It's official! ABC is bringing back it's iconic sitcom Roseanne for 8 all-new episodes, to premiere in 2018. Following weeks of speculation and rumor, ABC announced its plans, releasing a retrospective trailer along with a first look at the family reunited on stage at the network's Upfront presentation. You can see the trailer and photos below, with reunited cast members Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fischman, and Lecy Goranson.
Not present but returning for these new episodes are Sara Gilbert, Johnny Galecki and Sarah Chalke. While Lecy Goranson will be reprising her original role as Becky Conner, Sarah Chalke, who played Becky in later seasons of the show, will be coming back in a different role that has not yet been revealed.
News of the revival actually came first via a conference call with ABC president Channing Dungey, who confirmed that they are indeed rebooting Roseanne. Sara Gilbert and Roseanne Barr will produce these new episodes alongside Tom Werner, Bruce Helford, Whitney Cummings, and Tony Hernandez. The revived sitcom is currently in the early stages of development. Dungey released the following short statement about the upcoming Roseanne revival.
"The Conner's joys and struggles are as relevant, and hilarious, today as they were then, and there's really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne."
Roseanne was a pioneering show in the television landscape of the 80s. It shined a spotlight on a family that had yet to be recognized by American TV at the time. The blue collar Conner household is as relevant today, as it was thirty years ago, perhaps even more so. And the episodes will reflect what is going on in our current economic climate around America.
No confirmed story details were unveiled at the Upfront presentation. Obviously, Dan Conner will be resurrected from the dead somehow, as John Goodman is ready and waiting to get back to work. Though, the death of Dan Conner has yet to be addressed head on. As news of the reboot began to swirl in the past few weeks, Roseanne did confirms on Twitter that she already has a firm plan in place to explain Dan's death. And she's even written those scenes, which will be revealed on the show itself.
Barr published a blog post way back in 2009 that imagined where the Connor family was at. In it, Dan faked his death. At the time, Roseanne just seemed to be having fun, riffing on a few ideas for her own enjoyment. It's unclear if she's keeping any of those ideas, or if she's starting from scratch in bringing her TV family back from the graveyard of canceled shows. But it would be funny to see Bonnie arrested for selling crack, or watch as Roseanne and Jackie try to run a successful marijuana dispensary in Middle America.
Roseanne aired form 1988 to 1997, praised for it's realistic view of an average American family. The show was popular and continued decent rating all the way up until the end of the series. If fan response is any indication, the Roseanne revival will be a big hit when it roars back to the small screen sometime early next year. While we all await the true return of America's favorite domestic goddess and her family, revisit some of the show's best moments along with a look at the family reunited on stage for the first time in decades.
