‘The Conners’ Series Premiere Brings DJ’s Wife Back to Lanford

The Conners series premiere dealt with subjects of grief and moving on due to Roseanne Conner’s sudden passing, but also brought a beloved character back for good.

Set three weeks after Roseanne Conner’s (Roseanne Barr) off-screen death, the premiere episode, titled “Keep On Truckin,’” found the family still reeling from the matriarch’s passing while surrounded by friends and closed one’s leftovers.

The episode also brought Geena (Maya Lynne Robinson) back to Lanford, this time for good, after spending some time away from her family being stationed in the Middle East.

At the beginning of the episode, as the family discussed their overload of grief casseroles from friends and neighbors, Geena arrives apologizing for being so late.

“I’m sorry I missed the funeral. The airport in Afghanistan was under attack for a while… still faster than O’Hare,” she says to the family.

Later, Crystal (Natalie West) asks Geena how long it will be until she has to return to the post in Afghanistan and she tells them she only has five days off to grieve the late family member before she must return.

The episode continued with the Conners still dealing with bills, organizing and finding some more pill stashes left behind by Roseanne, as Geena showed her religious, and humorous sides during conversations with the family.

At the end of the episode, the show transitioned into the new Roseanne-less opening intro theme featuring the family sitting together for dinner, and while Geena was not featured in the scene, her name showed up in the credits.

We’ll have to wait and see how her character will be allowed to stay in Lanford in a future episode.

Along with Geena’s return, the series revealed Roseanne Conner’s death was due to an opioid overdose. The reveal came after Dan (John Goodman) found a hidden prescription pill bottle at the house, after uncovering a group of neighbors who supplied drugs to each other to make up for what their insurance wouldn’t cover.

This will be the first episode of Geena Williams-Conner as a series regular for the Roseanne universe. The character made an appearance in one episode of the Roseanne reboot, played by The Mindy Project actress Xosha Roquemore, when the family called her via video chat as she was stationed in Afghanistan.

The revival’s first episode revealed that DJ married the African-American classmate he once would not kiss in the original series’ iconic season seven episode “White Men Can’t Kiss.” The couple now share young daughter Mary (Jayden Rey).

The episode also revealed that both DJ and Geena were in the army, though he had stayed in Lanford to take care of their daughter while Geena was stationed abroad.

Geena was previously played by actresses Rae’Ven Larrymore Kelly in the original series’ seventh season, and Jahmeela Biggs in season 10.

The Conners airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.