You might remember around the holidays last year I went to the STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI Press Junket! While in LA I got to visit the ROSEANNE set and have an exclusive interview with with stars Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, and Michael Fishman. We also had a surprise visit from Roseanne Barr, herself! I was so excited to hear ROSEANNE was coming back and to be on the set. It was like I was flooded with memories from the 1988!
Let’s face it- Old is New
We need a show like ROSEANNE. When the show first aired, I remember thinking, ” Oh my god, that’s our family!” It was the first show that portrayed a normal dysfunctional family. It wasn’t peaches and cream, everyone didn’t do or say the right things, they fought and they loved each other for who they were.
The cast is back plus more:
The series stars Roseanne Barr as Roseanne Conner, John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy and Jayden Rey as Mary Conner.
We can also look forward to seeing other familiar faces like Sarah Chalke, James Pickens, Adilah Barnes, Natalie West, and Estelle Parsons. Gilbert, would love to see more people, “There’s so many people that we had over the years and because it is only nine episodes, and we’ve added three characters, it’s already difficult to service everybody who’s here. So, I think we’ve gotten a couple, but I wish there was room for more.”
Sara Gilbert knew that this was the year to revive the iconic show. She originally made a joke about bringing it back to “Johnny” and when he said yes, Sara ran with it. She also told us why now was ROSEANNE’s time.
It’s this very real thing of loving the people you work with and then loving the characters and loving the show and being proud of it. I think that’s the unique part that makes it possible for all of us to come back. There’s more to say.
It doesn’t really feel like a sitcom. Sometimes we’re doing it, and it’s “wow, this is heavy,” but we handle everything with humor. People deal with all these heavy topics. You want be able to make an impact and help people see their stories represented on television.
I felt like our country is so divided. This is a working class family that can have varying political views even within the family but still love each other. I thought what a great way to try to help unite people, have people listen to each other. I strongly believe that we can disagree without being so divided.
Michael Fishman (D.J.) added, “The show resonates with people because we deal with real-life topics, and it’s not always pretty and it’s not always easy. And real life’s not, either.”
What Happened over the last two decades?
I was able to screen a few episodes and won’t be giving any spoiler alerts but I will say, it will not disappoint. In true Roseanne fashion you will say Oh my god while laughing. They hit the heavy topics of our time and show that humor can be found and a family or people can have different views without being divided. The hour-long premiere will recap and reveal what happened during their absence. Michael Fishman (DJ) said, “It’ll all make sense for fans.”
Sara Gilbert tells us where Darlene is now and where is David?
Darlene is basically a single parent. David has been in and out slightly, over the years. I don’t think she’s fully moved on when our season starts. But she’s just been getting by with these two kids, and she’s moved back home. She always dreamt of being a writer, and that dream, as happens in life, gets knocked down the totem pole. Part of her arc over the season is seeing if she’ll go back and chase that dream or take a safe path to take care of her kids.
Lecy Goranson tells us about Becky.
Becky is a widow and she is a waitress. And she really likes to drink. But I also think she’s very strong. I mean she’s struggling, but she’s fighting. She’s fighting to have her life together. And she’s a little arrested, but she’s working on it.
What about the “other” Becky?
Sarah Chalke is involved. She’s not playing Becky, but she’s playing another role that’s linked to Becky [new character Andrea]…in a few episodes. There’s so many people that we had over the years. Because it’s only nine episodes and we’ve added three characters, it’s already difficult to service everybody who’s here. I think we’ve gotten a couple, but I wish there was room for more.
Michael Fishman is still attached to DJ.
DJ is married. He has a daughter. DJ came out of the military and is kind of struggling to re-establish himself. His wife is actually still active in the military. So, there’s that juxtaposition of feeling strongly connected and proud of what he did, but a little frustrated because he isn’t quite ready to move on and not sure of what he wants to do next.
Behind the scenes with Easter Eggs
The infamous chicken! Sara Gilbert tells us it’s (somewhat) back in the first episode. Lecy Goranson tells us “The funny thing about the chicken shirt is that the original chicken shirt is lost. Now you can buy a chicken shirt online. So, they bought the chicken shirt, but they had to realign it so it would look like the original one.”
Sara Gilbert laughed as she told us about more cast and crew inside jokes, “We’ve seen the meat stinks shirt. I saw Wellman’s Plastics shirt the other day. Somebody was wearing one of the jackets we got Season 1 or Season 2.”
They also will be bringing back John Goodman’s original boots (25 years old)!
Look for Laurie (Jackie) wearing the t-shirt of Mr. Laughy during a scene with Roseanne this season. Lecy Goranson shared, “There’s this iconic photo that used to be on set of Michael as a little boy and he had a bowtie (Fishman admits this photo came from his preschool graduation). We used to call him Mr. Laughy. That image was Mr. Laughy ’cause he looked kind of like a vaudevillian, old-time kind of comic, or almost like a ventriloquist doll. And then there was a t-shirt made of it.”
The set!
The first thing I noticed was the iconic couch with the afghan. It was like taking a step back into 1988 only this time it felt vintage.
Photos of the cast throughout the years and knick knacks littered the living room and I was touched when I saw a memorial framed of the late Glenn Quinn (Mark Healy) who passed away in 2002. 
The excitement of standing in this very room with so much American Television history was overwhelming, I wanted to touch everything and I expected one of the Connors to walk through the door. 
The kitchen hadn’t changed and the 1988 phone still hung on the wall, the pantry was full of food, and it looked “lived in”. 
Look close at the photos and see what you spot! 
Catch the special hour-long premiere on Tuesday, March 27th, (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on ABC. Roseanne will air in its regular time slot, 8:00-8:30 p.m., beginning Tuesday, April 3rd, followed by “The Middle,” which will move to 8:30 p.m.
I never watched this show back in the day and probably won’t now that it’s back (not much of a TV person) but regardless, what an awesome experience! I love set visits. But at the same time, I don’t because they ruin the “magic” of TV for me – ha! That being said, my husband is an actor so um, yeah… My view on TV and movies has been ruined since I met him!