‘The Conners’ Bosses Tease the Series Finale Is ‘Going to Be Really Emotional’
Preview
The Conners series finale is an ending 37 years in the making. The blue-collar family we first met in the 1988 – 1997 sitcom Roseanne and its 2018 sequel now signs off for good on Wednesday, April 23.
And while executive producer Bruce Helford is reluctant to share too many details, he teases, “There’s something that happens in the final episode that I don’t think has ever happened on broadcast television,” which he claims “is going to be really emotional.”
As if parting ways with patriarch Dan (John Goodman, left), his daughters Darlene (Sara Gilbert) and Becky (Lecy Goranson) and the rest of the family isn’t difficult enough, Helford adds, “One thing I’ve discovered about life is when you get to the end of things, it’s never what you expected. And I think that applies here.” In other words, buckle up for the final bow of Lanford’s working-class characters.
“The Conners are going to end up in places that are interesting, surprising, but ultimately satisfying,” fellow executive producer Dave Caplan teases. “I don’t think we wanted a kind of ending where somebody turns off the lights and closes up shop. The Conners go on.”

Disney / Justin Stephens
As for the satisfying nature Caplan alludes to, Helford notes that the satisfaction comes from the fact that it’s an ending true to the family’s circumstances. “It’s true to their characters, which I think the audience of this show particularly wants,” Helford says.
For fans gearing up to tune in, The Conners’ series finale will be presented in two parts. The first episode, “Exercise Bands, Money Plans, and Faraway Lands,” will chronicle the time ahead of the deposition surrounding the family’s wrongful death lawsuit as they decided to go after big pharma for late matriarch Roseanne’s (Roseanne Barr) death.
While Dan gets support from Jackie (Laurie Metcalf), Becky, and Darlene, Mark is presented with an opportunity that leads to a major life decision, while Becky and Tyler consider the next step in their relationship.
And in the second half-hour of the series finale, titled, “The Truck Stops Here,” Jackie prepares for her physical tests to rejoin the police force, Darlene confronts issues in her marriage to Ben (Jay R. Ferguson), and Dan’s deposition stirs up strong feelings fans won’t want to miss.
Catch the final episodes of The Conners when they air on ABC and let us know what you hope to see from the TV family before they sign off in the comments section below.
The Conners, Series Finale, Wednesday, April 23, 8/7c, ABC
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It's very odd, that Roseanne and Jackie's characters both had pregnancies and children in the storyline late in life. Roseanne and Dan's youngest son was born after Jackie had a son with an old boyfriend. These children NEVER came up, or were part of the family whatsoever. So, not only was Roseanne disappeared, but two significant children in their lives. And although, DJ, his wife and daughter made recurring appearances, they haven't been as present in this last two seasons either.
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It's amazing what one doesn't know about a show if one hadn't watched every ep like I'm guessing you did...
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A reliable source says the last few minutes shows Dan waking up from a nap and hearing the shower running. He walks to the shower and pulls back the curtain and it’s Rosanne! Dan says ‘I dreamt you Died. Rosanne says ‘Dan you’re still not over me killing you off years ago’! And we hear her laugh.
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Without Roseanne there would be no show called The Conner’s!!!!!
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Hate to see it end Such a good clean show
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Roseanne had to go her big mouth her nasty comments she was a racist. I'll miss watching the Connors Dan was the best one of them all. The reruns of Roseanne are still on and she's still collecting the bucks that's all she does she can't act all she does is spew venom with her racism but I'll miss the Connors
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Roseanne DID have to go after her insane behavior, i get it, but this "reboot" Conner's show should have been canceled along with her. The original show revolved around her, this "Darlene Show" is just not at all what the Roseanne show was. Having the central character removed is difficult enough but realistically, it's just not that interesting or funny without her and that's not the fault of the remaining cast. Also, this new series has been plagued with inconsistent writing over the years with characters simply dropping in and out.and situations/story arcs mostly feeling inorganic and box checky, often just for the sake of timely cultural arguments. It's sort of been a long cringe run that I've only kept up with out of curiosity regarding some of the characters. I'll check this finale out but have low expectations. Roseanne Barr did what she did on Twitter and we can't change that but we also can't change the fact that she OWNED the sitcom format in the 1990's. Reruns are eternal.
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The saddest thing about this show ending is no roseanne there ...have not watched it since you did a very bad thing by letting her go
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She had to go
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Roseanne DID have to go after her insane behavior, i get it, but this "reboot" Conner's show should have been canceled along with her. The original show revolved around her, this "Darlene Show" is just not at all what the Roseanne show was. Having the central character removed is difficult enough but realistically, it's just not that interesting or funny without her and that's not the fault of the remaining cast. Also, this new series has been plagued with inconsistent writing over the years with characters simply dropping in and out.and situations/story arcs mostly feeling inorganic and box checky, often just for the sake of timely cultural arguments. It's sort of been a long cringe run that I've only kept up with out of curiosity regarding some of the characters. I'll check this finale out but have low expectations. Roseanne Barr did what she did on Twitter and we can't change that but we also can't change the fact that she OWNED the sitcom format in the 1990's. Reruns are eternal.
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Do you not remember the racist remarks by the real life Roseanne? That's why they killed her character off. It was either she goes or they cancel the entire show
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They stole her show
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