‘Roseanne’s Original Writers Not Fans of the Character’s Current Direction

From the moment it made its return, the question of political leaning on Roseanne has been a widely-discussed topic of conversation. And while the show continues to rake in massive ratings, writers who worked on the sitcom back in its original nine-season run from 1988-97 aren’t happy with the new direction.

Several writers spoke with Buzzfeed regarding the show’s changes.

“A lot of people involved in the show were surprised when she turned right-wing and supported Trump because that was just not the person or her character that we had known,” said Stan Zimmerman, who worked on the show for two seasons.

Roseanne Conner’s political affiliation was addressed in the first episode of Season 10, where she and husband Dan revealed they both voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election. The actress who portrays Conner, Roseanne Barr, is a vocal Trump supporter.

“I don’t think that Roseanne Conner would’ve voted for Donald Trump,” writer Miriam Trogdon said. “I don’t think that she would’ve, but apparently she did.”

That combined with certain episodes revolving around political topics, such as the Conner’s finding out they have neighbors who are Muslim on Tuesday’s episode, has made some of the writers feel that the Roseanne character is now unrecognizable.

“The pilot was overtly political and the old show was not that way,” Trogdon said, adding that even though Barr’s character justified her choice in the show, the same character would’ve been against Trump in the original.

“But the original Roseanne, I think, would have been more upset at his attitude toward women and his misogyny,” she continued. “I think that the original Roseanne would’ve questioned how a super-rich guy like this would have any sense of what a lower-middle-class family like the Conners were going through. She would at least question it, but they don’t dwell on that. They picked an aspect of what Trump was saying that would fit into the original Roseanne character.”

That being said, at least one former writer who spoke with Buzzfeed, Lois Bromfield, still finds enjoyment in the new show.

“It reminds me of when you first get on Facebook and you think, I wonder whatever happened to so and so, and you look ’em up and find out they had two kids,” Bromfield said. “It’s like catching up with people you were really good friends with at one time, and that’s how this sort of feels to me.”

“I really didn’t want to love it. I wanted to be pissed off because I know she supports Trump,” she continued. “But I have to tell you, I just got suckered right in. It’s really good.”

Roseanne airs on at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.