‘The Conners’: Some Relationships Might Be in Trouble Before Season 3 Ends

There could be some major changes in store for one couple on The Conners before Season 3 ends, showrunner Bruce Helford teases. Helford admits to TVLine that fans might be seeing a lot less of Louise, played by Katey Sagal since the actress is now starring in ABC‘s new drama Rebel. “There are some major events coming for Dan and Louise, as we come to the end of the season,” the showrunner said recently.

Though he didn’t give too many details as to when or why the couple’s relationship will look different, he did tease that all the couples on the show will go through a major event. “I can say that there are lots of couples on the show [where] love is in bloom… or in decline of bloom,” the executive producer revealed. “But there will be events in all the relationships as we move towards the [finale].”

Sagal entered the series as Dan’s (John Goodman) romantic interest in Season 2, forming a new character arc for the Conner patriarch who had finally decided to move on following the death of his former wife Roseanne (Roseanne Barr). Her performance during the last season led fans to believe she’d be sticking around for a while, even after her new show was announced in September of 2020. At the time, Helford claimed that Sagal’s shooting schedule for Rebel wouldn’t interfere with her Conners commitments. “It’s an ABC pilot, which always helps,” he said.

“We spoke to Katey and she said she will definitely be doing more Conners,” Helford continued. “We don’t know what her complete availability will be. And now, of course, her pilot was never shot. It will probably take longer to get on its feet than we will. God willing, we’ll be back shooting in August shooting.” On the bright side, if Louise does take an extended vacation, there’s still hope that she could always make a comeback since Helford admits the writers didn’t want “to have to kill anybody else off.”

Recently, The Conners fans were left in shock following the death of beloved character neighbor Molly Tilden (Danielle Harris). It was revealed in last Wednesday’s episodes that Tilden died of brain cancer shortly after she reunited with Darlene (Sara Gilbert). “We were really thinking about what would change Darlene’s life,” Helford told TVLine. “What would have a major effect on Darlene that would have some true effect on the relationship with Ben heading towards the end of the season?” He continued: “Molly, back in the day, tried to get Darlene to come out of her shell and took her to her first concert. So we thought that’d be interesting if they kind of lived the same life, they both got married too young, and they just never had their twenties and thirties.”