‘The Conners’ Writer Reveals Why Show ’Killed Off Roseanne Like That’

A writer for “The Conners,” the Roseanne Barr-less reboot of her show, explained why her character was written off.

Bruce Helford, who co-wrote the Oct. 16 premiere, explained why they felt it was necessary to kill off her character via an opioid overdose.

“There was a lot of chatter in the ether about how we should explain Roseanne’s absence: Should she have a sudden heart attack, a mental breakdown or go off into the sunset on a boat with her son Jerry Garcia?” Helford wrote of creating a spinoff without Barr. Barr was canned by ABC for making a remark on Twitter that many viewed as racist.

“But back in the writers room, we firmly decided against anything cowardly or far-fetched, anything that would make the fierce matriarch of the Conners seem pathetic or debased,” he wrote in the Hollywood Reporter.

He wrote that the move should be “permanent” so the show’s characters “could truly move on boldly with their lives, evolve and grow.”

The manner in which Roseanne’s character died “would have to be reverent to the woman who was so beloved by her family. And the result would have to leave no shadow over Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky, DJ and all of Lanford,” Helford added.

He added that the move proved to be tricky. “I wanted a respectful sendoff for her,” he wrote, “one that was relevant and could inspire discussion for the greater good about the American working class, whose authentic problems are often ignored by broadcast television.”

Actress Roseanne Barr waves on her arrival to the 75th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, on Jan. 7, 2018. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters File Photo

Barr Criticizes Move, ABC

Barr, for her part, issued a statement on Oct 16 said she wishes the “very best” for the cast and crew.

“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne’s cherished colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show,” Barr wrote on the Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s Facebook page.

Barr, who is a supporter of President Trump and one of the few conservatives in Hollywood, paned slammed ABC for making the decision to fire her earlier this year over the tweet. After Barr was fired, the network rebranded it is as “The Conners.”

“This was a choice the network did not have to make. Roseanne was the only show on television that directly addressed the deep divisions threatening the very fabric of our society,” she wrote.

She added: “Specifically, the show promoted the message that love and respect for one another’s personhood should transcend differences in background and ideological discord. The show brought together characters of different political persuasions and ethnic backgrounds in one, unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all else, the show celebrated a strong, matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need more of in our country.”

Ratings Decline

Entertainment Weekly reported that the premiere of “The Conners” had respectable ratings, but it was nowhere near the premiere of “Roseanne.”

The show’s premiere had about 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating among adults 18-49, according to Entertainment Weekly, which according to many figures, is a good result.

However, that’s far lower than the premiere of “Roseanne” in the spring of 2017. The publication said that it’s down 55 percent.

When “Roseanne” returned in March 2017, the show had 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating about the 18-49 demographic. The series finale concluded with 10.3 million viewers and a 2.4 rating, according to the Entertainment Weekly report.

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