ABC/Adam RoseRoseanne was one of the defining television shows of the early 1990s. Unlike many of its contemporaries, Roseanne focused on the struggles of a working-class Illinois family and realistically portrayed the financial and family hardships of the Connors. Now, Roseanne returns to ABC on March 17th, and these Roseanne reboot photos show that some things have changed, but others have stayed the same.
The entire cast has returned for the 2018 Roseanne revival, plus a few new additions to the Conner family. As the Roseanne reboot photos show, the series will still be keeping its core focus the same: dealing with political and family issues, which was always a key proponent of the series, even in the early days when it dealt with LGBTQ issues and racism.
The Roseanne cast and crew are all geared up for their return, and it doesn’t look like they are going to shy away from the politics of today. Roseanne herself has always been an outspoken person, and if the series is to retain the same voice, it’s a sure bet that the political commentary will be running rampant.
The whole Conner family is back (plus a few additions). Even though Dan Conner (John Goodman) famously died in the series’ controversial 9th season, he’ll be written back into the show, presumably through some heavy retconning.
Both actresses who played Becky Conner will also be returning. Alicia Goranson will be reprising the role which she played originally. Sarah Chalke, who played Becky when Goranson left, will be playing a woman who hires Becky to be a surrogate.
ABCLaurie Metcalf will also be returning to the series as Roseanne’s sister Jackie. As these Roseanne reboot photos show, Jackie is still politically engaged, wearing a pink hat and a shirt making reference to Trump’s comments about Hilary Clinton.
Some things haven’t changed in the 2018 Roseanne revival (like the old blanket still hung over the back of the couch), and others have, like the addition of the Conner grandchildren Mark (Ames McNamara) and Mary (Jayden Rey). Mark is named after his late uncle, who was played in the original series by Glenn Quinn. Quinn died of a heroin overdose in 2002.
The air of familiarity seen in these Roseanne reboot photos really adds to the excitement that the series is making a return. Here we see the Conner family sitting around the same kitchen table that was always there in every opening credits sequence.
Sara Gilbert also makes her return to the series as Darlene Conner, the troublesome youngest daughter. Now, fully grown and a mother herself, it looks like Darlene will still have to go to Roseanne for comfort and advice.
It also seems like Roseanne and Dan will still be going strong in the 2018 Roseanne revival. Just as they would argue about how to deal with the kids or any of their other issues in the past, the couple appears to still have their disagreements. Here it looks like they are hashing things out in the Conner garage (which also hasn’t changed much in over 20 years)
ABC
Also new to the show is Sara Kenney, who will be playing Darlene’s daughter, Harris. Kenney most recently starred on Shameless. It will be interesting to see how the new cast members work with the original ones.
No matter how much older the cast gets, some things in the Roseanne reboot won’t change, such as Dan and Roseanne having a good laugh at Darlene’s expense.
ABC
It also seems like the relationship between Roseanne and Jackie hasn’t changed. Roseanne will still probably have to deal with all of her sister’s craziness.
The parents and the kids will still get to have their moments together. Dan and Darlene will even be sharing a toast together in the garage (Darlene’s now old enough to have a beer with her dear old Dad).
After everything they’ve been through, Dan and Roseanne are still in love and sharing the same bed. Roseanne is even wearing the famous chicken shirt! Some things never change.
