Actress Roseanne Barr, pictured 2014, will revive her iconic sitcom "Roseanne" for ABC. — AFP/VNA Photo |
NEW YORK — It was the smash-hit sitcom that entertained millions in the 1980s and 1990s and now it’s back: Roseanne will again grace US television screens in 2018, ABC has announced.
Returning for a limited season of eight episodes, the revival will reunite the original cast, led by Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, who played working-class parents Roseanne and Dan Conner struggling to get by.
"There’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne," said Channing Dungey, entertainment president of ABC, in a statement.
"The Conner family will continue to deal with the economic challenges of living pay check to pay check in 2018," ABC said.
Also returning are Sara Gilbert, who played their daughter Darlene, Michael Fishman as son DJ, Lecy Goranson as Becky and Laurie Metcalf as Roseanne’s sister Jackie. Sarah Chalke, who played Becky in later seasons, will play another role, ABC said.
Set in the fictional Illinois town of Lanford, the show ran for nine seasons from 1988 to 1997, and was at the time one of the highest-rated television series on air.
Barr ran for president as a Green Party candidate in 2012, but failed to win the party nomination. She has been one of the few celebrities to publicly defend US President Donald Trump, both during last year’s campaign and since he took office.
Since Roseanne, Goodman has moved on to the big screen, playing roles in movies such as The Big Lebowski and The Flintstones.
On television, he played a Republican senator in Alpha House, a political comedy about four senators sharing a house in Washington, which ran in 2013 and 2014. — AFP