There are only a few ways to write a character out of a TV series, in general terms. Many times, if a network wants the character to have a chance at returning, the writers will go to great lengths to leave that as a possibility. However, if the network had an actress tweet something racist and act unstable in public appearances and wants to make sure there’s no way a character can return, there’s really only one answer. And in the case of Roseanne Barr and the upcoming spin-off series “The Conners,” the network made sure we won’t be hearing from Barr’s character anymore.
According to the actress, who appeared on the conservative podcast Walk Away, “The Conners” is building off a hinted storyline from last season’s “Roseanne” to explain why the titular character would not be returning to ABC’s most popular sitcom.
**Potential Spoilers for “The Conners”**
We already knew that ABC was planning to kill off Roseanne Barr’s character off-screen for “The Conners.” However, considering the character seemed to be in relatively good health on “Roseanne,” there was no immediate way fans could explain her death. However, as Barr explains, her character’s untimely death will be the result of an addiction to opioids.
“I wanted to show [addiction] in the show,” Barr said. “But I was never going to have Roseanne die of an opioid overdose. It’s so cynical and horrible. She should have died as a hero or not at all.”
As mentioned, Barr did lay the groundwork for an addiction subplot, with her character taking pain meds due to knee issues in the first season of the revival. The actual addiction was never fully shown, however. That being said, opioid addiction (and death resulting from opioid abuse) is a hot topic in our culture right now, so the trend of the sitcom dealing with current events is still intact.
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It’s interesting to hear Barr talk about wanting her character to die a “hero or not at all.” Obviously the “not at all” just wasn’t in the cards, as it would be awfully odd for the lead character in a sitcom to leave her family. However, dying a “hero” is such a subject term and would characterize people suffering from addiction as somehow inferior. Even if she didn’t mean that, after the controversy surrounding her exit, which led to the show being completely canceled and rebooted, dying as a result of an addiction seems to be one of the best case scenarios.
If the cast and crew were especially vindictive, they could have had her hit by a bus, murdered, or whatever other scenarios writers, who almost lost their livelihoods due to a stupid tweet, could come up with.
It’s important to point out that ABC hasn’t released the official means for Barr’s character’s departure. So, for the full story, watch “The Conners” premiere on October 16.