‘Roseanne’ Spinoff Would Likely Feature All Cast Members But Roseanne Barr

As ABC gets closer to reviving Roseanne without its namesake star, it is becoming clearer who will return aside from Roseanne Barr.

Sources told The Hollywood Reporter Monday that ABC and Tom Werner, whose Carsey-Werner produced the original Roseanne and its revival season, are “knee-deep” in talks for bringing it back in some form. Werner is “highly engaged” in creating a new series headlined by Sara Gilbert, John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf as Darlene, Dan and Jackie.

The sources said it is “likely” that every member of the Roseanne cast with be back, except Barr. Showrunner Bruce Helford and some of the writers who worked on season 10 will also be back.

It is still not clear what the new show will be about. One potential idea is to build a show around Gilbert’s Darlene, since Gilbert was a major influence on season 10. Although Gilbert was a major proponent of the new season, she said on The Talk she supported ABC’s decision.

Reports about ABC considering a Roseanne show with Barr’s co-stars began surfacing just hours after ABC cancelled the show. Sources told TMZ earlier Monday ABC could announce a retooled series about the Conners as soon as this week. Executives are still “fine tuning last-minute details.”

Earlier this year, season 10 was a resounding success, becoming the highest-rated show of the 2017-2018 season. ABC quickly renewed the show for another 13-episode season and built its fall 2018 schedule around the show.

However, on May 29, Barr sent out a racist tweet about former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett. Although Barr apologized, ABC canceled Roseanne hours later.

The show’s cancellation left the writers, producers and crew in a difficult position, since other shows and pilots for the fall are already staffed. However, executive producers Helford, Bruce Rasmussen and Dave Caplan told The Hollywood Reporter they had another gig lined up with Wener and ABC.

“Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen and I have a pilot project with Tom Werner for ABC and we’ll continue working together,” Caplan explained. “I know that Tom really regretted the fact that we had such a wonderful writing staff together — a real rare collection of talent — and I know he’d like to continue using it in some fashion if that were possible.”

Disney-ABC TV Group President Ben Sherwood also sent a memo to the Roseanne cast and crew, apologizing to the people who lost their jobs.

“Not enough, however, has been said about the many men and women who poured their hearts and lives into the show and were just getting started on next season,” Sherwood wrote. “We’re so sorry they were swept up in all of this and we give thanks for their remarkable talents, wish them well, and hope to find another way to work together down the road.”

There is one big hurdle for the revival though. The series was co-created by Barr and based on a character she created. She was also an executive producer, so she has a financial stake in the series. ABC will have to either agree to pay Barr or find some way around that.

Kantar Media estimated in the New York Times that ABC could lose up to $60 million in ad revenue for the fall by cancelling Roseanne.