Just because Roseanne Barr’s character is no longer alive on The Conners doesn’t mean she goes ignored on the final season.
“It’s a really interesting thing. [The idea of] when to bring her up, how it has been through the series is when it seems right. There’s touches of it without really landing on it and making it super heavy,” Goranson, 50, exclusively told Us Weekly.
The season 7 premiere, which aired on Wednesday, March 26, introduced a story line where Dan (John Goodman) and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) are at odds about suing Big Pharma for Roseanne’s death.
“I think the way that Roseanne passed away on the show — and the fact that that was something that there’s a lot of in this country — that people say, ‘Hey, wait a second, it’s too easy for people to find these opioids and to get hooked on it.’ What’s important in our country is that the people have a voice,” Goranson explained. “We know that a lot of these companies knew that these drugs caused addiction. They knew, and Becky is all on top of this as an addict and now that she’s in school for addiction counseling.”
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Goranson was thankful the show took time to have an important conversation, adding, “There’s something really dark about these companies making these drugs readily available to people who then get hooked on them and it becomes sometimes fatal. I think our show has always done [a good job] bringing up a difficult subject in a pedestrian way. That’s really powerful.”
Lecy Goranson (aka Alicia Goranson), Roseanne, (aka Roseanne Barr, aka Roseanne Arnold) Daniel Watson / ©Carsey-Werner / Paramount Television / ABC / courtesy Everett Collection
According to the actress, The Conners will continue to find “very tasteful” ways to honor the characters who don’t appear in the final season.
“If it felt like this is a Hollywood thing to bring all the guest stars back, that’s exciting for the audience. But it’s not really true to the world of the show,” Goranson noted. “We’ve had people have feelings about the show since Roseanne left. But with what we have, it’s been really, really tasteful and well done, so I’m proud of it.”
Roseanne introduced Us to the Conner family when it originally aired from 1988 to 1997. After being briefly revived in 2018 — and after Barr’s eventual exit from the series — the story transformed into The Conners. Goranson plays Becky Conner — a role she has shared with Sarah Chalke over the years.
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“I think one of the things that I was hoping that did happen [when wrapping up The Conners] was knowing that they were going on with their lives. So it wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a lightning bolt and there go the Connors,’” she quipped. “I hope that it would give you an imagination of Becky — who’s been through so much — that you knew that there was some hope in her future. Not hoping to win the lottery but hopefully finishing her degree and having her romance and having her daughter in a good place and her relationship.”
She continued: “Becky has been through so much. When I see people who watch the show, they say, ‘Oh, my God, we’re rooting for Becky.’ It’s really nice to feel that investment and I’m also rooting for her.”
As the world gets ready to say goodbye to Becky, Goranson is hopeful for the possibility of returning to the role.
“I don’t want a break. I would love a spinoff. I imagine that might be complicated but I would love that. I love my colleagues so much and the crew,” she shared. “We have a really, really long history. When you are around people every day like that, it’s very much like family. It sounds stereotypical, but it does feel that way. I set up a happy hour meeting for the crew and we’re always saying, ‘How do we get together again? What’s our next project together?’ It’s very sincere. We all feel this way.”
The Conners airs on ABC Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
