REBOOT EYED WITH NO ROSIE
ABC plots show’s Act II
Just days after axing Roseanne Barr over her racist tweets, ABC is looking into whether it can salvage her hit sitcom with the show’s remaining actors, according to reports.
Network executives met Thursday to discuss retooling the series around actors Laurie Metcalf, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and the rest of the Conner crew, EW reported.
After all, series production company Carsey-Werner is on the hook to pay the salaries for the 13 episodes ordered for the show’s second season. Season 1 ended May 22.
To complicate matters, Roseanne Barr would benefit financially from a direct continuation of the show that she created — so ABC may put the same cast to work in a fresh series, EW reports.
Gilbert and executive producer Tom Werner, who was behind the first iteration of “Roseanne” when it ran from 1988 to 1997, are set to meet with the revived show’s writers in the coming days, Deadline reported.
The series’ marquee actors are open to the idea of staying on board — if the right opportunity presents itself, according to Deadline.
Hypothetically, Barr could also al- low a Roseanne-less “Roseanne” to continue by giving up her salary or offering to donate it to a relevant cause, such as the NAACP, as part of an image makeover, experts said.
Also on Thursday, Barr claimed that she “begged” top ABC brass not to cancel her show, offering to go on an extended apology tour for her vile tweets.
But Barr’s pleas for mercy were rejected by Disney/ABC Television Group President Ben Sherwood, according to the star.
“I begged Ben Sherwood at ABC 2 let me apologize & make amends. I begged them not to cancel the show,” Barr tweeted.
“I told them I was willing to do anything & asked 4 help in making things right. I’d worked doing publicity4 them 4free for weeks, traveling, thru bronchitis. I begged4 ppls jobs.”
Barr also claimed in a since-deleted tweet Thursday night that she offered to go to the hospital and “check my meds” in an effort to save the show.
The loudmouthed comedian, in tweets on Tuesday, compared black former Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett to an ape and said Jewish billionaire George Soros collaborated with the Nazis.
“I don’t see how she’s going to bounce back from this. It’s pretty catastrophic,” said entertainment lawyer Domenic Romano.