SALT LAKE CITY — “The Conners” killed off Roseanne Barr’s character in the season opener Tuesday night.
What happened: On Tuesday night, ABC aired the first episode of “The Conners,” a spinoff show to “Roseanne," according to CNN.
- In the episode, we find Dan (John Goodman), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and Roseanne’s children three weeks after the death of the fictional Roseanne character, who died from a heart attack.
- But the truth came out that Roseanne died from opioid abuse.
- Dan can’t believe it. He admits he flushed her pills down the toilet. It’s later revealed that Roseanne exchanged drugs with a neighbor and hid small stashes around the house.
- Dan later confronts the neighbor (Mary Steenburgen), who says uninsured neighbors work together.
- "I never would have given them to her if I knew she had a problem," the woman told Dan. "I know what it's like to have that problem, so I'm sorry."
- Dan finds a way to put his ongoing insomnia to bed after he feels at peace with Roseanne’s death.
- "She was going to do what she was going to do," he said. "She never listened to a damn person in her life."
Response: Barr tweeted her displeasure to her character’s death. We won’t link to the tweet, but she said, “I AIN’T DEAD, (EXPLETIVE)."
Barr released a statementwith Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, who has worked with Barr on multiple podcasts since she left the ABC show. They wished the best for the character, but called the death “grim and morbid.”
Read the full statement below:
- “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.
- “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. 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.
- “Through humor and a universally relatable main character, the show represented a weekly teaching moment for our nation. Yet it is often following an inexcusable — but not unforgivable — mistake that we can discover the most important lesson of all: Forgiveness. After repeated and heartfelt apologies, the network was unwilling to look past a regrettable mistake, thereby denying the twin American values of both repentance and forgiveness. In a hyper-partisan climate, people will sometimes make the mistake of speaking with words that do not truly reflect who they are. However, it is the power of forgiveness that defines our humanity.
- “Our society needs to heal on many levels. What better way for healing than a shared moment, once a week, where we could have all enjoyed a compelling storyline featuring a witty character — a woman — who America connected with, not in spite of her flaws, but because of them. The cancellation of Roseanne is an opportunity squandered due in equal parts to fear, hubris and a refusal to forgive.”
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A look back: Barr’s feud with ABC began earlier this summer.
- The network canceled her show after she tweeted racist comments about Valerie Jarrett, the former aide to former President Barack Obama.
- ABC decided to launch a spinoff show called “The Conners,” noting that Barr would have no involvement in the show.
- Rumors suggested for months that Barr’s character would be killed in the opening episode.