'The Conners' Receives Good News Related to a Potential Season 4 Renewal

ABC has not officially renewed The Conners for a fourth season yet, but it seems very likely to happen after the four main stars all signed new deals to come back next season. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson, and Sara Gilbert have all signed on and secured handsome paychecks for continuing to star on ABC's top sitcom. The series is a spin-off of the Roseanne revival that aired back in 2018.

The Conners simply can't succeed without its star-studded cast, so ABC had to make sure they would all be back before renewing it. On Thursday, sources told Deadline that this major hurdle was cleared. They all received a raise, with Goodman, Gilbert, and Metcalf earning almost $400,000 per episode. Goranson started at a lower salary but is "closing the gap" between herself and the bigger stars on the show, Deadline reports. All four also negotiated a bigger piece of the show's back-end profits.

The next issue for ABC to work on is reaching a new license fee deal with Tom Werner's Werner Entertainment, which produces the show. This is expected to end with the formal renewal. Producers have even hired new writers for Season 4, Deadline reports. The new season will be 20 episodes, just like Seasons 2 and 3. ABC has not commented.

Most shows start with the main cast signed to six years, but The Conners' unique situation meant its stars were only signed one year at a time. ABC ordered the show just weeks after firing Roseanne Barr from the Roseanne revival due to a racist tweet. Everyone except Barr returned for The Conners, which started off by killing off Barr. The gamble paid off, and The Conners was the top-rated new comedy for ABC during its first season. The Conners is still consistently ABC's most-watched comedy.

The Conners has also not shied away from tackling serious subjects. For example, this month, Becky (Goranson) suffered an alcoholism relapse. Executive producer/showrunner Bruce Helford told TVLine the writers believed it was important to take a realistic perspective on the issue. Becky stopped drinking when she was pregnant, but Helford noted it would be difficult for her to continue this after the baby was born. "We thought we may have done a little bit of a disservice making it look so easy that someone could stop cold turkey," he said.

Becky will soon be going to rehab, and Helford hoped to explore Becky's relationship with her baby's father in a fourth season. "It's being discussed," Helford said of a potential fourth season. "I think we do well [in the ratings]. When you get the DVR numbers, the audience is very loyal to us…. And we all love this so much, so the will on our side is certainly there." The Conners is available to stream on Hulu and airs on ABC Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

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