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Here’s How Roseanne Was Killed Off In The ABC Spinoff Show ‘The Conners’

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Jena Greene Reporter
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After much anticipation of the new “Roseanne” spinoff, “The Conners” are forced to grapple with a truth even uglier that Roseanne Barr’s ultimate departure from the show.

The Tuesday premiere of ABC’s “The Conners” almost immediately killed off Roseanne’s character in an opioid overdose. Her family finds stashes of prescription pain killer bottles all over the house and realizes she’d been struggling with addiction. (RELATED: Charlie Sheen’s Reaction To ‘Roseanne’ Getting Cancelled Has Everybody Talking)

 

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“I never would have given them to her if I knew she had a problem,” a neighbor who was providing the pills to Roseanne tells her TV husband Dan, played by John Goodman. “I know what it’s like to have that problem, so I’m sorry.”

“She was going to do what she was going to do,” Dan replies later. “She never listened to a damn person in her life.”

 

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After the episode premiered, “The Conners” showrunner Bruce Helford explained production’s decision behind her death in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter.

“Back in the writers room, we firmly decided against anything cowardly or far-fetched, anything that would make the fierce matriarch of the Conners seem pathetic or debased,” Helford explains in part, later adding, “I wanted a respectful sendoff for her, too: one that was relevant and could inspire discussion for the greater good about the American working class, whose authentic problems are often ignored by broadcast television. If you watched the first episode, I hope you’ll agree we did that.”

Roseanne Barr gave away the ending earlier in September, telling Brandon Straka’s YouTube show “Walk Away,” that “They have [Roseanne Conner] die of an opioid overdose,” adding, “It wasn’t enough to just do what they did to me. They had to so cruelly insult the people who loved that family and that show.”

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