‘Roseanne’ Spinoff ‘The Conners’ Gets ABC Greenlight

The Roseanne universe is being brought back from TV death for the third time, without Roseanne Barr.

ABC officially greenlit The Conners, a continuation to the Roseanne reboot which debuted to monster ratings this past March and was abruptly canceled May 29 after Barr posted a racist tweet about former White House aide Valerie Jarrett.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 10-episode straight to series order, whose title could change at a later date, will also be a multi-camera comedy and premiere in fall 2018.

The spinoff will follow the Conner family who, after “a sudden turn of events, are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before.”

Ever since the hit comedy series was canceled in late May, producers and network executives have been scrambling to figure out a way to keep the show alive without its star and head writer.

ABC announced the news in a statement, making it clear that Barr will have no financial or creative involvement in the new series. Producer Tom Werner and Barr reached an agreement that will allow Werner Entertainment to produce the spinoff for ABC without Barr’s further creative or financial participation.

“I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. 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” Barr said in a statement.

Werner added: “We are grateful to have reached this agreement to keep our team working as we continue to explore stories of the Conner family.”

Ahead of the announcement, the creative team behind the series reportedly had to deal with the addressing the absence of Barr’s lead character, Roseanne Conner. Producers also had to figure out a way to deal with Barr’s financial stakes on the series, given that as an executive producer and co-creator, she has ownership on the creative side of the series.

Roseanne was abruptly canceled on May 29 after Barr tweeted a racist comment about Jarrett. After taking a Twitter hiatus in the wake of the scandal, Barr tweeted a cryptic message saying she made “restitution for the pain” she caused.

With an average of 17.8 million viewers a week, Roseanne was the third most-watched show of the 2017-2018 season and was estimated to make around $60 million in ad revenue in its second season, which would be enough of an incentive, along with the fact series stars Metcalf, Goodman and Gilbert would be paid regardless of if the show is made or not, to get a spinoff series in the schedule for the fall.

The Conners will premiere fall 2018 on ABC.