By Dustin Rowles | TV | August 27, 2018 |
By Dustin Rowles | TV | August 27, 2018 |
When The Conners, formerly Roseanne returns on ABC later this year, it will be without Roseanne Barr, who was fired from the show over one (of many) racist tweets. Though ABC has not revealed what will happen to her character, John Goodman — in an interview with The Times — seemed to reveal the obvious: That she’ll be killed off. Goodman said of his character upon the return of the show, “I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead.”
The means of her death is still unknown but given the opioid addiction storyline that played out at the end of last season, it’s a good bet that she may die of an overdose, which is a huge downer for a sitcom but also keeping in with The Conners attempts to mirror the times.
As for the initial cancellation of Roseanne, Goodman admits that it hit him hard. “I was broken-hearted, but I thought, ‘OK, it’s just show business, I’m going to let it go.’ But I went through a period, about a month, where I was very depressed. I’m a depressive anyway, so any excuse that I can get to lower myself, I will. But that had a great deal to do with it, more than I wanted to admit.”
However, Goodman — who is promoting a BBC series, Black Earth Rising, in which he plays a barrister — seems to be excited about doing another season.
He describes his excitement when asked to return to Roseanne last year. “I’m your boy,” he told the network immediately. The series first ran from 1988-97, amassing 36m viewers at its peak. Goodman had not always been so enthusiastic. “When the show ended, I said good riddance. The material had run its course after about six years, but we stayed on for nine. But then I missed it. And it was such a gas last year. We were all a team, even more than before.”
As for Roseanne Barr herself and that tweet that got her fired, Goodman tries to keep his thoughts to himself but ultimately fails.
He pauses and stares into his cappuccino for so long I think he is never going to answer. “I was surprised. I’ll put it this way, I was surprised at the response.” Another pause. “And that’s probably all I should say about it.” He falls into a long ponderous silence, then erupts again. “I know, I know, for a fact that she’s not a racist.”
That’s probably not going to gain him a lot of love, so I’ll at least append the post with this:
From a working-class background himself, Goodman has always connected deeply with Conner and often visits friends and family in St Louis, Missouri, where he was born. Not much, he believes, has changed for the average working-class American over the years. “People are struggling, but they’re looking to the wrong people for answers. They’re distracted by race and immigration instead of standing up for themselves. I’m rather a big fan of labour unions.” He hesitates. “I’m a little over my head here.” But he is clear about one thing. Unlike Barr, he is no fan of Trump. “He’s in it for himself.”
And so, your mixed feelings about Goodman shall persist.
Source: The Times