The Conners Plan Holidays Without Roseanne in New Promo

CBR

By Kevin Melrose

Published Oct 3, 2018

Life, and Halloween, goes on without family matriarch Roseanne in the new promo for the ABC spinoff The Conners.

THE CONNERS - "Keep on Truckin'" - A sudden turn of events forces the Conners to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before, on the series premiere of "The Conners," airing TUESDAY, OCT. 16 (8:00-8:31 p.m. EDT), on The ABC Television Network. (ABC/Eric McCandless) SARA GILBERT, LAURIE METCALF

Jackie raises the specter of celebrating the holidays without family matriarch Roseanne in a new promo for ABC's Roseanne spinoff The Conners.

"I thought we should talk about the game plan for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas," Jackie, played by Laurie Metcalf, says from the familiar kitchen of the Conner household. "I say we follow the Conner tradition," replies Darlene (Sara Gilbert), "and spend every dime we have on Halloween, and have nothing to be thankful for or buy gifts with."

Indeed, the Halloween episodes of Roseanne were traditionally over-the-top events, in which the members of the Conner family tried to out-do one another in terms of costumes, decorations and scares. Roseanne Conner, played by Roseanne Barr, proclaimed it as her favorite holiday. But with the cancellation of the high-rated Roseanne revival in May following a racist tweet by Barr, the Conners will move forward without the comedy's inspiration and namesake.

Premiering Tuesday, Oct. 16, The Conners stars the entire cast of Roseanne, except for Barr, whose absence will be explained away by the death of her character under still undisclosed circumstances. While heavy on lighthearted moments, the new promo highlights the loss of Roseanne, but offers no additional clues to what happened to her.

Inspired by Barr’s own standup comedy, Roseanne originally aired from 1988 to 1997 on ABC, and is typically ranked among the greatest television sitcoms of all time. It was revived last year for a nine-episode 10th season, which earned high ratings, resulting in a Season 11 renewal before its ultimate cancellation.

The Conners will lead off ABC’s Tuesday schedule beginning Oct. 16, with Nathan Fillion’s new series The Rookie, about the oldest police trainee in Los Angeles, capping off the night.