ABC Reportedly in Talks for ‘Roseanne’ Spinoff Starring Sara Gilbert

ABC may be close to announcing a second reboot of Roseanne, this time centered around Sara Gilbert’s Darlene Conner.

Reports surfaced claiming ABC executives are now exploring the possibility of re-branding the series and focusing on the character of Roseanne‘s daughter, after Barr’s racist tweets about former White House aide Valerie Jarrett led to the revival series’ cancellation.

According to TMZ, Gilbert has been calling cast members to see if they might want to be involved in the series should the network go forward. Reports say John Goodman is “very interested” in the project.

Sources told the outlet that Tom Werner, who produced Roseanne‘s original run and revival season, is involved in the effort to reboot the series around Gilbert’s character.

ABC abruptly canceled Roseanne after Barr shared a series of racist tweets, including one where she said Jarrett was the product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.

The network has been shuffling to discuss potential spinoff projects ever since the cancellation, given the hundreds of jobs lost due to the sudden end of the series.

Also, with contracts already in place for a 13-episode second season, the network would have to pay about $15 million just to stars Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman, whether any episodes are made for the series or not.

Earlier the week, Gilbert was reportedly speaking with writers and producers to discuss potential spinoff ideas. One source told the DailyMail that Goodman and Metcalf would be open to filming with one another as well as Gilbert, provided the idea is right for the series.

Fans have been lobbying for a spinoff centered around Metcalf’s character Jackie, going as far as to make a fake poster with the tagline, “You watched for her anyway.”

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, as well as mountains of fans, have also pitched some crazy spinoff ideas centered around Dan (Goodman).

Barr’s ex-husband Tom Arnold previously spoke out and said that the cancellation could cost ABC $1 billion in lost ad revenue in sales, meaning this Darlene-inspired spinoff might have a great chance to become a reality.

“ABC lost maybe $1 billion from this; this show was grinding out money hand over fist and they lost it all because somebody didn’t say, ‘Get that phone out of her [Barr’s] hand,’” Arnold told The Hollywood Reporter. “She’s not going to go on TV and say these things. But you put that phone in her hand and she is a loose cannon.”