‘The Conners’ Ending: See the Cast in ‘Roseanne’ vs. Now

It’s time to say goodbye to one of America’s favorite TV families. The Conners is coming to its series finale, ending a storyline that began on Roseanne in 1988.

Since then, the blue-collar family from Lanford, Illinois, has certainly evolved. Dan Conner (John Goodman) became a widower with the death of Roseanne’s title character, Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf) found romance again, and the Conner kids grew up and started families of their own.

The final episode, airing Wednesday, April 23, includes something mysterious that executive Bruce Helford thinks has never happened on broadcast television, as he told TV Insider recently. “One thing I’ve discovered about life is when you get to the end of things, it’s never what you expected,” Helford added. “And I think that applies here.”

Added EP Dave Caplan, “The Conners are going to end up in places that are interesting, surprising, but ultimately satisfying. I don’t think we wanted a kind of ending where somebody turns off the lights and closes up shop. The Conners go on.”

That’s fitting enough because the Conners have been going on for more than three decades now. Below, see photos of the cast at the start of Roseanne versus them at the end of The Conners.

The Conners, Series Finale, Wednesday, April 23, 8/7c, ABC