The Conners is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams and developed by Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen, and Dave Caplan for ABC as a direct continuation of the series Roseanne. The series is produced by Werner Entertainment, with Helford, Rasmussen, Caplan, Tom Werner, Tony Hernandez, and co-star Sara Gilbert serving as executive producers, and features John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey, Maya Lynne Robinson, and Jay R. Ferguson.
A planned renewal for Roseanne's eleventh season was cancelled in May 2018, due to controversial tweets by its star Roseanne Barr on Twitter. The next month, ABC ordered a spin-off and confirmed the adult principal cast's involvement, while Kenney, McNamara and Rey were confirmed in August.
The series premiered on October 16, 2018, airing in the Tuesday 8:00 p.m. slot its predecessor was scheduled to hold during the 2018–19 television season. ABC ordered an extra episode on October 26, 2018, bringing the episode number to eleven.
On March 22, 2019, the series was renewed for a second season of 13 episodes. ABC ordered six extra episodes on May 14, 2019, expanding the number to 19. An additional episode was then ordered, with season 2 totaling 20 episodes. The second season premiered on September 24, 2019. ABC renewed the series for a third season on May 21, 2020, and it was announced that season 3 would move from Tuesday to Wednesday, which premiered on October 21, 2020. The series was renewed for a fourth season on May 14, 2021, which premiered on September 22, 2021.
On May 13, 2022, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on September 21, 2022. ABC expanded the series' fifth season on October 12, 2022, to feature its largest season to date, ordering 22 episodes for the 2022–23 television season, which concluded on May 3, 2023. The series was renewed for a sixth season on May 16, 2023, which premiered on February 7, 2024. On May 10, 2024, the series was renewed for a seventh and final season consisting of six episodes, which premiered on March 26, 2025. The series concluded with the final episode airing on April 23, 2025.
Premise
The show follows the Conners, a working-class family struggling to get by on modest household incomes. After the death of the original show's lead character, Roseanne, they continue to face the daily struggles of life in the fictional mid-state exurb of Lanford, Illinois.
While the show follows on from the series Roseanne, producer Bruce Helford has explained that the creative staff have chosen to deliberately ignore certain developments from the sixth season of Roseanne onwards. This includes Jackie's marriage to Fred and the birth of her son Andy; the birth of Roseanne and Dan's fourth child, Jerry; and nearly all of Roseanne's ninth season.
Cast and characters
Main
John Goodman as Dan Conner, Roseanne's widower
Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris-Goldufski, Dan's sister-in-law
Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner-Olinsky, Dan's second daughter
Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Dan's first daughter
Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner (seasons 1–4), Dan's son
Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Darlene & David's daughter
Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy, Darlene & David's son
Jayden Rey as Mary Conner (seasons 1–5), D.J. & Geena's daughter
Maya Lynne Robinson as Geena Williams-Conner (season 1; guest season 3), D.J.'s wife
Jay R. Ferguson as Ben Olinsky (seasons 3–7; recurring season 1 & 2), Darlene's former boss and, as of the end of season four, her husband
Recurring
Katey Sagal as Louise Conner (née Goldufski), a former high school classmate of Roseanne, Dan and Jackie. She is Becky's co-worker who plays music on the side, and is eventually Dan's second wife.
James Pickens Jr. as Chuck Mitchell (seasons 1–4), Dan's best friend
Rene Rosado as Emilio Rodriguez (seasons 1–5), the father of Becky's daughter Beverly Rose
Estelle Parsons as Beverly Harris (seasons 1–3, 5–6), Jackie and Roseanne's mother
Johnny Galecki as David Healy (seasons 1 & 2), Darlene's ex-husband
Natalie West as Crystal Anderson (seasons 1 & 6), a longtime family friend who married Dan's father, Ed, Sr. and is mother of Dan's two half siblings, Ed Jr. and Angela, and his stepbrother, Lonnie
Matthew Broderick as Peter (season 1), Jackie's freeloader boyfriend
Eliza Bennett as Odessa (season 2), Harris' friend whom she temporarily moves in with
Noel Fisher as Ed Conner Jr. (season 2), Dan's half brother
Alexandra Billings as Robin (seasons 3–5), a supervisor at Wellman Plastics and Darlene's mentor
Nat Faxon as Neville Goldufski (season 3–7), Louise's younger brother who is a veterinarian and who later becomes Jackie's second husband
Evelina Fernandez as Juanita (season 3), a co-worker of Darlene and Becky's at Wellman's who worked with Roseanne and Jackie
Fernandez had previously recurred as Juanita in the first season of Roseanne
Brian Austin Green as Jeff (seasons 3 & 4), a co-worker of Darlene's at Wellman's
Andrew Leeds as Nick (season 4), Darlene's boyfriend
Matt Walsh as Glen (season 4), Becky's professor and boyfriend
Christopher Lloyd as Lou (season 4), Bev's retirement home boyfriend and later Mark's contrabassoon teacher
Sean Astin as Tyler (season 5–7), Becky's boyfriend.
Charlotte Sanchez as Beverly Rose (season 4, Ep 9.–7), Becky's daughter with Emilio Rodriguez.
Guests
Mary Steenburgen as Marcy Bellinger, a neighbor from whom Roseanne obtained prescription pills
Juliette Lewis as Blue, David Healy's new girlfriend Lewis and Galecki previously played siblings in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.
Justin Long as Neil, Darlene's brief love interest. She later breaks up with him when she realizes she is attracted to Ben.
Sarah Chalke as Andrea, the woman for whom Becky was planning to be a surrogate in the tenth season of Roseanne
Chalke had portrayed Becky Conner in seasons 6 & 7 (after Lecy Goranson left the show to attend college), three episodes of 8 (when Lecy Goranson came back but was unavailable) and all of nine (when Lecy Goranson left again)
Peter Gallagher as Brian Foster, lawyer for Dan in episode "Rage Against the Machine"
Lucy Punch as Kyle's mom
Patrick Fabian as James
Dan Aykroyd as one of Dan's poker buddies in "The Preemie Monologues"
Aykroyd had co-starred with John Goodman in the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000
Paul Reubens as Sandy Bitensky, a local newspaper reporter
Cheryl Hines as Dawn, a food vendor for the Lunch Box whom Jackie befriends
Clark Gregg and Jennifer Grey as Ron and Janelle, a married couple who befriend Jackie and want her to engage in a "throuple" relationship with them
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne as themselves
Paul Hipp as Zack, keyboard player and Louise's brief love interest
Joel Murray as Jim, Dan's longtime contact at the local bank
Danny Trejo as Tito, a neighbor of the Conners suffering from expensive health bills
Candice Bergen as Barb Olinsky, Ben's aloof mother, who reveals Ben's late dad was not his biological father
Sarah Baker as Helen