Roseanne dying on The Conners was a way for the show’s writers to bridge the gap between the Roseanne reboot from spring 2018 and the spin-off, whichbrought back all the supporting characters.
On the series premiere of The Conners, it turned out that Roseanne had been dead for a little while. This allowed the writers to move past a lot of the grieving that the characters had been going through. It was referenced, but it gave room to bring more humor and not focus entirely on Roseanne’s death.
Together again. #TheConners pic.twitter.com/ud3Z9iWHkO
— The Conners (@TheConnersABC) October 17, 2018
How did Roseanne die on The Conners?
Midway through the season premiere, a call from the coroner’s office revealed that Roseanne died from an opioid overdose. It was a sad way for the main character of the show to die, but it also gave the opening episodes a new subplot to work with.
The death of Roseanne was met with mixed reactions on Twitter, even from Roseanne Barr, who was displeased by the choice. That wasn’t too surprising, as she wasn’t expected to be happy about getting fired from her show after she posted disparaging remarks on Twitter.
As for The Conners ratings, viewers are tuning in. The new show has become a hit for ABC, even if the numbers aren’t as impressive as the first-run of Roseanne on the network. It has still been good enough to win its time slot on Tuesday nights in the key demographic that advertisers look at.
The Conners airs Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC.