Michael Fishman Says Acting Without Roseanne Barr Is 'Bittersweet'

The Conners star Michael Fishman said it was 'bittersweet' to act without Roseanne Barr on the [...]

The Conners star Michael Fishman said it was "bittersweet" to act without Roseanne Barr on the show.

TMZ caught up with the actor, who plays D.J. Conner on Roseanne and its spin-off The Conners, while in New York City. When asked what it was like to be on the show without his television mother, he said it was not easy.

"It's bittersweet. It really is. The thing about it is, that's when you really have to come together," Fishman said, referring to Roseanne Conner's death from an opioid overdose.

When asked if The Conners has a chance to grow an audience, Fishman sounded optimistic and hopeful. "I think people are really going to like the direction we're headed, so I think people will grow with us," he said.

Fishman was asked if there was any possibility for Barr to appear on the show, possibly in a flashback. Unfortunately, Fishman said he is "not in charge of that" and it was up to the writers.

As for why the writers chose to write Roseanne Conner and Barr out through an opioid overdose, Fishman said they wanted to address a topic that is important in the real world.

"That was a decision based on what's going on in this country and we've always tried to handle things realistically and honestly," he explained.

Surprisingly, Fishman said he is "still in contact" with Barr, but would not speak for her when asked what she thought of the premiere.

Barr did release a statement through Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on his Facebook page, in which she continued to criticize the network's decision to cancel Roseanne and kill off Roseanne Conner.

"While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne's cherished colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show," Barr and Boteach said.

While Fishman declined to speculate on Barr's return with TMZ, he did say "never say never" when Variety asked about it earlier this week.

"I'm a big believer in second chances and forgiveness. I think that's a really big thing, and I think this country is kind of built on that," Fishman said. "People go through a lot of things, people make mistakes, everybody makes mistakes. The most successful people in our world aren't the ones who don't make mistakes, but the ones who learn the most from them."

The Conners drew 10.5 million viewers and a 2.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic on Tuesday.

New episodes of The Conners air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC

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