ABC Midseason Schedule: ‘Roseanne’ Launches March 27 With Back-to-Back Episodes

ABC has announced the premiere date for the much-anticipated Roseanne revival.

On Monday, ahead of the Television Critics Association, ABC announced that Roseanne will debut with back-to-back half-hour episodes on Tuesday, March 27. On April 3, the series will move to its regular time slot at 8 p.m. ET., followed by The Middle at 8:30 p.m.

First announced in April, the limited series will see the return of key cast members, including Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, and Sara Gilbert. New episodes of the fan favorite ’80s and ’90s sitcom will take place in the present day, more than 20 years since the season 9 finale in 1997.

“We are writing about what is going on in the world now, and we are hoping to involve everybody,” said executive producer Bruce Helford.

While the series did end with Barr’s character revealing it had all been made up — and that Dan died (he didn’t have an affair), Jackie was a lesbian, and Darlene and Becky were with the opposite husbands — show execs say the upcoming nine-episode season will explain all of that.

ABC also announced the return dates for several other shows, including season 26 of Dancing With the Stars. The shortened four-week run, which will be a special all-athletes edition, is set to premiere Monday, April 30. Meanwhile, the still-untitled Grey’s Anatomy spin-off is slated to debut with a special two-hour premiere March 22 at 9 p.m. ET.