‘The Conners’: Repeats of All 5 Seasons to Air on The CW in Primetime

In an unexpected and somewhat unusual move, The CW has acquired the five existing seasons of The Conners, the comedy series that currently airs on rival network ABC.

According to Deadline, the CW made a deal with Lionsgate, which will allow them to air repeats of episodes from the first five seasons of the Roseanne spinoff series. These reruns will air as part of the network’s primetime lineup beginning January 4, 2024, with back-to-back episodes airing Thursdays from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

The Conners repeats will air as part of a Thursday comedy block, with Canadian comedy series Son of a Critch airing at 8:00 pm and fellow Canadian import Children Ruin Everything airing at 9:30 pm.

There is also an episode scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday, January 7, following the Jennifer Lopez-starring movie The Wedding Planner.

The Conners premiered on October 16, 2018, on ABC, with its fifth season concluding on May 3, 2023. Season 6 is set to premiere on Wednesday, February 7, 2024. The show stars John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson, Emma Kenney, Ames McNamara, and Jayden Rey.

ABC/Eric McCandless

It was first reported in August that Lionsgate and Debmar-Mercury agreed on a licensing deal with Werner Entertainment to syndicate The Conners for the first time, with Debmar-Mercury handling domestic syndication.

The deal includes the first five seasons, consisting of 83 episodes, as well as the rights to future seasons after their initial broadcast window on ABC.

However, Deadline reports that the deal to air The Conners as part of the CW’s primetime schedule will not impede any potential broadcast syndication deal for fall 2024 or any streaming deal inked in the coming months.

The move comes amid various changes at The CW since it was taken over by Nexstar in 2022. Since the takeover, the network has canceled several scripted series, including Riverdale, The Flash, Kung Fu, Nancy Drew, The Winchesters, Walker Independence, Gotham Knights, and more.

As a result, the CW has largely moved into acquiring international imports to help keep costs low, including several series from Canada, as well as the U.K. and Australia. The network also recently signed a deal to air WWE’s NXT (which currently airs on the USA Network) programming beginning in October 2024.

A handful of scripted series still air on The CW, including All American, All American: Homecoming and Walker, in addition to Superman & Lois, which will end its run with the upcoming 4th season.