It’s official: The Roseanne spinoff is headed to TV.
More than three weeks after Roseanne Barr‘s Twitter scandal led to the cancellation of the Roseanne revival, ABC has formally ordered a new series featuring the original cast minus Barr, the network announced Thursday.
Tentatively titled The Conners, the new spinoff received a 10-episode order to premiere this fall. Barr will not receive any financial compensation or have any creative input in the new series.
After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before. This iconic family — Dan, Jackie, Darlene, Becky and D.J. — grapples with parenthood, dating, an unexpected pregnancy, financial pressures, aging and in-laws in working-class America. Through it all, the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns — with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails.
John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman will all return to reprise their iconic characters. Sources close to The Conners tell ET that the hope is to have Jayden Rey, Ames McNamara and Emma Kenney return, but their deals are not done yet. Additional cast members and a premiere date will be announced at a later date.
“The Conners’ stories demonstrate that families can always find common ground through conversation, laughter and love. The spinoff will continue to portray contemporary issues that are as relevant today as they were 30 years ago,” ABC said in a statement.
“We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it’s clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience,” Goodman, Metcalf, Gilbert, Goranson and Fishman said in a joint statement. “We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter.”
Barr, who was an executive producer on Roseanne, reached an agreement with Tom Werner‘s Werner Entertainment, the studio behind the comedy, to allow them to move forward with the spinoff without her involvement.
“I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved,” Barr said in a statement.
“We are grateful to have reached this agreement to keep our team working as we continue to explore stories of the Conner family,” Werner said in a statement.
Earlier this month, a source with knowledge of the situation told ET that ABC and the show’s producers were deep in conversations for a Roseanne offshoot. According to the source, multiple ideas were being discussed behind closed doors and “it is more than likely the entire cast — minus its leading lady — and crew would return” if an agreement on a reboot could be made.
In May, ABC canceled Roseanne after Barr posted a racist tweet targeting Barack Obama‘s former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show,” ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey said in a statement at the time. Many of Barr’s castmates, including Gilbert, Fishman and Kenney condemned Barr, and Wanda Sykes, who was a consulting producer on the revival announced she would not be returning.
ABC’s decision to undo the Roseanne renewal came just hours after the the outspoken Barr received backlash for her statements about Jarrett. Barr, 65, tweeted, “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” referring to Jarrett, who is black and was born in Iran. Barr later deleted the tweet.
She issued an apology to Jarrett and “all Americans” after coming under fire for her racist tweet. “I apologize,” Barr wrote. “I am now leaving Twitter.” However, Barr was back on the social media platform within hours of her proclamation, later blaming Ambien for her racial outburst.
ABC subsequently removed all references to the revival series on its press site and Viacom pulled all re-runs of the sitcom’s entire run from all of its channels.
ABC issued an early 13-episode renewal for the Roseanne revival in March, after the ’90s multicamera comedy drew record ratings with more than 18 million viewers (not including delayed viewing) tuning in to the hour-long premiere. It had been slated to return to its Tuesday 8 p.m. perch this fall, as a lead-in for freshman comedy The Kids Are Alright.
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