‘It’s just realistic’: In reboot, Roseanne will be a Trump supporter
When “Roseanne” returns to ABC on March 27 after almost two decades off the air, it will include at least one update: Roseanne Conner will be a Trump supporter.
“I’ve always attempted to portray a realistic portrait of the American people and of working-class people. And in fact it was working-class people who elected Trump,” the show’s creator, Roseanne Barr, said last week at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif., The Associated Press reported.
“Half the country voted for him, half of them didn’t. It’s just realistic,” she added, according to The New York Times.
The move is in keeping with the show’s ethos. The sitcom stood out when it debuted in 1988 for its portrayal of a blue-collar couple living in Illinois and struggling to make ends meet to support their three children. It was a storyline not often seen on television at the time.
The reboot, which includes most of the original cast, including John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf, will be in that same spirit. The family “will continue to deal with the economic challenges of living pay check to pay check in 2018,” Deadline reported.
The show’s creators didn’t say if any other characters will be portrayed as Trump supporters. Bruce Helford, one of the show’s executive producers, said the Conners will represent a “full crosssection of ideas and beliefs.”
It appears at least one storyline might involve the family becoming divided over politics.
“This is a time when our country is divided,” Sara Gilbert, one of the returning cast members from the original series, said on the tour, according to the Hollywood Reporter. “We talk about (politics) in the context of a family. People feel like they can’t disagree and still love and talk to each other. It’s a great opportu-