When Roseanne debuted on ABC in 1988, it was groundbreaking in that it was one of the first shows of its kind of portray an honest look at a regular, imperfect blue-collar family that didn’t necessarily have to “learn a lesson” at the end of 22 minutes. With the series set to come back as an eight episode mid-season revival early next year however, many have been wondering exactly what Roseanne will look like 30 years later in 2018 — in an America that has become a starkly different place.
And now we know that yes, the revival will apparently reflect the Trump-era reality for many Americans, according to ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey, who spoke at the Banff World Media Festival on Monday. Although Dungey says that Roseanne Barr may or may not actually mention President Trump by name, she’s “going to speak very honestly” and that the revival will be “tackling some of the topics that are in the conversation today.”
In what may be a response to the reaction of the cancellation of Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing, Dungey elaborated that ABC is pushing for programming that speak to all Americans, including those who elected Trump as president.
“What the election revealed was that there’s parts of our country that didn’t feel heard, that they didn’t have a voice. When you look at how the polling data went in the run-up to the election, it was kind of big surprise to many people that the election turned out as it did,” she recalled.
It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how this pans out — especially given that Barr herself has never been shy (or necessarily coherent) about voicing her support of the president. Does this mean that Roseanne and Dan will be Trump supporters in 2018? Or, given that Sara Gilbert’s character is almost certainly going to be gay in the revival, will dinners around the Conner table be every bit as awkward as our own? Those conversations might hit just a little too close to home.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
