While I hopeThe Connersseason 7 can bring theRoseannefranchise to a satisfying end, it does worry me that the series is still introducing more new characters so close to its finale.The Connersseason 7has a lot of storylines to wrap up and a lot of characters to check in on.The Conners’ large cast of charactersinclude Roseanne’s widower Dan, his new wife Louise, Roseanne’s sister Jackie, her new husband Neville, Roseanne and Dan’s three children Darlene, Becky, and DJ, Darlene’s children, Mark and Harris, and Becky’s daughter, Beverly-Rose.
This is without even mentioning Mark and Harris’s absent father David Healy, or Roseanne and Jackie’s mother, Beverly, both of whom played substantial supporting roles in earlier seasons ofThe Conners. There is also Darlene’s husband Ben and Becky’s love interest Tyler, both of whom are pivotal to the show’s storyline.The Connersseason 7 also must bring backsupporting characters like Alexandra Billings’s Robin and Natalie West’s Crystal, as well as updating viewers on the fates of a few characters who haven’t been seen in some time.
The Conners Season 7 Won’t Bring Back Numerous Major Roseanne Stars
David Healy, DJ, and Bev Will All Be Missing
This will be a tall order for the sitcom sincethere are only six episodes inThe Connersseason 7, meaning the show has very little screen time to devote to each character. Sadly, my hopes that the series would somehow utilize this limited runtime perfectly have already been dashed thanks to a recent report fromTVLine. Executive producer Bruce Helford confirmed that numerous major characters, including DJ, Beverly, and David Healy, would not appear in season 7’s six episodes, despite playing pivotal roles throughoutRoseanne’s original run, its 2017 revival, and earlier seasons ofThe Conners.
Bev’s final conversation with Jackie felt bizarrely rushed after years of opprobrium between the mother/daughter duo, and DJ’s departure from Lanford was an abrupt, unexplained surprise.
Even though they were central to bothRoseanneand its spinoff, Bev, DJ, and David Healy were all deemed disposable in season 7. This is truly a shame since the trio’s stories were left profoundly unfinished by the series. David Healy failed to attend his son Mark’s high school graduation in season 5’s finale, a decision that betrayed the character’s longstanding desire to be a more present parent. Meanwhile, Bev’s final conversation with Jackie felt bizarrely rushed after years of opprobrium between the mother/daughter duo, and DJ’s departure from Lanford was an abrupt, unexplained surprise in season 5.
The Conners Season 7 Introduces New Characters With Multi-Episode Arcs
Sitcom Legends Seth Green and Zoe Perry Will Play a Cop and Darlene’s New Friend
To make matters worse,The Connersseason 7 bringing back Jackie’s bestRoseanneplotand reviving a familiar Darlene story means the final outing will also add new characters to theRoseanneuniverse.Zoe Perry and Seth Green play new characters inThe Connersseason 7, which would ordinarily be exciting news in a normal season but seems concerning when there are only 6 episodes left of the series. Both of these new characters will reportedly appear in more than one episode each, meaning Perry’s cop and Green’s new character merit more focus than DJ, Beverly, and David combined.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
It is not hard to imagine a situation where Green and Perry’s presence would be welcome. Not only is Perry hilarious inYoung Sheldon, but she is Jackie actor Laurie Metcalf’s real-life daughter and even played a young version of Jackie in aRoseanneepisode. Meanwhile, Green is a sitcom legend who appeared in everything fromThat ‘70s ShowtoFamily GuytoHow I Met Your MothertoCommunity. However, the timing of their arrival could not be worse.
The Conners' Final 6 Episodes MUST Be Devoted To The Actual Family
The Conners Season 7 Risks Prioritising New Characters Over Roseanne’s Family
AlthoughRoseanne’s death reshapedThe Connersentirely, the show has still always lived up to its title. Even in its weakest episodes,The Connersis primarily a show about the titular family. Since they are now a sprawling, multi-generational clan with over a dozen members, it is not hard for the sitcom to mainly focus on the Conner family. If anything, the show often has to give characters an episode off to focus on other stars, and that is without even incorporating new characters into the mix.
The show now has only six episodes left to wrap up the storylines of all of its characters while also addressingRoseanne’s legacy.
In earlier seasons, it was a fun novelty whenThe Connerswould introduce a new character for an episode or two. However, the show now has only six episodes left to wrap up the storylines of all of its characters while also addressingRoseanne’s legacy.The Connersmust explain how Mark got out of his legally sketchy email scam job and how he afforded the University of Chicago’s fees, how Harris got on with managing The Lunchbox alone, howTyler and Becky’sThe Connersrelationshipprogressed, and what happened to the magazine that Ben and Darlene purchased.
Can The Conners Still End The Roseanne Franchise Satisfyingly?
The Roseanne Spinoff Needs To Give Its Heroes A Proper Sendoff
The above rundown doesn’t even mention Jackie’s attempts to rejoin the police force and Darlene hitting it off with Green’s character, and this is exactly the problem.The Connersseason 7 doesn’t have enough screen time for multiple new characters, and the show risks ruining its final outing by ignoring its existing storylines and starting new ones instead.The Connersseason 7 must primarily focus on wrapping up the show’s plots rather than adding new characters into the mix, but Green and Perry’s presence proves this may not be the show’s top priority.
The Conners Season 7’s Greatest Tragedy Was Already Set Up In Season 6
Although The Conners season 7 has a lot of subplots left to wrap up, Roseanne’s spinoff might have set its greatest tragedy in motion already.
AfterMark spentThe Connersseasons 1—6struggling to fit in and trying to find a way to get out of his small hometown of Lanford, it was tragic but understandable to see him desperately take a lucrative job at a corrupt company in season 6’s finale. Season 7 must pay off this promising, dramatic setup instead of moving on to the next plot and the next guest star instead.
Doing justice toRoseanne’s original appeal would be hard enough without David, DJ, and Bev around, but it would be almost impossible with new characters to factor in. As such,The Connerscan’t allow these new arrivals to draw attention away from the main cast. Perry and Green’s characters could factor into existing storylines and strengthen them in the process, butThe Connersseason 7 still has to remember who the show’s real heroes are asRoseanne’s spinoff hurries to wrap up its multi-decade story in only six episodes.
