‘The Conners’ Producers Reveal Why Season 3 Renewal Hasn’t Happened Yet

Season 2 of The Conners came to a close on Tuesday. While fans have plenty of thoughts about the events in the finale, there’s one main question on everyone’s mind at the moment: Will there be a Season 3 of The Conners? According to the show’s executive producer Bruce Helford, there’s a specific reason why there hasn’t been any official word regarding a Season 3 renewal.

In an interview with TV Line, Helford explained that there’s been a slight holdup concerning Season 3 simply because of what’s going on in the world right now in regards to the coronavirus crisis. He shared, “They’re just ironing things out. Obviously, there are new question marks because of what’s going on and how we all do this [in the era of COVID-19]. ABC definitely wants us back and we want to come back.” He added that the four core cast members — Goranson, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, and John Goodman — have already signed new deals for a possible Season 3. Even though that doesn’t serve as a confirmation that another season is on the way, it’s definitely a great sign that it’s in the works.

Just like Helford shared, the main cast members on The Conners did sign new deals for a potential Season 3, as Deadline reported in early April. Their new deals were reportedly for a 19-episode third season. This news came a few months after Tom Werner, whose Werner Entertainment handles cast negotiations for The Conners, said that he was optimistic about the show scoring another season.

“We are very pleased with how the show is doing, and my hope is that — I’m confident that the network will pick up the show for another year, hopeful anyway,” he told Deadline in January. “My sense is that there is a lot of enthusiasm about what we are doing.” At the time, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke also shared how excited she was over the future of The Conners. She even shared that the show has been in a “groove” and cited several successful episodes of the series, such as its live show on the night of the New Hampshire primary.

“They are just in a groove,” Burke told Deadline. “When I took this job, I was told, ‘Well, you probably have one season with The Conners.’ I think because they have fun and the show does so well, they keep wanting to do more. We will do The Conners as long as they do more episodes.”