RIP, Roseanne Conner.
With a month still to go before The Conners premieres on ABC, the show's former star and namesake Roseanne Barr (back when it was called Roseanne and the biggest TV revival success story before that tweet heard 'round the world) is speaking out and spoiling the big twist to come by revealing just how the show is writing her out. (This should go without saying, but if you don't want to know, you might want to stop reading now.)
While we've only received hints about how the Conner family will be down a matriarch this October, Barr has seemingly confirmed that Roseanne will have died. The cause of death? Allow her to explain.
"Oh ya, they killed her," she revealed on Brandon Straka's YouTube show Walk Away. "They have her die of an opioid overdose."
The choice for cause of death certainly tracks, as the revival season revealed that Rosie was suffering from a pain pill addiction, one that she told husband Dan she'd try and kick. However, as the final moments in that episode revealed, she still had another secret stash of pills at her ready.
Barr was instrumental in introducing the opioid addiction storyline, but as she revealed in her most recent interview, she's not exactly thrilled that it's the thing that took her character down. "I wanted to show [opioid struggle] in the show," she said. "But I was never going to have Roseanne die of an opioid overdose. It's so cynical and horrible. She should have died as a hero or not at all … It wasn't enough to [fire me], they had to so cruelly insult the people who loved that family and that show."
Of course, there's every possibility that Barr has no idea what she's talking about, given that she's had no involvement in The Conners.
Roseanne roared back to life earlier this year, earning massive ratings and a quick renewal. But a racist tweet aimed at former Obama adviser Valerie Jarret saw ABC take swift action and the show was summarily canceled. "Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show," ABC boss Channing Dungey said in a statement in May following the tweet.
In the weeks that followed, Barr and ABC came to an agreement that would allow the cast and crew to keep their jobs. The Conners was born, with Barr agreeing to relinquish financial ties to the series.
"We have received a tremendous amount of support from fans of our show, and it's clear that these characters not only have a place in our hearts, but in the hearts and homes of our audience," returning stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson, Sara Gilbert and Michael Fishman said in a statement when ABC announced The Conners. "We all came back last season because we wanted to tell stories about the challenges facing a working-class family today. We are so happy to have the opportunity to return with the cast and crew to continue to share those stories through love and laughter."
The Conners premieres Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m. on ABC.