ABC has confirmed that it has greenlit a Roseanne spinoff for the fall season without series creator and star Roseanne Barr.
The network had canceled the rebooted sitcom over a racist tweet by Barr but will go ahead with a new show after she agreed to forgo any creative or financial participation in it.
John Goodman, Sara Gilbert and Laurie Metcalf will reprise their roles in the new show that has the working title The Conners.
Other Roseanne co-stars including Alecia Goranson and Michael Fishman will also appear in the spinoff.
In a statement issued by the show’s producer, Barr says she agreed to the settlement in order to save the jobs of 200 cast and crew members.
‘I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne,’ the 65-year-old said. ‘I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved.’
The revival of the hit sitcom Roseanne, which ran from 1988 to 1997, was axed by ABC after Barr posted a tweet last month in which she likened former Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett to a product of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes.
Both Gilbert and Fishman were quick to condemn Roseanne after the racist tweet.
‘Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show,’ Gilbert wrote hours after the tweet was posted.
‘I am disappointed in her actions to say the least.’
Michael Fishman, who played DJ Conner on the show and started working with Barr when he was just six, said he condemned the statements ‘vehemently’.
‘They are reprehensible and intolerable, contradicting my beliefs and outlook on life and society,’ he wrote.
‘I have always lived and taught my children to be inclusive. I believe our show strived to embrace different backgrounds and opinions, through open dialogue.’
It is unclear how exactly Barr’s character will be written out of the show.
After the news broke, The Hollywood Reporter cited sources that claimed Barr will retain all rights to her Roseanne Conner character and any future spinoffs beyond The Conners or any future reboots of the original.
In a joint statement, Goodman, Metcalf, Gilbert, Goranson and Fishman explained: ‘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.’
