ABC/Business Insider
- ABC is reportedly considering a spinoff of "Roseanne" without Roseanne Barr, but with the rest of the cast.
- Producers and writers will reportedly meet in the coming days to discuss ideas in which Barr would not benefit financially from the new show.
- But there are obstacles, like whether the actors will even return. If the show isn't ready by the fall, ABC will have to figure out how to pay the actors for the canceled season 11.
- The "Roseanne" reboot was canceled this week after Barr posted a racist tweet comparing a former Obama adviser to an ape.
What's "Roseanne" without Roseanne Barr? ABC might try to find out.
According to Entertainment Weekly, ABC is considering a spinoff with "Roseanne" actors - such as John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Sara Gilbert - that isn't technically "Roseanne" so that Barr wouldn't benefit financially from the show (she is its co-creator).
ABC canceled its "Roseanne" reboot on Tuesday after Barr posted a racist tweet against Valerie Jarrett, an adviser to former President Obama, in which she compared Jarrett to an ape. The move was followed by an outpouring of different reactions to the news. Many were glad ABC canceled the show, as this wasn't the first controversy surrounding the reboot and this isn't the first time Barr has made racist comments.
But people also called for Goodman and Metcalf to get their own show, and if ABC really pursues a spinoff, maybe they'll get their wish. Mindy Kaling even tweeted "Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman let me write things for you."
ABC probably considers a spinoff starring the "Roseanne" actors, without Barr, a good compromise to salvage what is left of the reboot (despite the controversies, it was still a ratings success and the most popular show of the year). But there are obstacles to overcome.
Sources told Deadline that the chances of a spinoff with the rest of the "Roseanne" cast were "possible but not probable" and that it's a "long shot" to be ready by the fall. If it's not, as Deadline points out, ABC will have to figure out payment for the actors for the scrapped season 11.
At any rate, Deadline reports that executive producers Tom Werner and Gilbert are expected to meet with series writers and showrunner Bruce Helford in the coming days to discuss ideas.
But getting the actors on board a spinoff could be difficult. According to Entertainment Tonight, Goodman was reluctant to address the possibility of a spinoff, saying "you've heard more than I have." He also didn't seem too torn up about the show's cancellation: "I wasn't gonna get an Emmy anyway. I've been up there [11] times already, and if I didn't get one I'm not gonna get one."
Barr herself has been on a Twitter spree since the show was cancelled, deflecting blame and calling out her co-stars. But on Thursday she tweeted that she "begged" Disney-ABC Television Group President Ben Sherwood to not cancel the show. "I begged4 ppls jobs," she tweeted.
Maybe those jobs will be saved after all if ABC can pull together a "Roseanne" spinoff - just not Barr's.
More on "Roseanne":
- President Trump is mad at Disney's CEO because he apologized for Roseanne Barr's racist comments
- Roseanne Barr said she was sorry, but then went on a Twitter spree deflecting blame for her racist tweet
- Canceling 'Roseanne' may have cost ABC $100 million - but it saved Disney a whole lot more
- ABC cancels 'Roseanne' hours after racist tweet by its star
- Roseanne Barr is under fire after a racist tweet
Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman let me write things for you
- Mindy Kaling (@mindykaling) May 30, 2018
I hate that Roseanne took the livelihoods of cast and crew she didn't speak for with her. Can we just rebrand the show "Dan" and have John Goodman hang out with Jeff Bridges, slowly transitioning the whole thing to a Big Lebowski TV run?
- Richard Jeter (@MilesToGo13) May 29, 2018
just make a show with John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf. nobody ever actually watched Roseanne for Roseanne.
- Matt Binder (@MattBinder) May 29, 2018
Mixed feelings about cancelling Roseanne, while I applaud the network and think it's progress, at the same time hundreds of people just lost their jobs and paid a price for one persons behavior. Couldn't we just recast Roseanne with John Goodman being a single grandpa?
- Robert Kazinsky (@RobertKazinsky) May 29, 2018
That sound you hear is every showrunner in town frantically rewriting their pilot scripts for John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf.
- Jeremy Slater (@jerslater) May 29, 2018
Disney should fire Roseanne and give us an awesome sitcom starring John Goodman & Laurie Metcalf written by @iamwandasykes
- Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) May 29, 2018