The Conners Season 5 Is Trying to Bring Back Roseanne Character

The Conners showrunner Bruce Helford has revealed the show is trying earnestly to bring back a fan-favorite Roseanne character. A spinoff to the ill-fated Roseanne revival, which was canceled due to a racism controversy surrounding its titular star Roseanne Barr, The Conners has managed to develop into a thing of its own and cement its place as one of the top-rated network comedies. The show follows the legacy Roseanne characters, Dan, Jackie, Darlene, and Becky – played by John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, as they continue to grapple with the death of their family matriarch while tackling the hard-hitting issues facing blue-collar families in a contemporary America.

Although The Conners is a top performer for ABC, it was a bubble show this season as the eroding ratings and pricey talent put the financial viability of the series to question. Yet, the series was ultimately renewed for season 5 in May, with the network scheduling it for a premiere on September 21, 2022. Although the show was picked up for season 5, The Conners let go of D.J. actor Michael Fishman, who has been a regular for the franchise since the second episode of the original Roseanne. As the casting shake-ups continue, an additional update has surfaced concerning The Conners upcoming season 5.

In a new interview with TVLine, Helford reveals that he is trying to bring back recurring Roseanne star Estelle Parsons as Beverly “Bev” Harris for season 5. Although Parsons return hasn’t been set in stone, the creators are working out the logistics, hoping to get Bev back for a few significant episodes. Particularly, Helford is interested in exploring Bev’s relationship with her new son-in-law Neville (Nat Faxon) while encompassing its wider reverberations on her relationship with her daughter, Jackie. Read what Helford said below.

“We’re working on [getting Estelle Parsons back] now. We’re just figuring out dates, but we’re cautiously optimistic that Estelle will be returning… We’ve got a couple of important episodes we’d like to do with her.”

As audiences might recall, Bev has been away from The Conners since season 3, although she appeared in all seasons of Roseanne. The reason for that is the showrunners did not want to fly Parsons all the way to Hollywood to film the show as the escalating COVID-19 pandemic could have put her at a greater health risk due to her elderly age. But now, with the situation subsiding, the door for her return is left wide open, and narratively too, there is a brilliant opportunity to bring her back. In the original Roseanne, Bev interfered blatantly in Jackie’s marriage with Fred (Michael O’Keefe), and was, in part, responsible for the couple’s divorce. But while she played a spoilsport, her deplorable meddling also delivered some of the greatest laughs across the series. Every time that Jackie finds some happiness, Bev finds a way to ruin that thing for her, so not having her around to create trouble now that Jackie is finally happily-married would definitely be a major missed opportunity.

That said, earlier this month, Helford had teased that an original Roseanne character who was heavily involved in the early episodes of the mothership series would return for The Conners. But Helford specifically stated that that character hasn’t appeared on the spinoff show before, so it cannot possibly be Bev, as she already possesses an established presence on The Conners. This means that apart from Bev, there will be an additional callback to the ’80s sitcom. But until audiences figure out the identity of the mysterious returning character, they can cherish Bev’s highly-anticipated comeback – Jackie has had it easy for a while now, but with Bev coming back, her life will surely get upended, while the hijinks between the mother-daughter duo entertain fans to the fullest.

Source: TVLine