Thirteen hours after Roseanne quit Twitter, she came back on it with several retweets and one written by herself. She wrote, “Don’t feel sorry for me, guys!!-I just want to apologize to the hundreds of people,and wonderful writers (all liberal) and talented actors who lost their jobs on my show due to my stupid tweet.”
If she were a late night host, then she would use some of her personal money to make sure the people who lost their jobs are taken care of like Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel and Jay Leno all did. But she won’t because when has she has done anything for anyone but herself?
Talking about late night, Kimmel weighed in on her firing on his show. The ABC late host said, “We don’t have much on this network. We’re hoping the NBA finals go 11 games this year. We are still airing America’s Funniest Home Videos. Roseanne was a very bigly hit for ABC and we needed it.” That is such an understatement. They really really really needed it, did I say really.
Kimmel also suggested what his network should do and that is to just rename the sitcom Dan and have everyone else still be part of the show. Or as he put it, “with all the cast members you love.”
While that his suggestion, this is mine. On Tuesdays have Modern Family at 8p and Speechless afterward. Then on Wednesday The Goldbergs leads the night, followed by its spinoff Schooled, American Housewife goes to 9p and Single Parents closes the night. Finally make it Retro Fridays with the ’90s based Fresh Off The Boat leading off the night and then take it back to the ’70s with The Kids are All Right at 8:30p. I can’t think of what else they can do to save their fall. What do you think they should do?
UPDATE: Roseanne does not want people to stand up for her because, “guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting-it was memorial day too-i went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious Indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it please. ty.” She also released the below statement.
So I when I started writing this story, it was about Wanda Sykes quitting Roseanne. Turns out she was just the pebble in the ocean because ABC cancelled the show. Channing Dungey, president, ABC Entertainment released this statement, “Roseanne’s Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show.”
I am completely blown away. Roseanne was TV’s #1 show and ABC needed a hit. They had one in her show. You would have thought that they would have stayed with it and say screw the controversy. I guess not. My hat is off to ABC. They rightfully took a stand against hate and they are going to pay a big price for it. Yet they don’t care.
Although the way the sitcom was dropping in the ratings, I would assume they saw those numbers coming down the earth and would not be worth their hefty salaries. But it leaves them with a huge hole in their lineup. A HUGE HOLE!
What show will they get to replace to Roseanne, we don’t know, but their new comedies are not strong so I wish them luck.
Back to the original story:
Hours after Roseanne tweeted this “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” about Barack Obama’s White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, who is African-American. Needless to say, everyone is pissed off with her racist tweet.
Wanda Sykes, who was a consulting producer on the sitcom, had this to say about it, “I will not be returning to @RoseanneOnABC.” According to TMZ, Sykes is friends with Jarrett. Seems like that friendship trumped whatever working relationship the two comedians had together. Back in 2014, Sykes was the EP of Last Comic Standing and Roseanne was one of the judges. Bruce Helford, who was the EP, worked with Sykes on her show back in the day.
Sykes was the second producer to leave the show since the season finale. Whitney Cummings was first because her schedule was too busy to do the show.
Sara Gilbert, who went from star of the show to EP and star, tweeted this before the cancellation, “Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least. This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love— one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member.”
When it comes to the revival, let’s be honest, it was not as good as the original. The cast did not have the same chemistry, the writing was painful and the acting felt forced. In a way, it is sad the show’s last episode is its last episode because is absolutely awful, like well…
Talking about last episodes, another reason why this cancellation is a big deal is that ABC is probably going to lose at least one of their biggest shows next season. It has long been rumored that Modern Family is ending. Not only that, I saw that Ellen Pompeo might be ready to hang up her lab coat which would most likely mean the end of Grey’s Anatomy. Plus, we all know that American Idol was not hit they were hoping for. This hole will be costly for them.
Will they vacate their Friday comedy hour and move Fresh Off the Boot and Speechless to Tuesday, moving one of their new sitcoms to Friday. Will they rush through a revival like Scrubs? It shall be interesting.
When it comes to Roseanne, she has not tweeted anything about the show’s cancellation. But she did tweet this, “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.” Too little, too late. Emma Kenney, who played Roseanne’s granddaughter, tweeted, “I am hurt, embarrassed, and disappointed. The racist and distasteful comments from Roseanne are inexcusable.” Then she followed up that Tweet with :As I called my manager to quit working on Roseanne, I was told it was cancelled. I feel so empowered by @iamwandasykes , Channing Dungey and anyone at ABC standing up for morals and abuse of power. Bullies will NEVER win.” This girl is going to be a star, she was the best part about the revival.
Below is Michael Fishman’s statement about the cancellation. He played DJ, Roseanne’s son throughout the show’s entire run.
As we know, ABC picked up Roseanne for another season, but they did not tell us how many episodes there will be. Laurie Metcalf was on Watch What Happens Live the other night and she told Andy Cohen that there will be 13 new episodes in the fall.
Long before the show got a revival, some guy named George Clooney was her love interest on the show. A caller wanted to know what was the best and worst parts about working with the Oscar winner. She said the best part was playing are they or aren’t they. What was the worst part? Not the kissing, but him disappearing after season 1.
You know how Will & Grace feels like no time has passed since it ended its first run? Well, to me, Roseanne does not feel that way. The cast, the acting, the writing and the plots all seem very different from the show we know and love.
I could not figure out why, and then it hit me while I was doing a Before They Were Famous on John Goodman. When the show started out, Roseanne was a comedian, who just had a big break with an HBO comedy special, but she was still not a household name. John Goodman had been acting for around a decade and still had not had his big break. Same with Laurie Metcalf. Plus, the kids were all kids and this was their first big role.
They were hungry, they knew what it was like to be blue collar, to struggle. Today, they are making barrels of cash because of Roseanne being in high rotation in syndication. They are no longer the average man, they are the 1%. They cannot relate to the viewers anymore and I think the feeling is reciprocal. It is just not the same show.
For example, tonight at 8p on ABC, David is back and we find out why he left Darlene. It was not because they were young and stupid when they got together. It is not because they fell out of love. It is not because one of them had an affair. It is not the reason why most teenage couples grow apart. He left her to build houses overseas for people in need.
WTF? This is not the David we knew. He was a timid little mouse who was too afraid to leave Illinois, let alone the country. Darlene, I could see doing it in spite but not David.
That just goes to show how the writers are not only out of touch with the viewers, they are also out of touch with the show and its character. When it comes to the writers, they were just as hungry. Chuck Lorre did not have his own show on #1 show on TV. Joss Whedon was not a huge movie director. They were just two guys getting rumored to have been belittled by Roseanne.
Now you have successful people like Sara Gilbert, Wanda Sykes and Whitney Cummings writing the show. It changed the tone of the sitcom, and it feels like a whole new comedy with the same cast.
I want the Roseanne I watch on LAFF, We TV and TV Land back instead of what is airing on ABC now. I don’t think it is possible, but that is what I want.
What about you? How do you feel about the revival? Do you think it feels the same or different?
And my feelings have nothing to do with Roseanne’s politics, it has everything to with the show feels so forced now and not natural like it was the first go around.
Last week, all pop culture people could talk about is how outrageous Roseanne’sratings were and many correlated the high numbers with her politics. I saw the numbers as being high because it has been a fan favorite for almost 30 years and it still plays in syndication several times a day on several channels. There is still a love for this show and people wanted to go back to Conner home where it was safe. As long as Roseanne was in a good mood. I mean her character…
Anyways, I admit I did not like the three episodes that ABC sent out to the press because I found them to be too political and swaying to one side only. Believe it or, I felt it was too far to the left and not enough over to the right. And I am a leftie, who likes balance. It felt more like their views were being thrown at us as compared to explaining them neutrally like they in the old days. Something that current shows like Superior Donuts and Black-ish do a good job with, but some of the right won’t watch because the casts are people of color. On that note, Roseanne does make a cheap joke about ABC’s Tuesday night comedies, calling them the Black and Asian shows. Maybe there is one political joke tonight, but that is it.
Much to, I am sure, Donald Trump’s disappointment, the Conners only deal with aging and raising kids in the year 2018 on tonight’s episode at 8p on ABC. That is it! It reminded me of how the sitcom used to be and why we are still watching repeats after 3 decades.
What happens tonight? Roseanne’s knee is in bad shape and it is hard for her to get up the stairs. Medicine is expensive, so Dan (John Goodman) steals her a chairlift and it installs it on their stairs. She refuses to use it because she thinks it is for old people.
There are also young people in her house and she is sick of how Darlene’s (Sara Gilbert) daughter Harris (Emma Kenney) is taking advantage of everyone. Harris does not clean up after herself and acts like a queen. Roseanne wants Darlene to punish her, but Darlene does not want to do it. She does not believe in raising kids like she was raised by her parents. Eventually, Roseanne has had enough and takes on Harris. Will the teen learn her lesson or will she revolt even more?
That is something families all over the country deal with. I think this the Roseanne people want to watch. It is the Roseanne I want to watch. I get enough politics during the day, I don’t need at night during my escape from it.
If Roseanne does more episodes like this, instead of hot topic political storylines, then I can see their numbers continue at unbelievable highs. If they keep on being so one-sided, I expect their numbers to fall back to earth next season.
How do you prefer your Roseanne?
One little note, Emma Kenney is the surprise star of this show. She has proven to be a much better actor than some of her older co-stars. The actress is one to watch and I hope they do more episodes focused on her.
