Although The Conners season 7 will bring back Roseanne characters who have not yet been seen in the spinoff,
29 Years Ago, Roseanne's Best Christmas Episode Made Television History
Roseanne may not be ed as the most groundbreaking sitcom in TV history but, 29 years ago, The Conners' predecessor featured a major first.
Since The Conners has a large cast of characters, it makes sense for the show’s truncated final season to focus primarily on the main family. However, this has been an issue for the series in the past. When The Conners first killed off Roseanne, the sitcom spinoff struggled with the absence of its former title character. The show used to revolve around Roseanne Barr’s pithy heroine, so it was tough to see who would replace her as its primary focus. Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie, Sara Gilbert's Darlene, and Roseanne’s widower, John Goodman’s Dan, all played the show’s protagonist in different episodes.
The Conners’ First Christmas Episode Pointed Out Louise’s Limited Role
Jackie Didn’t Want Dan’s Girlfriend In The Family’s Christmas Card
However, The Conners wisely refused to use Katey Sagal’s Louise as a replacement for Roseanne. From her first appearance in the series, Louise made it clear that she was romantically interested in Dan but did not want to be a surrogate mother to his grown children. This was a good boundary for her to set, but it did leave the spinoff unsure of how to incorporate her into its sprawling multi-generational family. The Conners struggled to define Louise’s role in the series and, although the show acknowledged this with season 2’s Christmas special, it remains an issue in season 7.
Jackie became angry when Dan said that Louise should be part of the family’s Christmas card and Jackie shouldn’t.
In season 2, episode 9, “Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action,” Jackie became angry when Dan insisted that Louise should be part of the family’s Christmas card and Jackie shouldn’t. Jackie did bait the reaction by constantly criticizing and belittling Louise, but she had a point when she told Dan’s love interest that she didn’t want Louise to replace her recently deceased sister. ' Christmas episode ended with Louise pointing out that she didn’t want to replace Roseanne and even promising Jackie that she would ask her permission before marrying Dan. This ended their feud, but not the character’s struggles.
Jackie and Louise Ended Their Conners Feud In This Christmas Episode
Jackie Accepted That Louise Wasn’t Trying To Replace Roseanne
Jackie and Louise bonded in The Conners’ first Christmas episode, but the show still had a hard time working out Louise’s role in the series as the spinoff continued. Louise remained a peripheral figure in the eponymous family, occasionally dropping in to provide a punchline or a subplot but never receiving substantial focus and attention from the narrative. Season 5 saw Louise leave for a tour that lasted several episodes, meaning Sagal’s character felt even more distanced from the rest of the regular cast. Some of the highest-rated episodes of The Conners didn’t even include an appearance from her.
Early on, “Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action” made it clear that Jackie wouldn’t make it easy for Louise to the Conner clan. The family was bonded through years of struggling, and they had recently gone through the heartbreak of losing Roseanne, so building trust with a new person understandably took time and patience. However, this never paid off in later seasons. Instead, Louise’s storyline in the series lurched from one plot to another, never quite coalescing or adding up. After a lengthy tour at least established her love of playing music, Louise suddenly retired in season 5's finale.
The Conners Never Integrated Louise Into Its Main Cast
Season 5’s Real-Life Injury Reduced Katey Sagal’s Screen Time
Although Sagal’s real-life recovery from a car accident did limit her season 5 screen time, The Conners had already undervalued her storylines for three further seasons at that point. “Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action” had the chance to give Louise a meaningful role in The Conners, either as Jackie’s new nemesis or a firm friend of hers. However, the pair instead established an uneasy détente that never changed in subsequent seasons. Furthermore, The Conners season 7’s “Farewell event” has too many other characters to focus on for the show to now suddenly center on Louise's story.
The Conners Cast Member |
Character |
|---|---|
John Goodman |
Dan Conner |
Laurie Metcalf |
Jackie Harris-Goldufski |
Sara Gilbert |
Darlene Conner-Olinsky |
Lecy Goranson |
Becky Conner-Healy |
Katey Sagal |
Louise Conner |
Emma Kenney |
Harris Conner-Healy |
Ames McNamara |
Mark Conner-Healy |
The Conners season 7 must show viewers how Harris is handling the responsibilities of running The Lunchbox, what happened with Mark’s sketchy email scam job, and how Ben’s purchase of Hardware magazine impacted the family’s finances. The spinoff needs to update viewers on Becky and Tyler’s blossoming relationship and check in on Darlene’s hunt for a better job, and all of these stories must take precedence over Louise’s character evolution. After “Smoking Penguins and Santa on Santa Action,” The Conners had plenty of time to focus on Louise in later seasons. Unfortunately, seasons 2-6 of Roseanne’s spinoff wasted this opportunity.
The Conners Season 7 Can Still Fix Louise’s Role
Dan and Louise Need A Storyline That Brings Them Together
Fortunately, The Conners season 7 doesn’t have to center Dan and Louise to fix their story. Season 6 of the spinoff did reveal that Louise was elected to a position on the school board and, although this subplot received scarcely any attention from the series, it could make her season 7 storyline memorable and insightful. Louise’s school board position could show a new side of her in The Conners season 7 without this subplot necessarily dominating the sitcom’s action. After all, Louise had already won the school board election and taken on her new role by season 6’s ending.
The Conners season 7's shorter story can give Louise a purpose without forcing Sagal’s character to take up an undue amount of screen time.
As such, The Conners season 7 doesn’t need to depict the minutiae of Louise’s school board campaign or the specifics of her policies. Instead, the spinoff can pick up as she takes on her new role and faces the challenges involved in the position. Through this plot, The Conners season 7’s shorter story can give Louise a purpose without forcing Sagal’s character to take up an undue amount of screen time. This could allow The Conners to fulfill the false promise of season 2’s Christmas episode by making the Roseanne spinoff’s new character a true member of the family.
The Conners season 7's "Six episode farewell event" will air in March 2025.
Source: TVLine
- Network
- ABC
- Cast
- Nick Offerman, Noel Fisher, Patton Oswalt, Paul Reubens
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 7
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
