'The Conners' Is Over. Here's How It Ended

After 343 episodes, ten seasons of Roseanne, and seven seasons of The Conners spanning 37 years, the series signed off last night with an abbreviated final season of The Conners. I’ll admit I haven’t kept up with The Conners beyond a few check-ins after the early seasons, but I’ve seen enough to know that most of the show’s final couplings weren’t exactly surprises.

Only four members of the original cast remained by the end: John Goodman’s Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert’s Darlene Conner, and Alicia “Lecy” Goranson’s Becky — who was famously replaced for several seasons during Roseanne by Sarah Chalke (who popped back up on The Conners in an entirely different role during the early run).

Still, Roseanne loomed large in the series finale — the character, played by Roseanne Barr, had died of an overdose after Barr was pushed out of the series for… being Roseanne Barr. In the final episode, Dan — now married to Louise (Katey Sagal) — attended a deposition with the drug company the family still blames for Roseanne’s death. He gave a passionate speech, then went home to await their response.

Meanwhile, Jackie — now with Neville (Nat Faxon) — completed the necessary training to rejoin the police force. Darlene, who’d been flirting with an emotional affair with a character played by Seth Green, broke it off and returned to her husband, Ben (Mad Men’s Jay R. Ferguson). And Becky is now with Tyler, played by Sean Astin.

Apparently, The Conners became a bit of a refuge for actors whose whereabouts you might’ve been wondering about. Worth noting: Jackie and Roseanne’s mom, Beverly (Estelle Parsons), was last seen in season six. Michael Fishman, the original D.J. from Roseanne, left the series in 2022 and didn’t return for the finale.

In the end, the drug company responded to Dan’s heartfelt speech, not with justice, but with a check. The family gathered at Roseanne’s grave to open it. Instead of a windfall, Dan found a check for $700 to cover “travel and other miscellaneous.” His response: “Well, I guess we know how much the life of a Conner is worth.”

From there, each character — including Becky’s daughter Harris (Shameless’s Emma Kenney) — shared a few words at the gravestone before returning to the Conner home. After some final jokes, one by one, they left. Laurie Metcalf got choked up saying goodbye, and Sara Gilbert and Alicia Goranson were clearly holding back tears, as you’d expect from actors wrapping up a show that’s defined so much of their lives. John Goodman gave the last word, looking straight into the camera for a few seconds before saying: “Good night.” He walked away as a few clips from the original Roseanne rolled.

It was sweet, understated, and perfectly on brand.