelined from filming after being struck by a car back in October 2021. And as one might have imagined, things weren’t exactly planned all along to play out that way. 

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford, executive producer Dave Caplan, and star Lecy Goranson about the neighborhood shooter episode, and I asked about the timing behind Katey Sagal’s Louise returning from her band’s tour right in the midst of such a dark narrative. Here’s how Helford explained it:

 Definitely not the most fancy-free and lighthearted episode to welcome back a recovering cast member, but there’s no denying how memorable that storyline combo was. I mentioned that it served as a solid balance, giving viewers something to celebrate before the hectic situations kick into high gear. And Helford agreed, comparing how things worked out both in front of and behind the camera to how unexpected occurrences pop up in everyday life.  

Surely, had there been any major issues with bringing Louise back during this particular episode, the creative team would have figured out a way to hold things off. But no such issues occurred, and Sagal was thankfully back in the lives of her fictional family and her non-fictional fanbase. 

Which isn’t to say that Katey Sagal was back at 100% physicality and agility, and the episode seemed to immediately start poking fun at the actress’ still-recovering nature by having the rest of the family hide from Louise instead of helping her carry her luggage and things inside. But Dave Caplan said that scene was written without thinking about the ramifications, and said the writers took extra care after that in handling Louise’s scenes in ways that wouldn’t demand much of her, movement-wise. In his words:

Perhaps one day fans will see Sagal’s Louise running a marathon or doing jumping jacks in the middle of the kitchen, but we probably shouldn’t expect to see such actions for a while yet. I joked that the star’s body pains were the real reason why Louise told Dan she wanted to get rid of the waterbed, and Bruce Helford chuckled in saying the bed also entered the cautionary talks about handling Sagal’s comfort. 

It’s great to have Katey Sagal back in primetime, especially considering how strange it’s been for Dan to just be hanging out by himself all the time following that chaotic wedding episode. Here’s hoping she stays safe and healthy, and will be around in full for the rest of Season 4 and beyond!

The Conners airs new episodes every Wednesday night on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET, hopefully without any more mall shooters lurking around Lanford. While waiting for the next ep to come along, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule to see all the new and returning shows popping up elsewhere on the small screen.

Spoilers below for The Conners’ latest episode, so be warned if you haven’t yet watched!

If the now-recovered Katey Sagal’s big return after being hit by a car would have happened in just about any other episode of The Conners’ fourth season, it would likely be the most important topic of discussion. However, the Season 4 installment “Triggered” brought a bit more to the table. The family struggled through an area-wide lockdown after a mall shooting was caused by a neighborhood teen who was eventually shot and killed during a live TV news feed. While none of the main characters was physically injured, the experience itself definitely impacted some of their mental states after everything was said and done. And it’s the “after the tragedy” idea that served as a catalyst for the episode’s conception. 

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners star Lecy Goranson, showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan about the troublesome and thought-provoking ep, and why they wanted to bring this particular story to light for TV audiences. In particular Goranson is the one that put the wheels in motion, even though it took a while for them to reach their final destination. When I asked her about why the show was holding a mirror up to the world in such a way, here’s what she told me:

As sad and unfortunate as it is, Chicago could very easily have inspired a story like this one not just in the past two years, but for quite a large chunk of the recent past. But while there are many TV projects that would have put more of a focus on the lead-up and the violent acts themselves, The Conners wasn’t looking to glorify such things. To that end, the entire ordeal from the first words about the mall shooting to the point where the gunman was dead played out only through dialogue and sound effects, without viewers witnessing any of it in visual form. 

Instead, the ABC comedy was more interested in putting a spotlight on the elements that don’t come up as often when movies and TV shows tell narratives about mass shooters and other smaller community tragedies: talking about the aftermath. Since, as showrunner Bruce Helford half-implies below, violent incidents such as public shootings affect far more people than just those who suffer the wounds. Speaking to the headspace that Becky was in once Beverly Rose and Emilio returned home from their harrowing mall visit, here’s how he explained things:

Granted, there’s only so much The Conners could do with its 22-minute runtime, even with its memorable opening sequence eschewed for tonal purposes. But by and large, the creative team did an admirable job working as many elements into the story as they did, all while still keeping the pace up with often pitch-black jokes. (I think it’s an all-time great Conners joke that Ben’s shoddy roofing work on the house was discovered to his dismay via news helicopter footage.)

One of those elements was definitely a critical look at the current lack of readily available mental health resources for those who have experienced traumatic experiences like gun violence. Or even for those on the outskirts and still have a hard time dealing, such as what was happening with Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie as she sent herself into a manic state through sleepless social media doom-scrolling. EP Dave Caplan spoke to that idea, saying:

For a lot of adults out there in the working class world, even if the resources would be available, the gumption to take action might not be. And so John Goodman’s Dan serves as a fairly relatable surrogate at several points during the episode. Particularly when he defends his reasoning for smiling in the face of such darkness. And Bruce Helford said that balance was a big part of the conversations when putting the episode’s pieces together.

While everyone's mileage will vary when it comes to how tone deaf jokes will come off in the wake of something devastating, I'd say none the humor on display in "Triggered" was overtly crass or incendiary. Not that The Conners gets regularly insulting with its comedy, but the feather-ruffling was seemingly kept to a minimum given the sensitive nature of the story. (I mean, ruffling probably happened, but less so because of the jokes.)

While adults suffering from mental health issues obviously have it hard, The Conners also draws a circle around the dearth of such healthcare within many school systems across the country, with Mary really bearing the brunt of the entire stressful experience. Dave Caplan explained that the statistic mentioned during the episode was one that they found during the research process.

The fact that D.J. was out of town only made things worse for Mary, without either of her parents around to give her the feeling of security that Darlene and Becky can't really deliver themselves. So it's understandable why it would be that much harder to separate from everyone to go back to school while still in a sense of shock. 

Lecy Goranson spoke to the fact that the amount of effort and support that goes into drills and prevention tends to outweigh the resources devoted to how things are handled when such events do occur. 

Some of those feelings of lost innocence are captured best in Stephen King's novella The Body, adapted into Rob Reiner's stellar Stand by Me. Not that Mary went out looking for a dead body or anything — this isn't meant to be an apples-to-apples analogy — but the idea of intentions and assumptions being upended by the atrocities of reality are shared. 

Bruce Helford talked about his personal trauma-via-television experience, which is one of the most famous/infamous instances. 

As a follow-up to that rather sobering anecdote, Dave Caplan quickly connected the dots between conspiracy theorists' idea of a second shooter and Helford not being seen in school that day. Which, for the most part, was a darker joke than arguably any in "Triggered."

The Conners certainly hasn’t shied away from dark story points in Season 4, from Mark’s sub-addiction to ADHD pills to Becky accidentally derailing her sobriety to the Conner family getting rid of old furniture and other things from when Roseanne was still around. To say nothing of Becky and The Professor’s unethical relationship. But through all that and more, this clan has survived and thrived. Well not thrived. More like…stumbled forward without being completely engulfed in flames. 

How much will this neighborhood-set tragedy affect the family going forward? Fans will just have to find out when The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET. To see what new and returning shows are popping up elsewhere on the small screen, head to our 2022 TV premiere schedule. 

With The Conners now four years into its run as a spinoff, it has cemented its own TV legacy that can easily stand apart from its predecessor Roseanne, even if the two projects will always be intrinsically linked. The ABC sitcom has comfortably dropped in several story-based references to Roseanne Barr’s matriarch in Season 4 so far, from her minutely religious leanings to her addiction foreshadowing Mark’s pill-popping. While the set design and much of the furniture also serve as reminders of what came before, I know I’m not alone in thinking The Conners should also follow in Roseanne’s footsteps by finally updating its breakfast-themed opening titles sequence. And it just might happen, at least if things play out in a best-case-scenario kind of way.

Many fans would agree that a notable part of Roseanne’s charm came from the ever-evolving opening credits, and all the changed details that came with each new iteration. To date, The Conners has only delivered a single version of the food-filled sequence, which only gets more obvious each year as stars Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey continue to grow. So when CinemaBlend spoke with showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan going into the winter hiatus, I had to ask if there were any plans to change things up, especially now that Louise is a legally binding member of the family after that hectic wedding. Here’s how Helford answered:

A strange feeling of vindication comes with hearing a TV show’s creative forces have been talking about something my own obsessive brain nerdishly won’t let go of. Which isn’t to say that anything will come of those conversations in the immediate future, but it’s certainly a good sign of what could happen. And again, the mild and relatively useless vindication!

Although let's be honest, it’s anybody’s guess whether it could feasibly come together before Season 4’s production is over. The fact that the world became increasingly more pandemic-torn over the holidays doesn’t make it too likely that everyone’s schedules and protocols matched up in such a way where the full cast was able to film a new opener. Not to mention Katey Sagal’s recovery process after she was hit by a car. Although obviously anything can happen — we did just witness Joe Walsh from The Eagles being introduced in fine fashion as Aldo’s dad — so we definitely won’t rule the possibility out just yet.

Not only would Sagal’s Louise need to be sitting around the table, but it might need to be a completely new table, depending on what her furniture needs are when she returns from being on tour. But I could definitely see Nat Faxon’s Neville being part of the group now, as well as Tony Cavalero’s Aldo, although his creepster kids are good to be with their mom that day. I’m sure Jay R. Ferguson’s Ben would be there, too, though Darlene would probably have him eating in a different room of the house.

As we wait to see how The Conners will reflect on its roots next in Season 4, be sure to keep watching new episodes premiering on ABC every Wednesday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. 

As The Conners heads into its Season 4 midseason hiatus, the ABC sitcom is keeping things hectic for the titular family and everyone surrounding them. And few things in Lanford could create more hectic chaos than the matriarch of the midwest herself, Roseanne Conner. The character’s legacy and influences have popped up a bit more in Season 4 thanks to Dan and Louise’s marriage, as well as Darlene’s crisis of faith, relationships, and motherhood. And so long as there are legitimate reasons to recall Roseanne’s glory days, fans are going to see them.

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners’ showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan ahead of the Season 4 winter finale, and when I asked if there were any narrative areas they wouldn’t want to call back, they both agreed that everything is feasibly on the table. According to Caplan: 

As Dave Caplan put it, The Conners has been bringing in references to Roseanne Barr’s iconic character not just through Dan and Louise’s marital status and their furniture decisions, but also through the narratives for the younger generations. Becky is likely just as appreciative for both of her parents’ guidance over the years during her sobriety struggles, even if we didn’t see her directly dig into those reflections like Darlene did. Maybe we’ll even see D.J. having some kind of childhood nostalgia issues along the way where he’ll also be taking a personal look back to how he was raised. Which was probably on a diet of Darlene insults and ham around that iconic kitchen table.

Showrunner Bruce Helford carried on that same train of thought in saying that references to Roseanne the show and the character are considered as they’re brought up during the creative process, as opposed to somebody’s predetermined motive to try and shoehorn as many callbacks as possible. In his words:

While things were obviously awkward early on in The Conners' standalone existence after Roseanne Barr's exit, that was years ago, and it only makes sense for this family to want to cling to more youthful memories as the characters themselves get older. Even if those memories involve couches and chairs that almost definitely house their own ecosystems at this point. 

Of course, part of this show's draw is the generation-spanning lore that has been brought to life since Roseanne premiered back in 1988. And when I asked if there was an added layer of creative interest in looking back at past moments through a current-day lens, Bruce Helford said:

Joining lots of other shows hitting hiatuses going into the holiday season, The Conners airs its winter finale on ABC on Wednesday, December 1, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to check out all of the shows debuting in early 2022!

Spoilers below for the Season 3 finale of ABC's The Conners, so be warned if you haven't yet watched!

In wrapping up its tumultuous third season, The Conners delivered some great relationship news for John Goodman's Dan and Katey Sagal's Louise, though the same can't exactly be said for Sara Gilbert's Darlene and Jay R. Ferguson's Ben. Michael Fishman's D.J. also got his own A+ update when former cast member Maya Lynne Robinson returned as Geena Conner for the finale, where it was revealed the character is retiring from the military in order to return home, meaning audiences will get to see a lot more from Geena in Season 4.

In a coincidence that skews both unfortunate and silver-lining-fortunate, Maya Lynne Robinson's return in The Conners' Season 3 finale came soon after it went public that CBS cancelled The Unicorn, on which Robinson had a starring role. When CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners' showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, I asked about the crazy timing behind everything, which was quite similar to the situation with Katey Sagal's ABC drama Rebel being cancelled in the days prior the Conners finale. In Helford's words:

As much as it sucks to lose a cast member, it's definitely easier to do when that cast member is going into a role that equals their talents, which was definitely the case with Maya Lynne Robinson's work on The Unicorn. But since CBS made the call not to move forward, that gives The Conners' creative team a chance to truly bring Geena back into the narrative when Season 4 starts off, even if they may need to make some storytelling jumps if Robinson lands another big show in the coming months.

Not that The Conners EPs have any issue with trying to secure Maya Lynne Robinson no matter what she's doing professionally at the moment. Such is their love for the actress. Here's how Dave Caplan put it:

While Katey Sagal was able to split her filming time on occasion between The Conners and Rebel, with both being ABC shows, it appears Maya Lynne Robinson wasn't able to do so while on The Unicorn. And it was probably even more difficult to make something happen once COVID protocols limited the show's use of recurring and guest stars. For better or worse, at least that won't be an issue for anyone in Season 4, and Geena being around might lessen some of the sitcom's more dramatic storylines, as enjoyable as those can be.

While waiting for The Conners to return to ABC this fall, catch up on past episodes on Hulu and stay up to date on all the big shows hitting the 2021 Summer TV schedule.

Spoilers below for The Conners' Season 3 finale, so be warned if you haven't yet watched!

In closing out its third season - technically its fourth if you count the single Roseanne season - The Conners delivered two marriage proposals. One of them went quite well, with John Goodman's Dan and Katey Sagal's Louise officially getting engaged, and Sagal is set to be around more for Season 4. Conversely, Sara Gilbert's Darlene was quite a bit less successful with her attempt to fully commit to Jay R. Ferguson's Ben, as he not only turned down the proposal, but also cemented their temporary-or-otherwise break-up.

That scene was psychologically haunting in most respects, with Darlene going totally transparent with her crafty house-fun gift and the ring she bought, and Ben choosing that point to lay many of his grievances out. Even though I actively wanted the two characters to split up, it was still rough to watch, and The Conners executive producer Dave Caplan told CinemaBlend that the show's writing staff has debated Ben and Darlene's relationship woes as much as fans have. In his words:

That all sounds natural enough, since most relationships have those who champion their success, with others who seek for it to crumble. (Probably not quite as hectic a debate as the Bears and Packers rivalry that Laurie Metcalf's Jackie fed into after her Jeopardy! appearance, but still.) And within Darlene and Ben's courtship, there have been obvious pitfalls and quagmires that made things difficult, with many of them stemming from Darlene's mental capacity for handling her erratic and turmoil-filled life. Here's how showrunner Bruce Helford explained it to me:

With that being the case, I found it all the more heartbreaking that Darlene put the time and artistic passion into creating that little house, which should have meant a lot to Ben, only for him to merely see it as an "aw shucks" gesture. (I can't imagine why she would continue not living with this true Casanova, he said sarcastically.) Of course, while Ben obviously isn't able to get inside Darlene's head and truly appreciate all of her emotions and impulses, she's similarly unable to fully understand things on his level.

In Ben's mind, he will always take second place to whatever else Darlene has going on in her life with the rest of her family. And while I'm sure he does understand the value in that somewhere deep down, he's clearly not comfortable being put on the back burner. And EP Dave Caplan explained why that's a long-running theme for this show and its family.

I know I'm not the only viewer out there who watched such a heartbreaking scene and came out of it with the mindset that Ben was being a total vindictive douche by letting Darlene go through her entire proposal spiel just so he could say no and spark the break-up. However, showrunner Bruce Helford explained that's not exactly the case, and that Ben was processing everything in the moment just as audiences were, saying:

It's entirely possible that if Darlene had just given him the crafted house and the idea for saving money, Ben might have again handled things sarcastically, but he probably wouldn't have gone so far as to end the relationship for the time being. But seeing Darlene make such a giant (and, again, impulsive) decision with her wedding proposal just brought him over the edge, because it likely brought to mind all of the ways their engagement could backfire from Darlene's lack of 100% commitment. I mean, he brought up David (though without saying his name), so he's clearly got a strong pessimistic foundation to work from.

To that end, Dave Caplan explained another creative goal with Darlene and Ben's relationship was to explore how people react to emotional resentment, especially when it just keeps building without much relief. In Caplan's words:

Could Darlene and Ben eventually get back together during Season 4 and beyond? It's entirely possible, especially if Darlene takes their break-up period to reassess her life and her priorities. If Dan and Louise are getting married, that may mean good things for the house's mortgage being paid in a timely manner. And then if Becky does indeed have her alcoholic instincts under control, then it frees Darlene up to worry more about Ben. At least, barring Harris having any major problems, or DJ and the returning Geena going through some shit, or another old friend returning from her childhood just to die a few days later. Darlene is just kind of surrounded by problematic people, isn't she?

The Conners secured its Season 4 renewal ahead of the Season 3 finale, so there's nothing to worry about on that front. Now it's up to the writers to figure out if Darlene is going to find ways to make things work with Ben, or if she's going to buy another couple of tickets to Hawaii so she and Brian Austin Green's Jeff can work on some major stress relief. While waiting for all the great 2021 Summer TV shows to arrive, all Season 3 episodes of The Conners are available to stream on Hulu.

Spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't yet watched The Conners' Season 3 finale!

Yes, Conners fans, those are wedding bells you're hearing after that topsy-turvy Season 3 finale, which ended with Katey Sagal's Louise and John Goodman's Dan engaging in post-engagement coitus (to other characters' grand dismay). Mixed in with those bells, unfortunately, are the death knell echoes for Sagal's legal drama Rebel, which was just recently cancelled by ABC after only five episodes aired. And while Louise's upcoming nuptials weren't at all tied to Rebel's fate, The Conners' showrunner confirmed to CinemaBlend that fans will get to see even more than expected from Sagal in Season 4.

CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners' showrunner and executive Bruce Helford and fellow EP Dave Caplan going into the Season 3 finale, and both were a bit torn between dismay over Rebel's fate and appreciation that Katey Sagal would have more time to spend in faux Lanford, Illinois.

Bruce Helford and The Conners' creative team definitely knew when they were crafting the Season 3 finale that Katey Sagal wanted to make sure and return in some recurring capacity in Season 4, regardless of how the scheduling had to come together. Otherwise, that would have been a pretty ballsy move on the writers' part to just write a future wedding into the show without knowing if the bride would be around for it. Even so, though, it would have been strange for Louise to only be around every so often if she and Dan were aimed for full-on matrimony, barring another bout with COVID. So it's surely an advantage to not immediately need excuses for her absences.

With The Conners showrunner speaking so confidently about having the Sons of Anarchy vet around more for Season 4, I asked if he could confirm whether or not Katey Sagal was in it for the long haul, or if fans should worry about her taking on another Rebel-esque show in the next year. Luckily, Bruce Helford sounded just as confident when he answered that one, while still acknowledging how highly in-demand Sagal's talent is on the small screen. In his words:

If we could make some kind of a TV rule for the future that states Katey Sagal and John Goodman should co-star together in one show on every network and streaming service, that would be perfect, thank you. Or, alternately, every show on a single network or streaming service. To that end, Dave Caplan echoed the sentiment while also showing sympathy for Sagal, who was quite angry about Rebel's cancellation understandably.

While the timing of any TV cancellation is awful no matter when it comes, this was one definitely a blow to the cast, crew and viewers, considering how many Rebel episodes are still yet to air. But for every thorn, there's usually a pretty good looking rose on top, and in this case, that rose may one day go by the name Louise Conner.

While waiting for more news about The Conners Season 4 and what will come next for Darlene and Ben after that break-up, don't forget all the awesome shows coming to ABC and beyond during the 2021 Summer TV season.

When The Conners sent Laurie Metcalf's Jackie over to Jeopardy! to display her innate smarts on the beloved game show opposite guest host Aaron Rodgers, things didn't go as well as one might have expected. Not only did she botch her way right out of the Final Jeopardy! round, but she also shamed herself on national TV, to the prophetical delight of her mother. The story behind The Conners' big Jeopardy! moment is a bit more touching and sentimental than Jackie's unfortunate experience, though just as heartbreaking in some ways.

When CinemaBlend spoke with The Conners' co-creators and executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan ahead of the big Season 3 finale, I was shocked to learn that the creative team's original goal was actually to get Alex Trebek himself on the sitcom prior to the inspirational game show legend's death in November 2020. Here's how Helford put it:

I don't think I'm overstating things to say it would have been a singular slice of TV history to see Alex Trebek delivering his iconic "No" after all of Jackie's wrong answers. It would have been even more wowzers to see Trebek chilling on the iconic living room couch, since I feel like I've never seen that guy sit down, but that probably wouldn't have been possible anyway, due to COVID restrictions. Sadly, it wasn't meant to be, with Trebek succumbing to pancreatic cancer at some point not so long after the agreement was made.

Once it became clear how Jeopardy! would continue in Alex Trebek's absence, Bruce Helford said the Conners team reached back out to see if they could make the connection happen for Laurie Metcalf to visit the set.

While it might have been a fine enough time had one of Jeopardy!'s other early guest hosts appeared on The Conners, such as game show GOAT Ken Jennings or journalist Katie Couric, the fact that Aaron Rodgers spent his entire NFL career so far with the Green Bay Packers added an extra bit of creative energy to having him on the cameo. As a Packers fan myself, I hated that he had to see Laurie Metcalf's Jackie in such a frazzled state, though I would have been 100% into seeing him dunk on Bev.

Of course, as special as it is to bring Jackie Harris to Jeopardy!, it was a wholly different kind of special for Bruce Helford to visit the hallowed halls of the game show's studio. In his words:

If anybody on The Conners needs to be on a game show, it's the constantly stressed-out Darlene, and she needs to win a trip to Hawaii to make up for the one that she had to forfeit, despite it being a kind, posthumous gift from Danielle Harris' Molly. Perhaps Bruce Helford can get something going with Pat Sajak and the Wheel of Fortune execs for Season 4.

There's just one proposal-filled episode left of The Conners, so be sure to tune into the Season 3 finale on ABC on Wednesday, May 19, at 9:00 pm. ET. And while waiting for the already renewed Season 4 to arrive, take note of all the awesome new and returning shows heading to the 2021 Summer TV schedule.

Spoilers below for the latest episode of The Conners, so be warned!

For longtime fans of The Conners and its predecessor Roseanne, the joy over seeing Danielle Harris' Molly Tilden was short-lived, as the character was killed off in an unexpected twist that kicked off Episode 316. Thankfully, Molly was able to light an inspirational fire under Sara Gilbert's Darlene that could very well cause the character to turn over a new leaf. But will that leaf-turning then cause problems to sprout between Darlene and Jay R. Ferguson's Ben? It sounds like that might be the case.

When CinemaBlend recently spoke with The Conners' showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, I voiced my concerns over Ben's growing fixation on Darlene moving in with him. It'd be one thing if Darlene was giving him a "One day soon..." kind of response, but by and large, she has justifiably argued against that outcome while she and Becky are still in the process of helping their father pay the mortgage. In response, Helford and Caplan did not thwart my somewhat pessimistic feelings about where that relationship is heading. In their words:

Indeed, Ben's short time running his father's hardware store so far has already created some turmoil for these characters, mostly involving Dan trying to backdoor his way into partial ownership. That largely seems to be water under the bridge now, with Ben giving Dan a 10% stake, with the idea that Dan can build his finances back up to a point where Darlene can feel comfortable moving out. Will that ever really happen? Your guess is as good as mine, but I think fans are well aware of how Darlene's headspace works at this point. There's a reason why she's slept so many years of her life in the same bedroom, after all.

So it's easy to imagine that Darlene and Ben's relationship troubles would spark from their mutually exclusive living situations. (And not necessarily from Johnny Galecki's return as David to mess things up.) But that brings us back to Molly, who clearly had an impact on Darlene's psyche by reminding her that life is meant to be enjoyed as much as anything else. It's still not exactly clear whether or not Darlene somehow got a refund on those airline tickets that Molly left her as a parting gift, but if she didn't, that'll no doubt cause Ben to ask why it didn't happen after she'd previously agreed to. Cue the stressful dialogue.

That said, The Conners' showrunner Bruce Helford then also offered up a pretty wild reveal about what viewers can expect to see before Season 3 is up, and it almost necessarily has to involve Darlene and Ben. In his words:

Note that Bruce Helford didn't just mention ONE marriage proposal, but rather multiple big questions being popped. Of course, he did not tease that these proposals would be greeted with approving answers, so maybe viewers shouldn't be getting their hopes up just yet. Considering it was part of the same conversation as the Ben and Darlene tidbits, I would put lots of money on Ben asking Darlene to marry him, though I wouldn't wager nearly as much on Darlene saying yes. Though she could very well be the one to propose to Ben as a sign of relationship faith that she's not shying away from commitment.

Elsewhere, is it possible Becky and her baby daddy Emilio will attempt to have a more romantic wedding that isn't solely tied to him being allowed to live in the U.S.? Or will Dan and Louise get married, despite Katey Sagal being on another ABC show now?!? Dan and Louise! Dan and Louise!

The Conners airs Wednesday nights on ABC at 9:00 p.m. ET, with upcoming episodes featuring guest spots from Beverly Hills 90210 vet Brian Austin Green and Murphy Brown herself Candice Bergen.

Now in the back half of its third season, ABC's The Conners continues to depict the financial, physical and emotional struggles plaguing the titular family. One current arc features Sara Gilbert's Darlene helping John Goodman's Dan pay the mortgage, which is causing strife with Jay R. Ferguson's Ben. So here's hoping she'll be shaken out of her rut after Roseanne and Halloween franchise vet Danielle Harris shows up to reprise the role of Molly Tilden for the first time in nearly 30 years.

As a direct follow-up to the classic '80s and '90s sitcom Roseanne, The Conners occasionally brings familiar characters, actors (and Blockbuster DVDs) back into the fold, even if it's not always in person. But it was still an awesome surprise to very recently learn that Danielle Harris would be bringing Molly back to the small screen. CinemaBlend had the privilege of talking to Harris about her big return, and here's what she told me when I asked how this opportunity came about:

Without getting into any spoilers, it's safe to say that viewers will be talking about Molly's return for several different reasons, including how wonderfully bizarre it is to see Darlene and Molly together again for the first time since 1992. And it's not only fans that will be pumped when the episode airs, since Danielle Harris herself is enthused about taking part in a family-friendly, non-horror project that her children can watch. Here's how she put it:

If Danielle Harris' Boy Meets World character T.K. had also shown up as an adult on The Conners, it might have broken some viewers' brains. (Remember all those bonkers TGIF crossovers on ABC?) But hopefully everyone will still be intact after watching.

CinemaBlend also spoke with The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford and executive producer Dave Caplan, who also shined a little light on the motivation to bring Danielle Harris back into the franchise. When I asked Helford if this idea was specific to Season 3, or if it came up before, here's how he answered:

It's entirely possible that The Conners viewers will one day be reconnected with Molly's sister Charlotte, but it doesn't appear as if that will be the case with the episode "An Old Dog, New Tricks and a Ticket to Ride." Not that it's needed, since Molly was the goal anyway.

When I asked showrunner Bruce Helford what it was like to reconnect with Danielle Harris as an adult after so many years, and he had nothing but good things to say.

For those wondering, I did indeed mention to The Conners executive producers that they missed the boat by not having Danielle Harris as a guest star during one of the memorable Halloween-themed episodes, considering she starred as Jamie Lloyd in both Halloween 4 and Halloween 5 in the '80s. (Not to mention her return to the general franchise for Rob Zombie's pair of remakes.)

The Conners airs new episodes every Wednesday night on ABC, with Danielle Harris' return as Molly kicking off a back-to-back airing on April 7. Fans still have yet to hear whether or not ABC will bring The Conners back for a fourth season, but be sure to tune into the Season 3 finale, which will feature a tribute to the crew worker who died during filming.

Fans who tuned in for Season 1 of The Conners got quite the treat about halfway through when Katey Sagal showed up as a former high school classmate of Dan and Roseanne's who'd recently returned to town. Lucky for us, what could have been a one or two time appearance turned into a prime recurring role, as Dan and Sagal's Louise eventually began a romantic relationship. It turns out that the part must have been pretty lucky for Sagal, as well, because the actress fought to make sure Louise could stick around Lanford even after she landed a new TV show.

Generally, nabbing a leading role on another show would remove an actor's ability to keep filming a smaller part on a different series (particularly if both shows film at basically the same time), but Katey Sagal was adamant in her desire to stick with Louise, even after her new ABC drama, Rebel, landed a 10-episode series order for this fall. The Conners' showrunner, Bruce Helford, recently revealed what Sagal did to make sure those behind the family sitcom knew she wanted to stay around for Season 3. In a chat with TV Line, he said:

I have to admit, I love the hustle from Katey Sagal with this move. She could have easily abandoned The Conners to see if Rebel would turn out to be a long-term, full-time gig. This is especially true, considering that she's not yet a regular on the comedy, and it would likely only take one or two episodes to write the character off, if need be. But, Sagal has been very complimentary before about the work she's been given to do on the show, so it makes a lot of sense that she would want to stay, even with it meaning that her schedule would become much more difficult.

Rebel will see Katey Sagal play a “funny, messy, brilliant, and fearless” blue collar legal advocate who's based on the present day Erin Brockovich, meaning that the role sounds like the kind which any actress would love to play, and goes a long way toward explaining why Sagal wanted the part. The show will be filming while The Conners does for several weeks, and, as fans will see almost immediately when Season 3 of the comedy picks up, Louise is going to be around a bit more than in the past.

The show is going full-on with its pandemic storytelling, and will reveal that Louise has moved into Dan's already way too crowded home so that the couple could keep seeing each other in person. Unfortunately, Louise used to be in a band and on the road all the time, and she also never married or had kids, so she's now been thrown into a situation where she's not just living with her boyfriend, but two of his children, at least a couple of grandchildren (one of whom is an actual unpredictable baby), and also (probably) Darlene's boyfriend, Ben.

Something tells me that quarantine has been loooooong and stressful for Louise, you guys.

We can see how Katey Sagal's Louise handles being right in the middle of all the family madness when The Conners returns for Season 3, this Wednesday, October 21, on ABC at 9 p.m. EST. For more on what to watch in the coming weeks, check out our guide to fall TV!

Fans will know that The Conners is, truly, all about personal relationships. But, while the show has always focused on the eponymous clan, how they deal with their differences as a family, and the way they brave their many (many) troubles together, that has never meant that romance is off the table as something to be explored. While new lovey-dovey relationships have been formed over the show's two seasons, many of the OG viewers who watched Roseanne still had hopes for Darlene and David. Now, though it looks like those hopes have been killed for good, because Jay R. Ferguson, who plays Darlene's boyfriend Ben, has just been upped to series regular.

Big, gruff, lovable Ben debuted in The Conners first season as Darlene's new boss, but that relationship grew very quickly for the pair into something much more. At the time, though, their new romance was under quite the strain (unbeknownst to Ben) because David had been sniffing around Darlene again, and she'd let herself fall back into having sex with him, hoping that they might be able to put their fractured family back together.

Darlene just couldn't decide who to cut loose. Her long history with David meant that she had some serious emotional ties (yeah, OK, and kids) with the man who was, honestly, too weak to stand up to her in their marriage to the point that he simply abandoned her and the children. For the first time, Darlene had met her match in Ben. He was both unwilling to let her totally run the relationship, but also beyond kind and understanding with all of her baggage, as well as being perfectly sarcastic enough to fit right in with the rest of the Conners, with everyone in the family liking him.

Even after the mess that was frequently Darlene and David's romance, there are plenty of fans who were hoping against all hope that the two could finally, really, make things work. But, according to The Conners executive producer, Bruce Helford, one of the reasons that Jay R. Ferguson has been made a regular cast member for Season 3 is how well he and Sara Gilbert (and their characters) play off of each other. He told TV Line:

My goodness. Can you imagine if Darlene had managed to save what will likely be her best romance only to have her eyes begin to stray, yet again? Ben was able to finally forgive her for two-timing him with David, but I doubt he'd have been willing to do that a second time. As it stands now, after they both lost their jobs at the tabloid they were working for, they reconciled and have gotten even closer. They're trying to have a baby, start their own publication, and have also committed to helping Dan keep the house, which will probably lead to Ben moving in with them.

Well, our hopes for some kind of Darlene / David revival may have been dashed, but at least Darlene finally has a romance that truly works for her, right? We can see what Jay R. Ferguson's Ben will have to put up with now when The Conners returns to ABC on Wednesday, October 21 at 9 p.m. EST.

The Conners wrapped up its second season last night with Dan, Becky and Darlene facing some major crossroads in their lives, one of which could actually get a member of our favorite snarky family into some serious legal trouble. So, the last thing we need is to not be able to continue these stories into Season 3. Fans have been wondering just what the hold up is to The Conners getting that official greenlight, and now we know where the process stands right now.

Fans are still all-in on The Conners. While the show isn't nabbing ratings quite as high as the one-season Roseanne revival which brought the gang back together, the working class family sitcom still ranks as ABC's most watched comedy this season, so you can bet that the network doesn't want to let a good thing go, especially now that it's lost the long-running hit Modern Family. According to The Conners executive producer Bruce Helford, the proceedings are just taking a little bit of time

As Bruce Helford noted during his talk with TVLine, obviously one of the big questions now is just when everything will be able to begin filming again, especially since there are some cast members (like John Goodman with The Righteous Gemstones and Emma Kenney, who still has Shameless) who are also lined up to do other shows which now have their schedules up in the air, too. But, the good news is that all of the main cast we'll expect to see on a weekly basis when Season 3 does finally come around has already signed off on their deals.

So, what could still need to be ironed out at this point? We learned around mid-April that Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and Lecy Goranson would be coming back for a 19 episode Season 3, so with those main pieces in place, it would seem like renewing The Conners would be no problem. Well, it was at the same time that we found out that the show's production company, Werner Entertainment, was still trying to work out a license-fee deal with ABC. Conversations for that were already happening at the time, though, so, hopefully, we'll see that get finalized so that next season can be officially announced.

Even though The Conners was renewed for Season 2 in late March of last year, it appears that there's no need to worry about the comedy continuing for at least another season at this point. ABC is known for its comedies, so it's a pretty good bet that those at the network will do everything possible to keep a show as popular as The Conners around for as long as the cast is willing to bring us one of television's most reliably downtrodden families.

While you wait for word on The Conners Season 3, be sure to check out what's coming to Netflix, everything that's new to Hulu this month, and take a look at what will be on the TV schedule this summer!

When Roseanne returned to the airwaves after many years back in midseason 2018, original series fans saw many of their favorite characters back on the small screen. The revival managed to nab most of the original cast to reprise their roles, even bringing both Beckys on board for an arc! One character that didn't appear in the first season of the Roseanne revival was Jackie and Fred's son, Andy, and fans shouldn't get their hopes too high for an Andy appearance on The Conners. The spinoff showrunner Bruce Helford weighed in on Andy, saying this:

Andy was born as the son of Jackie and Fred in a Season 6 episode that aired in August 1994. He wasn't old enough to be much of a player in the Roseanne shenanigans when the original series was still on the air, so his absence in the revival wasn't altogether distracting. Still, longtime fans were undoubtedly taken aback by the fact that there was no mention of Andy at all. Jerry at least was established as on a boat. According to Bruce Helford's comments to TVLine, Andy may not have been mentioned because he may not exist!

As many undoubtedly recall, the ninth and then-final season of Roseanne was a bonkers batch of episodes that seemingly featured the Conner family after they won the state lottery, but the finale revealed that the entire final season actually took place in Roseanne's imagination as a way to cope with her husband's death. Since Dan was very much alive (and John Goodman was almost in Emmy contention) for the revival, the dream season obviously didn't happen, and the show could remove Andy from the Conners universe.

That possibility isn't perfect, as Andy wasn't born in the dream season. He was born back in Season 6 and was around in episodes well before Roseanne Conner started concocting a story that was better than dealing with her husband's death. If The Conners wants to use the dream season as an excuse for the omission of Andy, it will have to expect viewers to fudge the timeline. Then again, most viewers probably won't be too upset about a character who appeared for a few seasons as a very young child back in the 90s.

All of this said, it's possible that The Conners will reveal that Andy has been off at college this whole time. He'd be 24 or so by this point, so higher education could have kept him out of the Roseanne revival. Now that Roseanne Conner has been killed off for the sake of the spinoff, perhaps there will be more time for characters like Jackie. Bringing her son back into the mix could certainly provide her with some stories. If Johnny Galecki and one more can come back, surely Andy can come back!

Find out how the characters are coping with the death of Roseanne Conner when The Conners premieres in the fall TV lineup on Tuesday, October 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ahead of the premiere of The Kids Are Alright.

Television nowadays is in an era of reboots and revivals, and ABC recently premiered the Roseanne revival. The revival premiere scored massive ratings for the network, and even one star was shocked by how many people tuned in to see what the Conner family is up to in 2018. Unsurprisingly, Roseanne was renewed for a second revival season shortly after the ratings came in. Now, co-showrunner Bruce Helford has spoken out about what the massive ratings could mean for the future of broadcast television, saying this:

Broadcast television in recent years doesn't generally win the same viewership and ratings as it once did, and popular attention has shifted largely to cable and premium cable shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. The big winners at TV awards events lately rarely honor shows and/or actors from broadcast TV shows, and some in the entertainment biz have felt that the era of broadcast television is coming to an end. According to Bruce Helford, the 7.3 rating in the 18-49 demographic is a sign that audiences will still tune in to broadcast networks if the shows are good enough and have enough popular appeal.

It is somewhat surprising that Roseanne's revival premiere performed so well in the key 18-49 demographic. A decent chunk of that demo wasn't even born when Roseanne first hit the airwaves in 1988 or even went it went off the airwaves for the first time in 1997. Nostalgia wouldn't have been a factor for a lot of the people in the demographic, and surely not that many people would have gotten hooked on the series via streaming! Maybe Bruce Helford is on to something in his comments to THR. For whatever reason, the Roseanne premiere was a hit in the essential demographic, and the renewal was not a huge surprise. It should be interesting to see how the ratings for future episodes are different from the premiere.

There's been plenty of buzz that could have attracted new people to give the show a try, and even the president is talking about it. That said, not all of that buzz has been positive, and perhaps viewers were only curious enough to check out the revival but not curious enough to tune in every week. The show almost certainly will not break ratings records every week. We'll have to wait and see what happens for the future of Roseanne and broadcast TV.

Tune in to ABC on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET to catch new episodes of Roseanne. If you're still in the market for other shows to watch now and in the not-too-distant future, swing by our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule. If streaming is more your style, we have a handy Netflix premiere list and Amazon Prime rundown.

Warning: spoilers ahead for the premiere of the Roseanne revival on ABC. If you haven't watched yet, feel free to check out some of our spoiler-free articles until you get the chance to tune in.

The long-awaited Roseanne revival finally hit the airwaves on March 27, and the first two episodes managed to catch viewers up on what most of the characters have been up to in the 21 years since the original run of the series ended back in 1997. Many of the original cast members were back to reprise their roles, but there was one notable exception: Johnny Galecki as David. With Galecki not a part of the regular cast, Roseanne had to find a way to address his absence from Darlene and their kids' lives. Sadly, the premiere revealed that David isn't around because he and Darlene split, which at least is better than why Mark isn't around.

The good news for David and David/Darlene fans is that the whole season won't go without the man himself making an appearance. Johnny Galecki, too busy with The Big Bang Theory to sign on as a Roseanne regular, had time in his schedule to return as David for one episode of the revival. Roseanne showrunner Bruce Helford teased what's to come from the David/Darlene renewal, saying this:

For all that Darlene was able to deliver some laughs in the Roseanne premiere, her life since the end of the original run of the series hasn't been entirely happy. In fact, her marriage to David didn't last all that much longer after the original finale, according to Bruce Helford's comments to THR. If they broke up six years ago, Darlene didn't get the life many of us would have wanted for her. The loss of her job only made her life more difficult, and moving back to her parents' clearly won't be easy for her.

Part of me wonders if David might have been killed off if Johnny Galecki had been entirely unable to appear in the revival, although Roseanne might not have wanted to go with the deaths of both Healy brothers. Mark Healy's death was written into the revival due to actor Glenn Quinn's death in 2002. Rather than recast the role, Roseanne wrote the character out of the story. David is still alive, and given some of Johnny Galecki's comments, he could very well have more of a presence on another season of Roseanne if it continues.

We'll have to wait and see. Tune in to ABC on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET to catch the latest of the Roseanne revival. For your other viewing options, swing by our midseason TV premiere guide. If you're now in the mood for some old school Roseanne, you can find the entire original run of the series streaming on Amazon Prime.