Roseanne: Would You Watch a Spin-off About the Other Conners?

As you’ve no doubt heard by now, the high-rated Roseanne TV show was cancelled by ABC following some disturbing tweets by star Roseanne Barr. While she is no longer welcome at the alphabet network, what about the rest of the Conner clan? Could they return in a spin-off, without Barr?

A family comedy on the ABC television network, Roseanne originally ran for nine seasons, between 1988 and 1997. Original stars Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman, Alicia Goranson, and Sarah Chalke returned, alongside newcomers Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, and Jayden Rey. Returning guest stars included Johnny Galecki, Sarah Bernhard, Estelle Parsons, James Pickens Jr., Natalie West, and Adilah Barnes. The sitcom centers on working-class couple Roseanne and Dan Conner (Barr and Goodman), their family, and friends.

Deadline reports that executive producers Gilbert and Tom Werner (Carsey-Werner Productions) are planning to meet with executive producer/showrunner Bruce Helford and some of the Roseanne writers in the next few days. The plan is to discuss the possibility of continuing with the show in some form, without Barr. The cast has enjoyed working with one another and they are reportedly open to hearing ideas on how they could continue to do so. ABC is not involved at this point but would likely be pitched on the spin-off if a suitable idea could be found.

The Mindy Project creator Mindy Kaling and Girls creator Lena Dunham both offered to create spin-offs for members of the Conner clan.

https://twitter.com/mindykaling/status/1001689030570971136

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I will do the spin off of your show starring Darlene’s cool kids https://t.co/5A2129BTl0

— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) May 30, 2018

Coming up with a suitable spin-off idea may be the easiest part of the equation and sources believe it is ultimately unlikely to work out, for a number of reasons. The biggest issue could be Barr herself. Aside from starring in the sitcom, she was an executive producer and is presumed to have a partial ownership of the series. It seems unlikely that she would willingly allow a spin-off to happen.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that a Conner spin-off has been considered. During the final season of the original sitcom’s run, Barr, Carsey-Werner Productions, and ABC were in talks to do a spin-off with Roseanne Conner in a new setting. ABC ultimately passed on the project because the price was too high. CBS and FOX each considered it but then passed on the project. NBC wasn’t interested at all.

What do you think? Would you watch a Roseanne spin-off, without Barr? Would it be a hit?