Roseanne Conner is getting killed off from “The Conners” in the worst way possible: she’ll die of an opioid overdose.
Roseanne Barr, her portrayer, revealed the cause of death on a YouTube interview over the weekend. “There’s nothing I can do about it,” she says. “It’s done. It’s over.”
Even though I disapproved of Roseanne’s Valerie Jarrett tweet, and her behavior since then, this seems unnecessarily harsh. Roseanne Conner doesn’t die a hero, or bravely fighting a disease. It’s a cruel end.
Barr says in the interview that the death and the treatment of the Conner family is “insulting.”
The plan is to discuss the death for 10 episodes. By week 2, the fans should be gone. “The Conners” already feels like “AfterMASH,” a sequel that should not exist. “Archie Bunker’s Place” also felt like a nasty and caustic coda to “All in the Family.” These sequels are pointless without their central characters. Just ask Cloris Leachman about “Phyllis.”
So don’t be surprised if “The Conners” doesn’t get renewed. The first couple of weeks will be big out of curiosity. Then– sounds kind of dismal.