Roseanne and its spinoff The Conners. In the original series, which aired from 1988 to 1997, and as a child actor, Fishman portrayed generally portrayed his character as being the most gullible, naive, and foolish of all his siblings. But as D.J. grew older, the sitcom would shift to tackle weightier themes with the character. In a memorable season 6 episode of Roseanne, for example, the matriarch of the Conner family spanks her son after he steals the car. This becomes an opportunity for an extremely remorseful Roseanne to open up about the abuse that she experienced growing up.
Fishman reprised his role for the short-lived revival of Roseanne, in 2018, which then continued into the spinoff. In the intervening years, it’s revealed that D.J. is now married to Geena Williams-Conner and the two have a daughter named Mary. In certain ways, Fishman grew up with the series and gained the experience to go from a child actor to directing two episodes of the spinoff series — episode 2 of The Conners’ third season and, more recently, episode 3 of The Conners season 4.
In an interview with MovieWeb, Fishman was asked about his experience directing the series and, in particular, working with co-star John Goodman who plays his father Dan. In his response, Fishman had nothing but praise for Goodman. “I never take for granted how amazing it is to stand next to him every day and to play,” Fishman said. He also said the same was true of co-star Laurie Metcalf, who portrays Jackie, and others. The director also shared a story, which illustrates how well Goodman knows his character. You can read that quote below.
“One thing I asked John to do in this episode is a callback to something that we did in some of the early years of the show. He had reactions behind a guest at the house which is something he used to do a lot of, so some of it is just coming back into some of the histories of the character and knowing the history of the character. And saying, “Hey, you know how you used to do this?” He’s like, “Oh yeah. That’s fun. Let me add that!” And so you just kinda make suggestions and you lead in a direction, but part of it is making sure you’ve done your homework and you all the things that should be a part of this character. But not trying to come in and be a dictator as a director, because it just doesn’t work that way.”
Fishman had previously worked behind the camera, for the talk show Fish’s Call Sheet, which he created. In bringing his own knowledge of the Roseanne history to his directorial duties, the D.J. actor helped to add his own personal touches. The Conners season 3 episode that he helmed, which had a Halloween focus, was designed to be reminiscent of a very early Roseanne episode – from 1989 – while still incorporating modern elements.
After working on a show for so many years, main cast have often had the urge to direct. David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller on Friends, directed 10 episodes of the NBC sitcom. And in a whole different genre, Paul Wesley left his brooding as Stefan Salvatore behind to helm a handful of Vampire Diaries episodes. From there, they often apply what they’ve learned to other projects. And given that Fishman has been with The Conners fandom for decades, it makes sense that he’d feel that same impulse to shape the stories he has so often participated in.
Source: MovieWeb