'Roseanne': 8 of Most Surprising Celebrity Guest Appearances

When Roseanne premiered in October 1988, the series was seen as a game-changing depiction of a working family in Middle America. As the series went on though, it attracted plenty of surprising guest stars who added some Hollywood glitz. Some of these stars were already icons by the time they arrived in Lanford, Illinois, while others were just on the cusp of fame. 

The list of surprising guest stars does not include arguably the biggest star to ever appear in the series: George Clooney. That's because Clooney was an integral part of the show's first season. He played Booker Brooks, the first foreman at Wellman who dated Laurie Metcalf's Jackie. Clooney starred in 11 episodes during that first season, including the very first episode, "Life and Stuff." He returned only one more time, appearing in the Season 4 episode "Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down," which aired in 1991. Clooney would go on to star in Bodies of Evidence and Sisters, but it was not until 1994 that he scored his breakthrough role as Doug Ross on ER. And the rest is Hollywood history.

Today, The Conners has continued Roseanne's track record of bringing in big stars. The spinoff series is streaming on Hulu, but you have to turn to Peacock to check out Roseanne as of this writing. Scroll on to check out some of the most surprising stars who appeared on Roseanne.