**Spoilers for ‘The Conners’ series premiere**
Maybe this whole Roseanne Barr/ABC situation can now be put to bed officially. Last night, the world discovered just how the network planned on moving past the “Roseanne” cancelation and start fresh with “The Conners,” and as rumored, it all came down to a drug overdose.
As revealed in the series premiere of the “Roseanne” spin-off, the controversial actress was written out of the series by killing off her character due to an opioid overdose. The show wasn’t callous or flippant about the story, creating tense, dramatic moments between John Goodman and the rest of the cast of “The Conners,” but it did provide a few laughs along the way. Overall, it was a sendoff that some believe Barr didn’t completely deserve after her racist tweets.
But in a new guest column at THR, “Roseanne” and “The Conners” showrunner Bruce Helford explains why the show chose this exit for the character and how the series plans on moving forward. And while he pens a personal, thoughtful piece, Roseanne Barr continues to do what she does — tweeting stupid statements.
“We knew we had to explain Roseanne’s disappearance from the show definitively but also set up the other characters in a way where they could move on,” said Helford. “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? 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.”
That’s what led to the showrunner’s decision to have Barr’s character exit the show in a more permanent way. “But her death 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. It was a crucial story point so that the other characters could truly move on boldly with their lives, evolve and grow,” he explained.
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Helford continues by explaining why he personally felt this was the appropriate course of action, “And on a personal note, Roseanne helped launch my career, and while we had our disagreements (she once fired me in ‘Roseanne’s’ original run), I wanted a respectful sendoff for her, too: 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.”
The showrunner finishes off by saying where fans of “The Conners” and “Roseanne” can see the new series go from here, considering the matriarch and lead character is gone for good. “So in episode one, we mourn the loss of our matriarch. She deserved that. In the coming episodes, we’ll be doing what I love most about this show: being brave, tackling subjects most comedies would find too difficult and shining a light on the lives of the unbowed Conners as they deal with the economic inequalities of life in lower-income America with love and humor,” Helford concludes.
Last night’s episode also saw Roseanne Barr herself tweet about the much-hyped series premiere of “The Conners.” Her statement was simple and to the point, proving once again she doesn’t have any more fucks to give.
She tweeted, “I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!”
Of course, this was followed by a lengthier statement that discussed the character’s demise. “That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show,” said the statement.
While never providing any other course of action, short of never firing her in the first place, Barr said, “The cancellation of ‘Roseanne’ is an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris, and a refusal to forgive.”
We’re guessing that ABC feels it made the right choice.
I AIN’T DEAD, BITCHES!!!!
— Roseanne Barr (@therealroseanne) October 17, 2018