''The Conners'' is an American television sitcom created for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

as a renamed direct continuation of the sequel to the series ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

''. The series is produced by

Werner Entertainment Thomas Charles Werner (born April 12, 1950) is an American television producer and businessman. Through his investment in Fenway Sports Group, he is currently chairman of both Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Red Sox. Werner first became ...

, with

Bruce Helford Bruce Lewis Helford (born January 28, 1952) is an American television writer and producer. Career Helford was the co-creator of '' The Drew Carey Show''. He served as executive producer of the series for its entire run, from 1995 to 2004. Hel ...

serving as showrunner and features actors

John Goodman John Stephen Goodman (born June 20, 1952) is an American actor. He gained national fame for his role as the family patriarch Dan Conner in the ABC comedy series '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which he received a Golden Globe Award, an ...

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

Sara Gilbert Sara Gilbert (born Sara Rebecca Abeles; January 29, 1975) is an American actress best known for her role as Darlene Conner on the ABC sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988–1997; 2018), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and ...

Lecy Goranson Alicia Linda "Lecy" Goranson (; born June 22, 1974) is an American actress. She plays Becky Conner in the television sitcoms '' Roseanne'', which debuted in 1988, and ''The Conners''. She has also had supporting roles in the films ''How to Make ...

Michael Fishman Michael Aaron Fishman (born October 22, 1981) is an American actor, writer, and producer known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series ''Roseanne'' and its spin-off show, '' The Conners''. Early life Fishman was born in Los Angeles ...

Emma Kenney Emma Rose Kenney (born September 14, 1999) is an American actress. She has portrayed Deborah "Debbie" Gallagher on '' Shameless'', a role she played from 2011 to 2021, and Harris Conner-Healy in the tenth season of the family sitcom ''Roseann ...

, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and

Jay R. Ferguson Jay R. Ferguson (born July 25, 1974) is an American actor, known as Taylor Newton in '' Evening Shade'' (1990–1994), Stan Rizzo in ''Mad Men'' (2010–2015), and Ben Olinsky in '' The Conners'' (2018–present). Biography In 1990 Ferguson pla ...

. Development on a spin-off began following the cancellation of ''Roseanne'' in May 2018, due to controversial comments by its star

Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom '' Roseanne'' (1988– ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

. The next month, ABC ordered the series and confirmed the adult principal cast's involvement, while Kenney, McNamara and Rey were confirmed in August. The series premiered on October 16, 2018, airing in the Tuesday 8:00 p.m. slot its predecessor was scheduled to hold during the 2018–19 television season. On October 26, 2018, ABC ordered an extra episode, bringing the episode order to eleven. On March 22, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season of 13 episodes. On May 14, 2019, ABC ordered six extra episodes, expanding the order to 19. An additional episode was then ordered, with season 2 totaling 20 episodes. The second season premiered on September 24, 2019. On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on October 21, 2020. On May 14, 2021, the series was renewed for a fourth season, which premiered on September 22, 2021. On May 12, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on September 21, 2022. On October 12, 2022, ABC expanded the series' fifth season to feature its largest season to date, ordering 22 episodes for the 2022–23 U.S. TV season, which is expected to conclude in May 2023.

Premise

The show follows the Conners, a working-class family struggling to get by on modest household incomes. After the death of the original show's lead character Roseanne, they are forced to face the daily struggles of life in the fictional mid-state

exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It s ...

of Lanford,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in a way they never have before. While the show follows on from the series ''Roseanne'', producer Bruce Helford has explained that the creative staff have chosen to deliberately ignore certain developments from the sixth season of ''Roseanne'' onwards. This includes Jackie's marriage to Fred and the birth of her son Andy; the birth of Roseanne and Dan's fourth child, Jerry; and nearly all of ''Roseanne''s controversial ninth season.

Cast and characters

Main

Dan Conner Dan Conner is a fictional character in the television series '' Roseanne'' created by comedian and namesake Roseanne Barr and portrayed by actor John Goodman. He is the husband to Roseanne Conner, and father to two daughters, Darlene and Becky, ...

as Jackie Harris-Goldufski *

as Darlene Conner *

as Becky Conner-Healy *

as D.J. Conner (seasons 1–4) *

as Harris Conner-Healy * Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy * Jayden Rey as Mary Conner *

Maya Lynne Robinson Maya Lynne Robinson is an American actress, writer and producer. She is best known for her portrayal of Geena, D.J. Conner's wife, in the '' Roseanne'' television spin-off ''The Conners'' and the role of Michelle on the CBS series '' The Unicorn. ...

as Geena Williams-Conner (season 1; guest season 3) *

as Ben Olinsky (season 3–present; recurring season 1–2), Darlene's former boss and, as of the end of season four, her husband

Recurring

Katey Sagal Catherine Louise "Katey" Sagal (; born January 19, 1954) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing Peggy Bundy on '' Married... with Children'' (1987–1997), Leela on ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2023), Cate Henne ...

as Louise Conner (née Goldufski), a former high school classmate of Roseanne, Dan and Jackie. She is Becky's co-worker who plays music on the side, and is eventually Dan's wife. *

James Pickens Jr. James Pickens Jr. (born October 26, 1954) is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kers ...

as Chuck Mitchell, Dan's best friend and former business partner * Rene Rosado as Emilio Rodriguez, Becky's husband and the father of her daughter Beverly Rose * Estelle Parsons as Beverly Harris (season 1–3, 5–present), Jackie and Roseanne's mother *

Johnny Galecki John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms '' Ro ...

as David Healy (season 1–2), Darlene's ex-husband; father of her two children * Natalie West as Crystal Anderson (season 1), a longtime family friend who married Dan's father, Ed, Sr. and is mother of Dan's two half-siblings, Ed Jr. and Angela, and his step-brother, Lonnie *

Matthew Broderick Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American actor. His roles include the Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of the title character in ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986), the voice of adult Simba in Disney's ''The Lion King'' (1994), ...

as Peter (season 1), Jackie's freeloader boyfriend *

Eliza Bennett Eliza Bennett (born 17 March 1992) is an English actress and singer. Her most notable roles have been those of Meggie Folchart in the film ''Inkheart'', Tora in the film ''Nanny McPhee'', Susan in '' From Time to Time'' and Holly Manson in the ...

as Odessa (season 2), Harris' friend with whom she temporarily moves in with *

Noel Fisher Noel Roeim Fisher (born March 13, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of List of Shameless (U.S. TV series) characters#Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Milkovich on the Showtime (TV network), Showtime series ''Shameless (U.S. TV ser ...

as Ed Conner Jr. (season 2), Dan's half-brother *

Alexandra Billings Alexandra Scott Billings (born March 28, 1962) is an American actress, teacher, and singer. Billings is the second openly transgender woman to have played a transgender character on television, which she did in the 2005 made-for-TV movie '' Romy ...

as Robin (season 3–5), a supervisor at Wellman Plastics and Darlene's mentor *

Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing ''The Descendants'' (2011) ...

as Neville Goldufski (season 3–present), Louise's brother who is a veterinarian and who later becomes Jackie's husband * Evelina Fernandez as Juanita (season 3), a co-worker of Darlene and Becky's at Wellman's who worked with Roseanne and Jackie ** Fernandez had previously recurred as Juanita in the first season of ''Roseanne'' *

Brian Austin Green Brian Austin Green (born Brian Green; July 15, 1973) is an American actor, rapper, television personality and podcaster, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000). Green was al ...

as Jeff (season 3–4), a co-worker of Darlene's at Wellman's * Andrew Leeds as Nick (season 4), Darlene's boyfriend * Matt Walsh as Glen (season 4), Becky's professor and boyfriend *

Christopher Lloyd Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...

as Lou (season 4), Bev's retirement home boyfriend and later Mark's contrabassoon teacher *

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...

as Smitty (season 5)

Guests

* Mary Steenburgen as Marcy Bellinger, a neighbor whom Roseanne obtained prescription pills from *

Juliette Lewis Juliette Lake Lewis (born June 21, 1973) is an American actress and alternative rock singer. She is known for her portrayals of offbeat characters, often in films with dark themes. Lewis became an "it girl" of American cinema in the early 1990s, ...

as Blue, David Healy's new girlfriend Lewis and Galecki previously played siblings in ''

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' is a 1989 American Christmas comedy film and the third installment in ''National Lampoon'' magazine's ''Vacation'' film series. ''Christmas Vacation'' was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, written and co ...

''. *

Justin Long Justin Jacob Long (born June 2, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. Long is known for his film roles, notably appearing in '' Jeepers Creepers'' (2001), ''Dodgeball'' (2004), ''Accepted'' (2006), ''Idiocracy'' (20 ...

as Neil, Darlene's brief love interest. She later breaks up with him when she realizes she is attracted to Ben. *

Sarah Chalke Sarah Louise Christine Chalke (; born August 27, 1976) is a Canadian actress and model. She is known for portraying Elliot Reid on the NBC/ABC comedy series '' Scrubs'', the second Becky Conner on the ABC sitcom ''Roseanne'', Stella Zinman on ...

as Andrea, the woman for whom Becky was planning to be a surrogate in the tenth season of ''Roseanne'' ** Chalke had portrayed Becky Conner in seasons 6 & 7 (after Lecy Goranson left the show to attend college), three episodes of 8 (when Lecy Goranson came back but was unavailable) and all of nine (when Lecy Goranson left again) *

Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series '' The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recu ...

as Brian Foster, lawyer for Dan in episode "Rage Against the Machine" *

Lucy Punch Lucy Punch (born 30 December 1977) is a British actress. She has appeared in the films '' Ella Enchanted'', ''Hot Fuzz'', ''You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger'', '' Dinner for Schmucks,'' and ''Into the Woods''. She is also known for her role as ...

as Kyle's mom *

Patrick Fabian Patrick Fabian (born December 7, 1964) is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is known for his role as attorney Howard Hamlin in ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–2022). His film roles include '' End Game'' (2006), ''The Last Exorcism' ...

as James *

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...

as one of Dan's poker buddies in "The Preemie Monologues" ** Aykroyd had co-starred with John Goodman in the 1998 movie ''

Blues Brothers 2000 ''Blues Brothers 2000'' is a 1998 American musical comedy film directed by John Landis from a screenplay written by Landis and Dan Aykroyd, both of whom were also producers. The film, starring Aykroyd and John Goodman, is a sequel to the 1980 fi ...

'' *

Paul Reubens Paul Reubens (; born Rubenfeld; August 27, 1952) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and children's entertainer. He is known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s, an ...

as Sandy Bitensky, a local newspaper reporter *

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...

as Dawn, a food vendor for the Lunch Box whom Jackie befriends *

Clark Gregg Robert Clark Gregg Jr. (born April 2, 1962) is an American actor, director, and screenwriter. He is best known for playing Agent Phil Coulson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Iron Man'' (2008), ''Iron Man 2'' (2010), ''Thor'' (2011), ' ...

and

Jennifer Grey Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide ...

as Ron and Janelle, a married couple who befriend Jackie and want her to engage in a "throuple" relationship with them *

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

and

Sharon Osbourne Sharon Rachel Osbourne (née Levy, later Arden; born 9 October 1952) is a British-American television personality, music manager and author. She is married to heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing ...

as themselves *

Paul Hipp Paul Hipp (born July 16, 1963) is an American actor, singer, songwriter and filmmaker. Early life Paul Hipp was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and grew up in Warminster. He left Pennsylvania for New York City immediately after high school, st ...

as Zack, keyboard player and Louise's brief love interest *

Joel Murray Joel Murray (born April 17, 1963) is an American comedy actor. He is well known for his roles in the television series ''Mad Men'', ''Grand'', '' Love & War'', ''Dharma & Greg'', '' Still Standing'', and '' Shameless''. He has also appeared in f ...

as Jim, Dan's longtime contact at the local bank *

Danny Trejo Danny Trejo ( ; born May 16, 1944) is an American actor. He has appeared in films including ''Desperado'', ''Heat'', and the ''From Dusk Till Dawn'' film series. With frequent collaborator and his second cousin Robert Rodriguez, he portrayed ...

as Tito, a neighbor of the Conners suffering from expensive health bills *

Candice Bergen Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of the title character on the CBS sitcom ''Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also know ...

as Barb Olinsky, Ben's aloof mother, who reveals Ben's late dad was not his biological father * Sarah Baker as Helen *

Milo Manheim Milo Manheim (born March 6, 2001) is an American actor. He is known for his starring role as Zed in the 2018 Disney Channel Original Movie ''Zombies'', and its sequels ''Zombies 2'' (2020) and '' Zombies 3'' (2022). In 2018, he finished in seco ...

as Josh, Harris' activist boyfriend *

Steve Agee Steven Douglas Agee (; born February 26, 1969) is an American comedian, actor, writer and musician, known for roles including Steve Myron on the Comedy Central series ''The Sarah Silverman Program'' and as John Economos in the 2021 superhero fil ...

as Tony *

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

as Don Blansky, the manager of the local cemetery *

Fred Savage Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series ''The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such as ...

as Dr. Harding *

Danielle Harris Danielle Andrea Harris (born June 1, 1977) is an American actress and film director. She is known as a " scream queen" for her roles in multiple horror films, including four entries in the ''Halloween'' franchise ('' Halloween 4'' and '' 5''; 19 ...

as Molly Tilden ** Harris had previously recurred as Molly Tilden during the fifth season of ''Roseanne'' * Aaron Rodgers as himself, appearing as a guest host on ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...

'' *

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...

as Pastor Phil *

Darien Sills-Evans Darien Evans, better known by his stage name, Darien Sills-Evans, is an American actor, writer, comedian, and director. He is best known for Darien in '' Cosby'' (1998-2000), CSU Tech Foster in ''Third Watch'' (2002-2005) and Andrew in '' The R ...

as Mike * Tony Cavalero as Aldo, Harris' surprise wedding date *

Andrea Anders Andrea Anders (born May 10, 1975) is an American actress. She is best known for her work on television, notably through her main roles on five anticipated but short-lived sitcoms, ''Joey'', '' The Class'', ''Better Off Ted'', '' Mr. Sunshine'' and ...

as Helen *

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

as Jesse, Aldo's father *

Ethan Cutkosky Ethan Francis Cutkosky (born August 19, 1999) is an American actor and singer, best known for his roles as Carl Gallagher on the Showtime series '' Shameless'', and Barto in '' The Unborn''. Early life Ethan Francis Cutkosky was born on Augus ...

as Caleb *

Ever Carradine Ever Dawn Carradine is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Tiffany Porter and Kelly Ludlow on the ABC television series ''Once and Again'' and '' Commander in Chief'', respectively and as Naomi Putnam and Janet Stein on the Hulu ...

as Pamela Finch *

Barry Livingston Barry Gordon Livingston (born December 17, 1953) is an American television and film actor, known for his role as Ernie Douglas on the television series ''My Three Sons'' (1963–72). He is the younger brother of actor/director Stanley Livingst ...

as Mr. Nelson *

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedian. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards for ...

as Doris Goldufski

Episodes

Production

Development

On May 29, 2018,

cancelled ''

'' despite initially renewing it for an eleventh season, following racist remarks made by

(who starred as Roseanne Conner) on Twitter about

Valerie Jarrett Valerie June Jarrett ( Bowman; born November 14, 1956) is an American businesswoman and former government official. She currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation. She previously served as the Senior Advisor to the Pre ...

, a former advisor to former president

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. In June, reports swirled that the show could possibly continue under a different name and focus on the Darlene character; the show ultimately continued but focused on the Conner family as a whole, becoming more of an ensemble cast. Around June 15, 2018, reports emerged that ABC was close to making a deal to indeed continue the show. Barr is not involved in any way in the new program, and likely received a one-time payment in return. John Goodman had stated that Roseanne Conner would be

killed off The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a character dies, but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film, video game, anime, manga and chronological series, often denotes an untimely or unexpect ...

, which indeed was the case. In June, 2018, ABC ordered a 10-episode spin-off tentatively titled ''The Conners'', and that rather than focusing on Darlene, it would involve every cast member except Barr. On August 28, 2018,

, Ames McNamara, and Jayden Rey, who starred as Harris Conner-Healy, Mark Conner-Healy, and Mary Conner, respectively, throughout the tenth season of ''Roseanne'', were officially confirmed as series regulars for ''The Conners''. On December 15, 2018, it was reported by ''

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...

'' that preliminary negotiations were underway with the cast for a second season. Deadline later reported on March 21, 2019 that renewal was close. On March 22, 2019, ABC renewed the show for a 19-episode second season, which premiered on September 24, 2019. On May 21, 2020, ABC renewed the series for a third season, which premiered on October 21, 2020. On March 18, 2021, the show's sound engineer and boom operator Terrel Richmond died after suffering a medical event on set. On May 14, 2021, ABC renewed the series for a fourth season, which premiered on September 22, 2021 with a live episode.

plays

's character

's wife on the series. Both Sagal and

were serious considerations by producers in 1987 for the role of Peggy Bundy on the series '' Married... With Children'', one year before the ''Roseanne'' series went into development. The role of Peggy Bundy was ultimately won by Sagal, who would then later replace Barr on ''The Conners'' as Dan's second wife. On May 13, 2022, ABC renewed the series for a fifth season. which premiered on September 21, 2022. In August 2022,

confirmed that his character D.J. Conner would be written out of the show for the fifth season. He did not give an explanation for the character's departure, but stated it was not his decision. On October 12, 2022, ABC ordered a full season of 22 episodes for the fifth season.

Taping

Production on the series began on August 31, 2018, at the Warner Bros. Studios lot in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

. On October 26, 2018, ABC announced it had ordered an additional episode, bringing the first season's total number to 11. Production on the third season began on August 17, 2020.

Release

The series premiered on October 16, 2018, on ABC in the United States, on CTV in Canada and on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

in Australia.

Reception

Ratings

''The Conners'' has been a strong and consistent performer for ABC, ranking as the #1 new comedy for the 2018 TV season in both the key demographic of adults 18-49 (2.2 rating) as well as in total viewers (9.5 million). When compared to all other broadcast network TV shows, ''The Conners'' finished the 2018-19 TV Season as the 16th highest rated program in the 18-49 demo, the third highest-rated comedy in the 18-49 demo (behind the final season of ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on CBS ...

'' at #1, and its spin-off ''

Young Sheldon ''Young Sheldon'' is an American List of coming-of-age stories, coming-of-age sitcom television series created by Chuck Lorre and Steven Molaro for CBS. The series, set in the late 1980s and early 1990s, is a Spin-off (media), spin-off prequel ...

'' at #2), 31st place overall in total viewers and as the #4 comedy in total viewers (behind ''The'' ''Big Bang Theory'', ''Young Sheldon'', and '' Mom'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

). Even with the overall solid ratings performance of ''The Conners'', it is worth noting that viewership has decreased drastically. The ''Roseanne'' revival finished the 2017-18 TV season with a 5.0 rating in the 18-49 demo, and 17.8 million viewers, making it the #3 show overall in both the 18-49 demo as well as in total viewers. Still, ''The Conners'' has been an undeniable hit for ABC, with its first season ratings nearly doubling the average rating of all prime time shows to air on ABC during the 2018–19 season. ABC finished that season in last place among the "big four" TV networks in the 18-49 demo (1.2 average rating) and second-to-last in total viewers with an average of just 5.6 million, making ''The Conners'' one of the few ratings bright spots on the ABC schedule. The 2019–20 TV season was a turbulent one for the industry, with most networks and programs seeing a rather dramatic decline in ratings. Viewership across the board has been "paltry" and "inauspicious"—a "rude awakening" for the television industry, according to

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

. Bucking the industry trend in its second season, however, ''The Conners'' ratings were remarkably consistent from one episode to the next, down only slightly from season one. The show actually improved its rank with younger viewers; it was the #2 highest rated comedy in the 18-49 demo (with the final season of ''

Modern Family ''Modern Family'' is an American family sitcom television series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan for the American Broadcasting Company. It ran for 11 seasons, from September 23, 2009, to April 8, 2020. It follows the lives of thr ...

'' edging it out for the top spot by around 275,000 young viewers per week). In total viewers, ''The Conners'' again improves on its season one ranking, now coming in as the third highest rated comedy on TV (after ''Young Sheldon'' and ''Mom''). ''The Conners'' remains by far the highest-rated comedy on ABC. * Note: The eighth and sixteenth episodes of the third season aired out their regular timeslot at Wednesday 10 pm and 9:30 pm respectively.

Critical response

The

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reported a 93% approval rating for season 1 based on 54 reviews from critics, with an average score of 7.86/10. Audience ratings on Rotten Tomatoes currently stands at 39% average score. The site's consensus reads, "''The Conners'' offers the comforts of its source show, but more focus on the family's ever-evolving dynamics adds a welcome layer of working-class empathy without losing any of the laughs."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 75 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". As part of the conditions of receiving an advance release, critics were forbidden from divulging how Roseanne Conner was written out of the series. Roseanne Barr said having her character killed by an opioid overdose "lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show." Lecy Goranson received particular praise from critics for her performance in the season one episode "Miracles".

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conners, The * 2010s American sitcoms 2020s American sitcoms 2018 American television series debuts American Broadcasting Company original programming American sequel television series American television spin-offs English-language television shows Mass media portrayals of the working class Roseanne Television series about dysfunctional families Television series about widowhood Television shows filmed in Los Angeles Television shows set in Illinois Television shows about the COVID-19 pandemic American LGBT-related sitcoms Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series