‘Roseanne’ Spin-Off Announced, But She’ll Have Zero Creative Input Or Financial Interest

The “Roseanne” saga has taken another surprising turn.  ABC canceled the upcoming season of the breakout series of the 2017-2018 season after its star, Roseanne Barr, posted a racist tweet last month.  Now, the network has officially signed a deal with production company Werner Entertainment for a spin-off series, “The Conners” (tentative title), which will feature the original show’s stars except for Barr.
READ MORE:  ABC’s ‘Roseanne’ Canceled After Racist Tweet By Star Roseanne Barr

Notably, Barr will not have any financial or creative stake or involvement in the “The Conners” after a separate agreement with Werner.  In a statement, she noted, “I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne.  I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved.”

READ MORE: Roseanne Barr Goes After Co-Stars On Twitter After Blaming Ambien For Racist Tweet

ABC is not providing details on how Barr’s character will be written off the series, but the press release notes it will be “a sudden turn of events.”  The new show has a 10-episode order and will follow Dan (John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Becky (Lecy Goranson) and D.J. (Michael Fishman) as they deal with the ups and downs of working-class America. Before the series was canceled a writing staff was already getting to work on the second “return” season.

In a statement, the returning actors jointly remarked, “We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts but in the hearts and homes of our audience. We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”

Deadline is reporting that the actors are earning about $300,000 per episode even without Barr in the mix.

“Roseanne” returned to television in March with new episodes after 20 years off the air.  The first two episodes reached an astounding 18 million viewers.  The numbers shocked an industry fighting with ratings declines and the media was quick to point out the show’s success must have had something to do with its appeal to Trump voters (Roseanne’s character turned out to be a supporter of the current president). By the final episode the ratings had fallen to just 10 million viewers a week, but in 2018 that’s still considered stellar.

ABC will air the first season of “The Conners” on Tuesday nights at 8 PM.  The same slot “Roseanne” was intended to air in.