Roseanne Barr, the polarizing star of the original Roseanne sitcom, had no idea that its spinoff, The Conners, ended after seven seasons, her son Jake Pentland told Us Weekly. Pentland, 47, said the family ignored the show after Barr's 2018 firing.
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"We don't care about cheap knockoffs," Pentland said. "We support the real brands and focus on what matters to Americans."
Speaking to TMZ earlier that day, he admitted neither Barr, 72, nor their family watched a single episode of The Conners or knew it recently concluded.
Despite the sharp words, Pentland expressed relief for the The Conners crew. "We're glad they got seven seasons of work," he said. "That chapter of Mom's career is closed for good."
A Controversial Exit
ABC revived Roseanne in 2018, bringing back Barr alongside John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, and Lecy Goranson. The reboot, a continuation of the 1988-1997 series, earned a second season but imploded when Barr posted controversial political comments on social media. ABC swiftly canceled Roseanne and rebranded it as The Conners, moving forward without Barr.
The spinoff killed off Barr's character, Roseanne Conner, via an opioid overdose, a move Barr criticized. "It lent an unnecessary grim dimension to a happy family show," Barr and her rabbi, Shmuley Boteach, told Us Weekly after the 2018 premiere. They lamented ABC's decision to end Roseanne by eliminating its central figure.
Barr later shared the personal toll of her exit. "I can't bear to watch it," she told The Los Angeles Times in February 2023. "When they killed my character, it felt like a message to me, knowing my mental health struggles, that they wanted me to commit suicide."
A Legacy Overshadowed
The Conners finale notably used archive footage of the original cast but excluded Barr. The spinoff followed the Conner family navigating life after their matriarch's death, leaning on the remaining ensemble's chemistry.
Pentland's comments reflect Barr's detachment from the project. While the family harbors no ill will toward the cast and crew, their focus remains elsewhere. "We're done with it," Pentland said, signaling Barr's intent to move beyond the saga.
