AlthoughThe Connersseason 7 might be a fitting end toRoseanne’s uneven history, I still fear that the final outing of the sitcom spinoff will force me to face numerous harsh realities about the series.The Connersseason 7will bring the family sitcom to an end for the third time. Back when it was calledRoseanne, the sitcom originally ran for nine seasons, from 1988 until 1997.Roseanne’s final season was roundly reviledby critics, and its finale even retconned the events of season 9 to make up for this misstep. Then cameRoseanneseason 10.
The Conners: 20 Best Episodes, Ranked
The Conners doesn’t always manage to live up to Roseanne’s legacy, but the sitcom spinoff’s best episodes give its predecessor a run for its money.
2017’sRoseannerevival went even further, retconning both season 9 and its finale. Season 10 picked up decades after season 8 ended and enjoyed critical and ratings success. However, star Roseanne Barr’s racist remarks onTwitterled to her firing before season 11 entered production. Thus, the sitcom was retooled, her character was killed off, andThe Connerswas born.The Conners’ large cast of charactersmeant the show could continue without Roseanne at its center, although it took a while to find its feet. By season 4, the series was as strong as its predecessor at its best.
8The Conners Has No Solid Spinoff Options After Season 7’s Ending
None Of The Show’s Characters Could Sustain A Spinoff Of Their Own
However,there are some thingsRoseannecould do thatThe Connerscould not, and one is setting up a successful spinoff. Roseanne’s abrupt exit forcedRoseanneto becomeThe Connersor suddenly end, and dropping the show’s former title character allowed the series to focus more on Dan, Jackie, DJ, Darlene, Becky, and Darlene’s children, Mark and Harris. In contrast,The Connersseason 7 can’t set up another spinoff that extends the show’s universe further. WhileThe Big Bang Theoryset upYoung SheldonandYoung Sheldonset upGeorgie & Mandy’s First Marriage,Roseanne’s story is less conducive to spinoffs.
For one thing,Roseanne’s story is linear.The Connerspicked up whereRoseanneseason 10 revival left off, much likeRoseanne’s revival picked up where season 9 ended. Any subsequent spinoff could reasonably be expected to continueThe Connersseason 7’s story. The problem is that the sitcom doesn’t have a specific character who requires a spinoff of their own.The Connersseason 7 has no spinoff potentialbecause its most beloved character, Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie, has been around sinceRoseanneseason 1. Meanwhile, the idea of a Darlene-centric spinoff was already rejected back in 2018, according toVariety.
7Mark’s The Conners Character Arc Is Almost Sure To End Badly
Mark’s Ambition Has Cost Him Dearly On Numerous Occasions
The fact that the sitcom has little spinoff potential means thatThe Connersseason 7 is likely to be the sitcom franchise’s final outing. There is always the possibility of reboots and reunions, but a direct continuation seems unlikely.Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriagewas announced beforeYoung Sheldon’s final season even began, so the fact thatThe Connersseason 7 isn’t far off and there have been no rumors of a follow-up doesn’t bode well. This is particularly bad news for Darlene’s son, Mark, who was last seen in a tricky situation. His happy ending seems vanishingly unlikely.
Some of Mark’s best character development inThe Connerscame from the fallout of his schemes, but his sketchy new job proves he still values ambition over sense.
In season 6, episode 13, “Less Money, More Problems,” Mark began working with online scammers so he could save for college. This mirrored his earlier schemes in season 4 when he abused prescription ADHD medication to study harder and saved up for tuition by letting other students purchase admission essays from him. Some of Mark’sbest character development inThe Connerscame from the fallout of his schemes, but his sketchy new job proves he still values ambition over sense. It seems almost inevitable thatThe Connersseason 7 will end with him getting caught and facing serious consequences.
6Harris’s Lunchbox Plot May End Early In The Conners Season 7
Emma Kenney Wrapped Up Filming Suspiciously Soon
Mark was first introduced as a model student, but later seasons ofThe Connersproved that he had an ambitious edge that would eventually get him into trouble. In contrast, Mark’s sister, Harris, originally seemed like a slacker with no ambition at all. When viewers first encountered Harris inRoseanneseason 10, she was an obnoxious Gen Z stereotype whose only purpose was to prove Roseanne was a better mother than Darlene. After Roseanne was killed off, Harris became more bearable but remained obstinately directionless. That seemed to change in season 6, but season 7’s brevity may jeopardize her growth.
Harris took over control of Jackie’s restaurant, The Lunchbox, in the season 6 premierewhen Jackie admitted she didn’t enjoy running the place anymore. Harris’s story seemed to finally have some momentum thanks to this event, but her character arc remained frustratingly stagnant for much of season 6.Harris’sThe Connersseason 7 storycould potentially see her start transform the restaurant and take on more responsibility, but actor Emma Kenney wrapping up filming early in October 2024 doesn’t bode well in this regard. It seems like Harris may play a smaller role in season 7, judging by this behind-the-scenes update.
5The Conners Season 7 Is Unlikely To Revive Bev’s Story
This Roseanne Star’s Character Arc Ended Abruptly In Season 6
Mark and Harris are major characters, butThe Connersseason 7 owes its supporting stars a proper sendofftoo. Unfortunately, at least one major character who has been around sinceRoseanneseason 1 is unlikely to receive much story focus. Estelle Parsons’ Bev suffered dementia in season 5, and this illness led her to finally reconcile with Jackie. An experimental drug trial seemingly cured her dementia and granted her newfound freedom in season 6, leading her to take a train trip across America on a whim. This goodbye felt forced and rushed, but season 7 likely won’t have enough screen time for anything more substantial.
4The Conners Will Almost Certainly Never Have Another Holiday Special
The Conners Season 7 Arrives At The Wrong Time Of Year
If there is one thing that bothRoseanneandThe Connersexcel at, it is holiday specials. Both sitcoms use the sitcom staple as an excuse to get the entire family into the same location at the same time, and the resulting conflicts are often as moving as they are funny. One ofThe Conners’ highest-rated episodes, season 2, episode 7, “Slappy Holidays,” centered on a heated fight between Jackie and Darlene.Roseanneseason 5, episode 12, “It’s No Place Like Home For The Holidays,” illustrated the dark reality of David Healy’s abusive home life.
The show’s creators already missed Halloween 2024 and Thanksgiving 2024 and are likely to miss Christmas 2024, too.
As evidenced by these outings,RoseanneandThe Connersnever hid from the darker side of family life in their respective holiday episodes. This is why it is such a shame thatThe Connersseason 7 is unlikely to feature any holiday specials. The outing is expected to arrive between late 2024 and early 2025. This means the show’s creators already missed Halloween 2024 and Thanksgiving 2024 and are likely to miss Christmas 2024, too. Considering season 6 featured no holiday episodes either, this unfortunate scheduling means the sitcom spinoff’s final outing can’t revive a long-time tradition.
3The Conners Season 7’s Ending Is Likely To Be A Letdown
The Truncated 6-Episode Season Has Insufficient Screen Time
The Connersseason 7’s brief 6-episode run most likely won’t have time to wrap up everyone’s storylines, since the show has such a large, sprawling cast. There are Harris’s attempts to establish herself as a restaurateur, along with Mark’s illegal new job and his desperate desire to pay for his University of Chicago tuition. There is Dan’s strained relationship with his financially dependent mother-in-law Crystal, as well as his marriage to Louise and struggles with retirement. There is Louise’s role as the new head of the school board, something season 6 barely even mentioned after she won the election.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
This rundown hasn’t even addressedRoseanne’s saddest character arc, the story of Becky. Becky has been put through the wringer by both the original show and its spinoff, but her relationship with Tyler and her attempts to graduate from her Psychology course may need to take a backseat. After all, she will be vying for screen time with Darlene and Ben, the former of whom is still searching for a decent job and the latter of whom has just bought a magazine. Since Ben previously ran a magazine that had to shut its doors, this plot seems destined for disaster.
2The Conners Is Finally Ending After 36 Years
Roseanne’s Story Has Lasted Decades
Even if everything ends alright for Ben, Becky, Darlene, Dan, and everyone else in the show’s massive family, there is no avoiding the fact thatThe Connersseason 7 is likely to be the last time viewers see the stars ofRoseannetogether on-screen. As outlined above, the series isn’t likely to spawn a spinoff and its storyline has already lasted over three and a half decades. In a way, this makes its ending understandable. However, when I look back on thebest seasons of The Conners, I find it hard not to feel like the series could have explored Lanford’s favorite family for a little longer.
1Roseanne Characters Are Not Likely To Appear In The Conners Season 7
The Spinoff’s Final Outing Can’t Bring Back Its Original Stars
I would love to see all of Roseanne’s best guest stars inThe Connersseason 7, but this is unlikely to happen. The late, great Martin Mull passed away earlier in 2024, meaning Mark will never meetRoseanne’s groundbreaking LGBTQ+ character Leon Carp in the spinoff. Since Roseanne was killed off for good reason, there is no way of bringing back Roseanne Barr that wouldn’t seem tasteless and tacky. Other stars, like Booker’s actor George Clooney, have gone on to bigger things. Regardless of the reason,The Connersseason 7 can’t bring back all ofRoseanne’s original stars for the spinoff’s final outing.
The Hollywood ReporterreportedThe Connersseason 7 will debut in late 2024 or early 2025.
