AlthoughThe Connersseason 8 isn’t going to happen, theRoseannespinoff’s biggest unfinished stories prove that the show missed a major opportunity with its ending.The Conners’ large cast of charactersundeniably left the show in a bind. After Roseanne Barr’s racist rant onX(thenTwitter), the actor was fired and Roseanne’s 2017 revival was rebooted asThe Conners.
This meant that Roseanne was killed off-screen, and the show focused on the aftermath of her death. ForRoseannewithout Roseanne to work as a TV show,The Connersbegan to shift its focus from the family’s grief to their life after the loss. However,The Connersnever selected a specific main character to act as Roseanne’s replacement, instead bouncing between all of them.
On paper, this meant that everyone should have gotten a satisfying character arc byThe Connersseries finaleseven seasons later. However, between Darlene, Becky, Dan, Jackie, Harris, Mark, Beverly-Rose, and new characters like Darlene’s love interest Ben, Jackie’s eventual husband Neville, and Dan’s second wife Louise, many characters ended up being forgotten or underused.
The Conners Season 8 Could Have Centered Harris and Darlene
Roseanne’s Daughter and Granddaughter Were Underused In Season 7
AlthoughRoseanne Barr claimsThe Connerscreatorswanted her to return as Roseanne’s ghost for a cameo, according to aTVLinereport, a source close to the production denied this. It is tough to imagine the grounded world ofThe Connersincluding such a surreal, fantastical plot twist, but one part of the story highlights an underlying truth.
The Connersnever really got over Roseanne’s off-screen death, and the show never crowned her replacement as a result. Arguably, her sister Jackie and her widower Dan were as central to the original show’s success as Barr’s title character, and either of them could have become the protagonist. Certainly, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman were the biggest names on the cast list.
Roseanne was notable for centering the experience of a working-class mother striving to give her children a better future.
However, this ignores one pivotal part of the original show’s appeal. Whether or notRoseanne herself appeared inThe Conners, Roseanne was notable for centering the experience of a working-class mother striving to give her children a better future. It was a premise that had a clear influence on everything fromRebatoMalcolm in the MiddletoMom.
As such, it would have made perfect sense for Darlene to effectively replace Roseanne as the show’s heroine even before her off-screen death. Similarly, Harris then replacing her mother as the show’s lead character in its final seasons would have allowedThe Connersto pass the torch on to a new generation. Sadly, this opportunity was fumbled by the spinoff.
The Conners Season 7’s Darlene Story Betrayed Her Roseanne Ambition
Roseanne’s Sardonic Daughter Always Wanted To Be A Writer
ThroughoutRoseanne’s original run and in the show’s 2017 revival, Darlene wanted to work as a writer when she moved out of Lanford. A sardonic, angsty teenager, she was desperate to leave her hometown and make something of herself. As noted in a 2018 piece forVanity Fair, Darlene’s fate in the revival was surprisingly tragic and believable.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
Darlene never followed her writing dreams inRoseanneorThe Connerssince she had children to feed, and their needs took precedence over her creative expression. Roseanne herself hinted that she had ambitions to become a writer before she married and had children, and a shockingRoseanneseason 9 finale twist revealed the entire season’s events were part of her unpublished novel.
Since Roseanne was never able to pursue her dreams, it would have been an optimistic, life-affirming twist ifThe Connersseason 7’s Darlene storylinefocused on her attempts to work as a writer. Season 6’s ending seemingly set this up as, after a fire burned down his family’s hardware store, Ben used his insurance payout to buy a magazine.
When Mark dropped out and decided to attend the University of Chicago a year later, Darlen could have quit her job and started working for Ben’s magazine.
Darlene was working as a cafeteria worker in season 6 so she could provide her son Mark with a free ride to a local community college. However, when he dropped out and decided to attend the University of Chicago a year later instead, she could have quit this job and started working for Ben’s magazine.
Since Darlene said that she resented working in the cafeteria, this seemed like a foregone conclusion. However,The Connersseason 7 never even mentioned Darlene’s writing ambitions, despite her husband Ben running a magazine and her resenting her current job. Instead, Darlene got a promotion, entrenching her further in this hated job, and quietly resented Ben’s choice to follow his passion.
The Conners Season 7 Forgot Harris’s Best Storyline
Darlene’s Daughter Took Over the Lunchbox
Sadly,Darlene’s plot was not the onlyThe Connersseason 7 storyline that ignored a major character’s potential. In season 6, Harris took over the family’s restaurant, The Lanford Lunchbox, when Jackie decided to retire. AlthoughThe Connersseason 7’s Jackie storyundid this twist when she joined the police force, Harris’s plot was the more disappointing arc.
The Connersis available to stream on Hulu.
Season 6’s later episodes began to highlight the hardships of running a restaurant, as Harris was diagnosed with ADHD and found herself struggling to keep ahead of The Lunchbox’s daily demands. This seemed like a promising new plot for the spinoff’s younger star, only for season 7 to forget all about this.
When Harris did appear in season 7, she was chiding her aunt Becky’s attempts to become an influencer and flirting with a new busboy. Her struggles with running The Lunchbox were entirely ignored, while its links to earlier generations of her family were never explored in any meaningful way. This proved just how muchThe Connersended at the wrong time.
The Conners Season 7’s Missing Stories Highlight The Same Roseanne Problem
The Spinoff Never Moved On From Roseanne
After Roseanne’s death,The Connershad years to start focusing on Roseanne’s daughter or granddaughter. The duo was the most obvious and fitting new protagonists for the show, so it was a striking disappointment when the creators of the series failed to recognize this. Instead, viewers got a final season that focused on Dan’s battle with a pharmaceutical company.
The spinoff’s decision to focus on Dan’s storyline over its younger characters proves how much the show was constantly returning to the past despite its title.
It was moving to see Dan attempt to get some justice for his wife’s overdose, and Goodman’s work in this storyline was some of his best inThe ConnersorRoseanne. However, the spinoff’s decision to focus on this storyline over its younger characters proves how much the show was constantly returning to the past despite its title.
The Connersbecame a nostalgia trap for fans ofRoseanne, a show devoted to memories of an earlier sitcom instead of a series updating its story for a new generation. Thus, althoughThe Connersseason 8 will never happen, its unrealized Darlene and Harris storylines are a testament to theRoseannespinoff’s unfulfilled potential.
