'The Conners' Family Portraits Released Ahead of 'Roseanne' Spinoff
The Conners has released family portraits of the series' characters ahead of the Roseanne [...]
The Conners has released family portraits of the series' characters ahead of the Roseanne spinoff's upcoming premiere.
The photos are E! Online exclusives and feature original stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman.
Also featured are series newcomers Maya Lynne Robinson, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey.
The new series comes after the Roseanne revival was canceled following racist comments made by series star Rosanne Barr toward former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett.
In The Conners, Barr's character will have died, and the show will explore the family coming to terms with the matriarch's death. A big part of the spinoff series being made in the first place was Barr agreeing to sign away her rights and financial benefits of the franchise.
"I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from 'Roseanne,'" Barr said in a statement, explaining that she did agree to the terms. "I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved."
Goodman, Gilbert, Metcalf, Goranson and Fishman also released a statement when The Conners was announced, saying that they were excited to get back to work.
"We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it's clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience," the joint statement read. "We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter."
Goodman recently opened up about the Roseanne revival cancellation, saying that it was a "bad time."
"I was consciously trying to accept it," the iconic actor said. "Just like, 'Okay, this is happening, just breathe and go with it.' Underneath I'm trying to get out of a plastic bag that is closing in on me, but I'm trying to be calm on the surface. I remember that contradiction."
"[I struggled] for about a month. And then other things started going wrong," Goodman went on to say. "I fell down the steps and broke a rib. My wife got sick — just all kinds of weird stuff happened at one time. But I just had a feeling that it would work out."
Luckily for Goodman and everyone else involved, things did in fact work out, as The Conners will be making its series debut on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC.