Roseanne: My Thoughts on the Cancellation

When it was announced last year that Roseanne would be returning to ABC, the latest in a string of tv revivals, I was uber excited.  The original show, which ran from 1988-1997, had always been a favorite of mine.  I watched as a kid, and I appreciated it even more as an adult, often watching reruns of my favorite episodes (from the earlier seasons only).  The working-class Conner family were people that weren't often represented on tv, and (most importantly) the show was funny as hell.  I hoped that the reboot would be a chance to restore some of the show's luster, after the critically panned final season, in which the Conners won the lottery (a complete reversal of the entire premise of the show) and Dan was revealed to be dead in a bizarre Dallas-style twist.

The revival premiered to massive ratings in March, and ABC quickly ordered a 2nd season.  And I, for the most part, enjoyed the show.  It was great to see some of my favorite actors and characters back on tv, interacting like no time had passed at all.  This is not to say that the reboot didn't have problems.  The show (especially the 1st episode) was suddenly very political, and the writing wasn't nearly as sharp.  Also, the revival criminally underused its best actress, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie.  Michael Fishman, who was just a young child during the original series, and who grew up to be a terrible actor, had almost as much screen time as the Oscar-nominated Metcalf.  Still, the show had "reversed the curse" of its original final season in 1996-1997 by returning to its roots.  The Conners were once again a poor working-class family, now dealing with an adult child and grandchildren living at home, medical issues, and other unexpected obstacles (the basement flooded in the season finale).

There was a lot of criticism online and calls for boycotts, before the revival even premiered, due to its controversial star.  Roseanne Barr has always been a bit crazy, making possibly anti-Semitic remarks and spouting bizarre conspiracy theories on social media.  I brushed these criticisms off, vowing to take the show for what it was, not worrying about what its actors said off-screen.  Her politics were now conservative; she's a diehard Trump-supporter, a characteristic which carried over to her sitcom character.  This seemed a bit strange to me, as her sitcom character had always seemed pretty liberal on the original series.  She smoked marijuana in one episode and got her daughter Becky birth control in another.  The show even featured a controversial same-sex kiss between Barr and Mariel Hemingway.  There were also multiple regular characters who were gay, including Roseanne's friend Nancy and her boss Leon. 

The new show, despite Barr's politics, seemed to have a similar vibe.  There were multiple plots promoting tolerance and acceptance.  Roseanne's grandson Mark appeared to be gay and wore skirts to school, and her Muslim neighbors were revealed to be intelligent and friendly.  Although the character Roseanne was skeptical of both situations at first, by the end of each episode she learned her lesson and the "after-school special" message was conveyed.  Why would the show promote one message while its star, who had control over storylines and writing, promote an opposing message outside of the show?  Was she just trying to overcompensate for her racism and anti-Semitism?  I chalked this difference up to my opinion that Barr wasn't really racist; I believed that she was just a crazy loudmouth who said things that she didn't really believe, just for attention.

Then came Barr's racist tweet last week, leading to the show's sudden cancellation, a reversal of its earlier renewal.  She apologized, but then made things even worse by blaming her original statement on everything from Ambien to a misunderstanding.  She vowed to quit social media, then returned to it just a few hours later, continuing to make bizarre statements that defended her original, clearly racist comment.  Was ABC right to cancel the show?  Unfortunately, yes.  They really had no choice, despite the millions of dollars and huge ratings that they were giving up.  Many are calling ABC president Channing Dungey "brave" for making the cancellation decision, but I say that she only did what the media and public were demanding her to do. 

There are talks of reviving the revival without Roseanne Barr, potentially shifting the focus to Sara Gilbert as her daughter Darlene.  Would this work?  That's questionable.  Gilbert is a strong actress and Darlene is one of the more interesting characters, although I have doubts about how long a reimagined show could last.  I would actually prefer a Jackie spinoff, but as long as Metcalf is involved in "The Darlene Show" then I'll be happy.  I'd give any attempt at a Roseanne-less show a shot in order to see John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Gilbert on my tv again.  There's also the question of how a reimagined show would get around having to pay Barr, as she is listed as a creator of the recent revival, and she has a financial stake in any show that would include these characters.

In any case, my biggest regret about the racist-tweet controversy is that multiple people are now potentially out of work due to one crazy, racist individual.  And the reputation of the original show is now tarnished beyond repair, far worse than it was by its "original" final season.  Is it possible to enjoy a show, despite the questionable outside actions of its actors?  I say yes.  While I understand that Roseanne in its current form can't continue with its star, this won't change my enjoyment of what has already aired, namely the early seasons of the original series.  I would say the same for The Cosby Show.  While it's hard to watch reruns of that show and not think about the actions of its star Bill Cosby, you can't deny that that show had a cultural impact and was downright funny.  I will continue to watch reruns of The Cosby Show and Roseanne, because both shows are damn good, even if I don't support their stars.  Although the industry is now talking about the rise and fall of Roseanne and Roseanne, I'll leave you with one of my favorite scenes of the original series, which I still enjoy despite all of this mess and controversy.