‘The Conners’ to Maintain ‘Roseanne’ Tradition With Special Halloween Episode

The Conners plans to maintain the classic Roseanne tradition by airing a special Halloween episode.

While speaking to Variety, The Conners executive producers Bruce Rasmussen and Dave Caplan revealed the upcoming spooky-themed half-hour.

“We’re doing a Halloween episode, which the show is known for,” Rasmussen said.

“A lot of the iconic things that people were used to from the old show continue on to the new show,” Caplan added. “It’s the same family, it’s the same couch, with the same iconic throw on the back of it and so there’s an awful lot that will look familiar. It’s just people adapting to a new normal.”

Caplan later went on to talk about the opening sequence of The Conners, saying that it “will be reflective of the new dynamic of the characters” and that they hope it “will still give people the same feeling of family and joy they have from the previous one.”

The pair also opened up about the returning cast members, and shared that they were excited to be able to get to explore them all more.

“What we did last year with Becky [during the Roseanne revival series] was a blast,” Rasmussen said. “To see that character, who was the perfect student and the smart one, sort of not have reached her potential and be dealing with drinking was fun. To see that character fall apart a bit and see her battle through things and deal with the loss of her husband and that stuff.”

“One of the things that’s really interesting this year is we get to see the growth in Dan’s relationship with Mark [Ames McNamara], who is Darlene’s son,” Caplan added. “They have a really special connection that we actually feel between the actors on the stage, and it transfers over to the characters. There’s this multi-generational thing going on between them that is really magical. That’s just one of the relationships we think are really sparking this year.”

Finally, Caplan stated that, “it was cathartic for everybody” to be able to get back into their respective roles and go even deeper after enduring the controversy that got the Roseanne revival canceled.

“There were a lot of people on the stage that were close to Roseanne Barr. And while nobody condoned what she said, there was history there of people that worked together for a long time,” he went on to say. “Doing these new episodes were a little bittersweet to begin with and now they’re morphing into a new normal that feels really good and positive.”

The Conners premiers Tuesday Oct. 16, on ABC.