The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)

ABC gambles on ‘Roseanne’ spinoff — without Roseanne

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LOS ANGELES — ABC, which canceled its “Roseanne” revival over its star’s racist tweet, said Thursday it will air a Conner family sitcom minus Roseanne Barr this fall.

ABC ordered 10 episodes of the spinoff after Barr relinquish­ed any creative or financial participat­ion in it, which the network had said was a condition of such a series.

In a statement issued by the show’s producer, Barr said she agreed to the settlement to save the jobs of 200 cast and crew members who were idled when “Roseanne” was canceled last month.

“I regret the circumstan­ces that have caused me to be removed from ‘Roseanne,’ she said, adding, “I wish the best for everyone involved.”

The revival of the hit 1988-97 sitcom “Roseanne” was swiftly axed by ABC last month after Barr posted a tweet likening former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to a product of the Muslim Brotherhoo­d and “Planet of the Apes.”

Tom Werner, executive producer of the original series and the revival, said in the statement that he was grateful to reach the deal to keep the team working “as we continue to explore stories of the Conner family.”

ABC said that the new series, with “The Conners” as its working title, will star John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman.

How Barr’s character, the family matriarch, will be erased from their lives was left unexplaine­d for now by ABC.

“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,” the network said in its announceme­nt, referring to the fictional Illinois town where the family lives.

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