‘The Conners’: Michael Fishman Says He Was Axed From Show
Michael Fishman has revealed that it was not his decision to leave The Conners.
And he says in a new interview that bosses of the sitcom told him he “would not be returning for Season 5” of the sitcom.
The actor, known for playing D.J. Conner on the long-running series Roseanne and its spin-off show, The Conners, has opened up about leaving the ABC show and the impact the role has had on his life.
Speaking to People, Fishman said, “It has been my honor to play DJ Conner. It’s every actor’s dream to be a series regular, especially on a groundbreaking show, where we tackle significant topics. The opportunity to do comedy and drama alongside iconic castmates, while reaching fans in meaningful ways has profoundly impacted my life.”
He continued, “I am proud of the work I did as part of Roseanne and The Conners. Especially the privilege of playing a military veteran, interracial spouse, and the father of a biracial child, portrayed by the amazing Jayden Rey.”
Fishman first debuted in the role of D.J., Roseanne and Dan’s son, in the second episode of Roseanne, succeeding Sal Barone, the child actor who originally played the character in the 1988 pilot. Fishman portrayed D.J. from ages 6 to 15, later returning for the 2018 revival.
He was listed as a series regular on The Conners across the show’s first four seasons, though he only featured in 36 of the spin-off’s 71 episodes. Fishman also worked behind the scenes on the sitcom, directing five episodes of the Emmy-winning series.
“While I was told I would not be returning for Season 5, Lanford was a valuable place to grow up, learn and develop,” Fishman added. “I was incredibly lucky to return home and demonstrate my expansion. As I venture into the world to build the future, I send tremendous love and success to everyone involved in production.”
The Conners, Season 5, Premieres, Wednesday, September 21, 8/7c, ABC
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I never watched the show after they fired Roseanne either! She was the charm that made the show heartwarming, endearing and fun to watch. The cast should have stood up for her and showed some loyalty to the person who made them all TV famous.
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😂
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Famous?
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umm really? Delusional
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The cast should have stood up to this. I have not watched since Roseanne was fired but firing this actor is low.
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Why? He’s barely used in the show now. Out of 71 episodes he’s appeared in 36 and barely had lines. If anything they should let him continue to direct episodes of the show.
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I never watched this show after they fired Roseanne !!! The original actors from “Roseanne” that are on this show, “The Connors”, are all traitors ! None of them stuck up for Roseanne. They all should have refused to be a part of this show after they did Roseanne like they did. They would have never even had a job if it wasn’t for her. They’re all gonna get their karma ! This shows sucks ass anyway and will be off the air soon !!!! Good riddance…🤙🏼
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Obviously, you can't know it sucks because just seconds earlier you said you never watched it. But you do have your cult leader's exclamation points down.
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You’re bothered by my punctuation 🤣 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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😂
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This Roseanne sucks anyway!!!
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Roseanne made this show and everbody in it , the producer's didnt even want sara gilbert rosie is the one who went to bat for her .
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DJ was iconic! You ARE DJ. Best wishes for the future ❤️
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He was creepy !!
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They could have expanded the show's relevance by exploring DJ's PTSD but they wasted that opportunity. Michael Fishman was very gracious about being let go. I hope his residual checks are huge.
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Stopped watching after they sabotaged Roseanne. ABC Corporate I accept their bias. John Goodman ? SMH! Grow a pair.
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Exactly
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He was creepy as dj in the earlier years and is even more creepy now, as an adult ! So glad he’s gone !!
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At the end of the day, they essentially screwed him; and he was one of the most loyal to the production from day one.
It's been mentioned before, and elsewhere, that they underutilized him in episodes. But then he was extended the good fortune to direct some episodes - expanding his experience.
As they say, Hollywood is a fickle business, but they didn't do Michael justice in the end.
Apparently loyalty counts for bupkis
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I continued after Roseanne got run out. What she said was stupid but any fan of her show knew she wasn't racist or anti-any group of people. I didn't think she deserved run out for a verbal error but I liked the other actors enough to stick around. However when Fishman got run out with literally no explanation and no defense from the rest of the cast the trend of selfishness among them was revealed. They wrote him as nothing more than a dopey punch line in the revival and then he was just gone. I lost all respect for the entire cast because once was bad. Twice was a habit.
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After all these years, I thought I'd give it a shot. And oh boy, this show had the UGLIEST cast I've ever come across. HOLY SHIT!
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He couldn’t act, never could. Every scene he was in was awkward. He threw Roseanne under the bus and I’m glad he got his turn.
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I completely agree, Dan is and has always been the funniest. I will also miss DJ, he was funnier and more entertaining than Darlene.
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Um yea should I tell her or she should just read the comments
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Hey, at least it wasn't an NBC show this time. lol
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He was quite good and underused. I do think the other actors are tremendous as well. I never understood why we saw him so infrequently. Perhaps this is purely a budgetary decision, which is never fun.
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Doubt it was a budget thing as he was most likely paid a lot less then the rest of the cast. They didn’t have anything for him storywise most likely and found it was pointless less to have him as a regular series star. If anything they should continue to let him direct episodes and guest star in a few episodes.
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Well that's sad. I like the Connors
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Rosanne was good until she until she showed her narcissism and thought the show would fail without her. She was most definitely wrong. It's a great show without her. We will miss DJ though, not sure why they let him go.
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