‘The Conners’ Season 5 Fate Revealed After Cast Signs New Deals

The Conners survived ABC’s cancellation spree and will come back for a fifth season. Following The Goldbergs, it remains the network’s second-highest Wednesday comedy and has maintained consistently high ratings. Although Roseanne Barr has been embroiled in drama over her role as the titular character in the canceled Roseanne revival, the comedy has succeeded with popular stars such as Sara Gilbert and John Goodman.

Last month, the studio dealt with executive producer Gilbert, Metcalf, Goodman, and Goranson, which made a pickup of the sitcom inevitable. Due to how the follow-up came about, the actors did not sign standard six-year deals. Instead, the cast members were locked in under year-to-year contracts instead of the standard six-year contracts that networks are known for. 

When asked by Cinemablend earlier this month if he was eager for an update on the show’s future, The Conners cast member Ames McNamara replied, “Yes. Yeah, totally. No final word yet. But, you know, fingers crossed.” The Conners picks up after matriarch Roseanne’s death. It is a continuation of the classic sitcom, which aired from 1988 to 1997 and then returned for a brief revival in 1998. The character of Roseanne Conner is still occasionally mentioned in the sitcom series. In March, executive producers Dave Caplan and Bruce Helford also told Cinemablend that nothing is too taboo when referencing Roseanne.

“I don’t think there’s anything off-limits for us, and I say that sincerely,” Caplan said. “Because I think we take it on such a case-by-case basis where, in the writers’ room, we’ll say, ‘Well, is this a place that one of the characters would mention her?’ Would Dan refer to her because there’s something about the old marriage that pertains to his new marriage with Louise? Or would Darlene say it? 

“And in an upcoming episode, she does say something. Because she was raised by the woman, and now she’s raising her own kids, so it’s natural. So I think we don’t shy away from it where we think it would be right and honest for the characters to mention her.”

Helford mentioned that any references to Roseanne and her character are considered as they come up during the creative process. “Yeah, we’re respectful of the memory. But also, there are issues that the kids have, sometimes the kids have beef with the way they were raised. And on Roseanne, they mentioned it. Anything that feels honest at the moment. 

“We don’t go out of our way to put a mention, obviously, in every episode,” he continued. “It’s only when we all just kind of stop and look at each other and go, ‘You know, they would bring up Roseanne here at this moment, so we should do it.’ And we do it. It’s loving of the character, because the character was beloved, in her family and by viewers, and we try to keep it respectful to that. But yeah, there’s really nothing off limits about that. We really will discuss anything that pertains to the relationship between Dan and his wife, or the kids and their mom.”