All Barr One

Could ‘Roseanne’ Come Back Without Roseanne?

‘Roseanne’ without Roseanne? In the era of spinoffs, it might not be the craziest idea ever. But could a paycheck to Barr for her intellectual property put ABC off?

ABC was quick to can Roseanne after its eponymous star tweeted that President Obama’s adviser Valerie Jarrett was a product of the “Muslim brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.”

Now, however, another twist in the tale of Roseanne Barr may be in the cards; reports that the network may soon make an announcement that it is bringing the show back—without its lead star among the cast—are gathering steam.

TMZ claims in a new report that network executives “kicked negotiations into third gear when Tom Werner, who produced Roseanne through his company Carsey-Werner, got involved over the weekend in direct talks with top network brass,” adding, “His involvement has all but sealed the deal.”

TMZ reported earlier in the week that ABC has been exploring the possibility of rebranding the show to focus on Sara Gilbert’s character, Darlene, and that John Goodman and the rest of the cast and crew are said, unsurprisingly, to be “very interested.”

One possible snag that could yet derail the plan is that Barr could still be entitled to a fee for the use of her intellectual property, and the network may be unwilling to do anything that could be construed as rewarding Barr.

If the show does come back, it will be just the latest installment in a remarkable saga.

After an interval of two decades, the show, which focused on a blue-collar family and aired over 230 episodes between 1988 and 1997, was revived for the Trump era, receiving huge attention and impressive ratings.

A second series had already been ordered up when Barr, who has a history of making controversial statements, went on her racist tweet storm, in which, as well as attacking Jarrett, she also tore into George Soros, accusing the financier, who survived the Nazis, of collaborating with them.

When she tried to blame her behavior on the sleep medication Ambien, the drug maker responded with the now-legendary remark that, “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication.”

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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