John Goodman, star of Roseanne, reminisces about his time on the beloved sitcom, revealing the cast’s hilarious and unorthodox way of bonding on camera. Roseanne aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997 and follows the Conners, a working-class family living in the midwest. Over the course of Roseanne’s initial nine-season run, the series regularly topped Nielsen ratings and attracted millions of weekly viewers.
Roseanne Barr stars as the Conner family’s caustic, brash matriarch. Opposite Barr is as Dan Conner, a good-natured drywall contractor. Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, and Lecy Goranson (plus, for a few seasons, Sarah Chalke) play the Conner children. Laurie Metcalf rounds out the cast as Jackie Harris, Roseanne’s neurotic sister. With the inimitable comedian at the helm, audiences tuned in each week to watch the Conners lovingly wring out comedy from the hardships of blue collar life.
In an interview with cast as amusing the viewers–no small gamble for a series that frequently shot in front of a live studio audience. Read Goodman’s recollection below:
“We’d make each other laugh. My main objective was to try to get Roseanne to wet her pants, which she did if she laughed very hard, so we’d all kind of team in on that.”
In a way, Goodman’s anecdote encapsulates the Conner family’s mix of gentle ribbing and genuine affection. The cast’s iration for one another was confirmed in 2018, when Roseanne returned for a tenth season with the original cast returning. The revival, however, was cut short when Barr posted a controversial racist tweet, causing ABC to fire her and cancel the series. Nonetheless, the remaining cast regrouped for the spin-off, The Conners, shortly after.
Despite Barr’s insensitive remarks and subsequent jeopardization of her cast and crew’s employment, Goodman still praised Barr for giving the go-ahead on The Conners, proving that the laughter-filled Roseanne set has stuck with the actor. The remaining Conner clan are surely cracking each other up on The Conners, though it’s hard to say if they’re still united by the common goal of ruining another cast member’s pants. The Conners is currently airing its fourth season on ABC.
Source: Vanity Fair