How do you solve a problem like Roseanne Barr? If you’re ABC, giving her eponymous show the axe might just not cut it.
In one fell swoop in May, the comedian got herself fired and her hit ABC show canceled for a racist tweet about former Barack Obama aide Valerie Jarrett.
Weeks after the scandal, however, a spin-off titled “The Conners” was picked up by the network, which will reunite the revival’s cast sans the titular star. But exactly how the new series will proceed in Barr’s absence hasn’t been revealed until now.
In a Times of London profile published Sunday, actor John Goodman, who reprised his role as Barr’s husband Dan in the revival, said her character will be six feet under by the time “The Conners” premieres in October.
“I guess he’ll be mopey and sad because his wife’s dead,” Goodman said of his character in the spin-off.
Representatives for ABC did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
While Goodman only referred to Barr as a former work friend in the interview, he vehemently defended her against those who’ve labeled her a racist.
“I was surprised. I’ll put it this way, I was surprised at the response.” Another pause. “And that’s probably all I should say about it, Goodman told the outlet about the reaction to Barr’s tweet.
He added: “I know, I know, for a fact that she’s not a racist.
Barr has since apologized and tried to explain herself ― as if an entire catalog of her other seriously troubling tweets didn’t exist. But the network was resolute in its decision to break its ties with her, with ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey describing her comment about Jarrett as “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values.”
After the abrupt cancellation of the series that had garnered an impressive 27.3 million viewers for its premiere episode (and a phone call from President Donald Trump), Goodman revealed he dealt with a depressive episode.
“I was broken-hearted, but I thought, ‘OK, it’s just show business, I’m going to let it go.’ But I went through a period, about a month, where I was very depressed,” he said. “I’m a depressive anyway, so any excuse that I can get to lower myself, I will. But that had a great deal to do with it, more than I wanted to admit.”
Goodman said he hasn’t had any contact with Barr since the revival’s cancellation save for an email exchange in which he thanked her for relinquishing her rights to the show, so the spin-off could remain an option for the network.
“I did not hear anything back, but she was going through hell at the time,” he said of their correspondence. “And she’s still going through hell.”
But there’s one thing he’s learned from Barr’s mess: tweeting never leads to anything good.
“I’ve never tweeted or twarted, it’s not useful for me,” Goodman said. “I’m ultra-sensitive. I’m not interested in what anybody else has to say.”
To read Goodman’s full profile, head over to The Times.
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