I have no doubt Bruce Helford and the people who make “The Conners” are furious with ABC.
The network announced today that the hit comedy will get one more, abbreviated season with just 6 episodes.
Last night, ABC yanked “The Conners” to a death slot– 9:30pm — and the ratings fell by 31% to 2.2 million.
This should be considered murder. “The Conners” always worked best at 8pm. After the first two seasons the show was banished to 9pm, where it almost died. Two years ago, it was restored to 8pm where it flourished again.
Last night, “The Conners” was sent to 9pm so “Jeopardy” could have the prime time family hour. Then came “Abbott Elementary,” ABC’s only claim to the Emmys world. They actually did better than the previous week. But ABC knew “The Conners” was toast, so they moved it to a place where its fans couldn’t find it.
Network TV execs are cold and heartless. There’s no loyalty to anyone or anything. The people behind “The Conners” saved the network when Roseanne Barr imploded and destroyed her revived show. After that scandal, the network could have been left with rubble. But Helford and co. rose to the occasion, killed off Roseanne Conner, and created a whole new, vibrant show. ABC didn’t deserve it.
No doubt the final six episodes will get played off at midnight or something when no one’s around. Years from now, if anyone cares, they’ll remember an amazing cast led by John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Sarah Gilbert, and wonder how they were on network TV in the first place.
