It’s all black and white on the night
US TELEVISION network ABC has announced a Roseanne spin-off series without disgraced star Roseanne Barr.
The revival of the hit Nineties sitcom was axed last month after Barr posted a tweet likening a former Barack Obama aide, Valerie Jarrett, to a product of “the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes”.
Now a new show, The Conners, will debut with 10 episodes this autumn featuring stars from the Roseanne show, including John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf and Sara Gilbert. It is unclear how Barr’s character will be written out but ABC said it will be “a sudden turn of events”.
In a joint statement, cast members Goodman, Metcalf, Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman, said: “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. 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.”
The Roseanne show was the mostwatched series on a major US network this year before it was axed after Barr’s racist Twitter rant. She apologised but ABC called her statements “abhorrent”.
After ABC confirmed the spin-off, Barr said in a statement: “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.”