‘Roseanne,’ and ‘Idol’ return to television

PASADENA, Calif. – Two blasts from the past — one further back in time than the other — highlight ABC’s midseason schedule with revivals of “Roseanne” and “American Idol.”

‘Roseanne’

ABC’s revival of “Roseanne” (8 p.m. March 27, WTAE) will feel familiar to fans of the original series, which aired on the network from 1988 to 1997. The first episode reveals a show with the same feel — pacing, shooting style — as the original series.

The entire primary cast is back, including Sarah Chalke, the second actress to play Becky, who this time around plays a woman who hires Becky (Lecy Goranson, aka Becky No. 1) to be her surrogate. The show also erases the death of Dan Conner (John Goodman) and makes jokes about that ill-advised plot turn in the show’s final season.

The series doesn’t shy away from topical elements, including politics. Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) voted for Donald Trump (in real life Ms. Barr is also a Trump supporter). Her sister, Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), wears a Nasty Woman Tshirt and voted for Hillary Clinton. As the series begins, the two are not speaking because of their political disagreements.

“I noticed in the ‘ Roseanne’ show we always tried to have it be a true reflection of the society we live in,” Ms. Barr said. “Half the people voted for Trump and half didn’t so it’s just realistic.”

Sara Gilbert (”The Talk”), who returns as Darlene Conner and is now also an executive producer who pulled the revival together, said the political element on “Roseanne” is an attempt to bring the country together.

“This is a time we all know where our country is very divided and we did have this wonderful opportunity to talk about this in the context of a family,” she said. “People feel like they can’t disagree and still love each other and still talk to each other. For me, it was a great opportunity to have a family