‘The Conners’ Star Sarah Gilbert Teases Major Cliffhanger Ahead of Season Finale

The Conners will be ending its first season with a serious cliffhanger, further ensuring that the series will return for Season 2.

The ABC comedy series — which remains the network’s No. 2 show behind Grey’s Anatomy — will wrap up its first season Tuesday night, and answering the question of Darlene (Sara Gilbert) possibly moving her life back to Chicago with her boyfriend.

During the penultimate episode, Ben (Jay R. Ferguson) announced to Darlene that his magazine, Lock ‘Em Up, had secured an investor to help grow the business and move it from small town Lanford to Chicago. After the reveal, Ben suggested Darlene move her and the kids to the city and she promised to think about it.

In an interview with TVLine, Gilbert — who also acts as an executive producer on the sitcom — said she is hopeful the series will be renewed for Season 2, teasing the finale ends with a “bit of a cliffhanger.”

The episode will also see a surprise return, with ABC dropping hints that we might see Darlene’s ex David Healy (Johnny Galecki) possibly try to stop her from taking the important step in her new relationship.

Gilbert would not confirm David’s return to the Roseanne-less series, though she did talk about the relationship.

“I think David and Darlene are so tied to each other emotionally that they keep coming into each others’ lives,” Gilbert told the outlet. “I don’t think either one of them can easily step away from each other.”

Aside from what the future might hold for the comedy series, Gilbert said the season finale helps tie up some of the emotional ends that were introduced during the series premiere in October.

“Some of the emotions of the premiere come up again in this episode,” she said, referring to the characters’ dealing with Roseanne Conner’s (Barr) death. “That’s something that was really important to me. I didn’t want to do a sitcom version of loss where there’s one ‘very special episode’ and then it’s done and everybody moves on. This episode shows that emotional themes run through people’s lives and not just through a week.”

Gilbert’s comments come days after co-star Laurie Metcalf shared her belief that Season 2 of The Conners is pretty much a done deal.

“I believe it’s going to happen,” the actress said. “I think we’ll do between 10 and 13 [episodes], something like that.”

The Conners Season 1 finale airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The network has not officially renewed the series for Season 2.