'Roseanne': See Johnny Galecki and Estelle Parsons Return

Johnny Galecki and Estelle Parsons will reprise their roles on Roseanne on Tuesday night, and the [...]

By Michael Hein

Johnny Galecki and Estelle Parsons will reprise their roles on Roseanne on Tuesday night, and the sneak peeks already have fans buzzing.

Galecki will return as the grown-up version of David Healy, Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert)'s high school boyfriend from the original series. In the reboot continuity, David and Darlene had two children together before calling it quits, and are now struggling as a pair of awkward co-parents.

Meanwhile, Parsons will return as Beverly Harris, the no-nonsense mother of Roseanne and Jackie. Parsons, a legendary actress, is 90 years old, yet screen tests show her lighting up the set with the same energy she has always brought to the classic sitcom.

The sneak peeks were published in Michael Fishman's blogs. The actor, who has played D.J. Conner since he was a little boy, has been writing commentary on the Roseanne reboot for Entertainment Weekly, dishing on the hard work behind the scenes.

"The scenes between [Galecki] and Sara Gilbert explode off the screen," he wrote. "Their chemistry is palpable and you'll find yourself pushed and pulled in many directions."

Of Parsons, he added: "the timeless Estelle Parsons returns as Beverly Harris. Estelle is another legend, so perfect in her execution of characters that she almost blends into the project, occasionally obscuring her greatness. Bev is the overbearing influence that makes comedy gold."

Tuesday's episode, titled "Darlene v. David," is directed by Gail Mancuso. It is the first of the season to have a different director than John Pasquin. In addition, the script was drafted by Bruce Helford, the show's co-executive producer. Helford has been a driving force for the comedy comeback, and has worked to detatch the show from Roseanne Barr's personal politics.

"The show is not representing her personal politics," he told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this month. "The Conners were Bill Clinton voters back in the day. Those people have very heavily shifted toward Trump. We did our due diligence on what all that would be about."

"And the show, aside from the fact that Roseanne Barr and Roseanne Conner both happen to be Trump supporters, has been borne out to be pretty realistic, in terms of the demographics of that area [the Midwest]. But aside from that, there's a big difference between anyone's personal politics and what the show is about. They're not meant to be interrelated in any way."

Roseanne airs at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesdays on ABC.

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