‘The Conners’ Will Likely Be Renewed for Season 3, But It’s Unclear Which Cast Members Will Return

It’s looking like The Conners will be getting a third season, although it’s currently unclear which cast members will be sticking around. ABC has started to negotiate with the producers of the Roseanne revival/spinoff. Apparently, while most shows are offered six-year contracts, the nature of The Conners means its a year-to-year renewal.

“We are deep in conversations with the cast and the producers,” said ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke at the TCA earlier this month.

“We would be crazy not to renew The Conners. It performs incredibly well for us, it’s our second-highest-rated show, neck-and-neck with Modern Family. We expect it would be back for another season.”

Members of The Conners production team were also cautiously optimistic about the chances of a third season, though none came close to confirming anything.

“We are very pleased with how the show is doing and I’m confident that the network will pick up the show for another year… hopeful anyway,” executive producer Tom Werner said. “My sense is that there is a lot of enthusiasm about what we are doing and the actors hopefully will come back.”

Fellow executive producer and star Sarah Gilbert said simply that “we are hopeful” for a round three.

Showrunner Bruce Helford, who’s also an EP, said that “we are always prepared to go another year.”

“Everyone is pretty happy, the atmosphere is really warm, it’s really nice, we do good work, we have the best actors in the whole world, and we love writing for them,” Helford added.

Gilbert, who plays Darlene, is one of the four core cast members who each received a significant pay increase from the first season to the second. Now, co-stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson and Gilbert are reportedly negotiating another pay bump to come back once again. Although there’s no word that any of the negotiations aren’t going well.

As far as the show’s second season goes, there have been no shortage of guest stars. While Cheryl Hines delighted fans tonight with her portrayal of Dawn, the restaurant supplier who was hot-to-trot for Jackie (Metcalf), next month will see Shameless star Joel Fisher portraying Dan’s half-brother “Little Ed.” Fisher’s Shameless co-star Emma Kenney also has a recurring role as Harris, the child of Darlene (Gilbert) and David (Johnny Galecki).

The Conners airs every Tuesday night on ABC.