Emma Kenney Reacts to 'Roseanne' Spinoff Rumors: 'I'm In!'

Roseanne cast member Emma Kenney would not hesitate to participate in a spinoff series without [...]

Roseanne cast member Emma Kenney would not hesitate to participate in a spinoff series without Roseanne Barr.

The actress, who was one of the first cast members to denounce Barr's racist tweet against Valerie Jarrett leading to the hit comedy series' cancellation, shared a screenshot approving of Lena Dunham's idea for a spinoff series focused on Darlene's "cool kids."

"I'm in," Kenney wrote, also tagging Dunham and Mindy Kaling — who previously offered to write a show for Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman — on the post, first reported by Us Weekly.

Kenney played Darlene's (Sara Gilbert) daughter Harris on the ABC revival series. Ames McNamara also starred as Harris' younger brother Mark. Johnny Galecki made a one-episode appearance in the revival as David Healy, Darlene's ex-husband and baby daddy.

ABC abruptly canceled Roseanne Tuesday after creator and star Barr tweeted that former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett was the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.

Despite their business relationship with Barr being dead in the water, reports say ABC is looking at a way to keep the other stars on the network with a new show.

At the time of the scandal, Kenney was one of the first cast members to come out against Barr's actions.

"I am hurt, embarrassed, and disappointed," she wrote of Barr's controversial tweet about Valerie Jarrett. "The racist and distasteful comments from Roseanne are inexcusable." A few minutes later, she explained her plans to exit the show.

"As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I found out the show got cancelled," Kenney tweeted. "I feel so empowered by [Wanda Sykes], Channing Dungey and those at ABC standing up against abuse of power and lack of values. Bullies do not win. Ever."

Barr apologized shortly after the backlash started, but ABC executives had already set the ball in motion and announced the cancellation of the series shortly after.

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant, and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," ABC President Channing Dungey said at the time.

Reports also surfaced claiming Gilbert, Goodman and Metcalf are open to coming back for a spinoff, as long as the idea feels right for the original series.

All three stars will be paid for their 13-episode season regardless of whether or not they film, with their $350,000-per-episode contracts equalling just over $4.5 million each in potential pay, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

With that combined figure of almost $15 million just for the three actors, it makes sense why the network would want to retain some of the Roseanne stars even after canceling the show.

2comments