'Roseanne' Cancellation Update: ABC Could Put Costars in a New Show
"Roseanne," which has just been revived on ABC, is off the air once more after the network canceled the show following a racist comment made by Roseanne Barr on Twitter. ABC, however, is now considering what it can do for John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and the rest of the show's costars.
ABC is now reportedly in early talks about a new series, one that will get the rest of the TV family back on air minus Barr. "Roseanne" was immediately axed by ABC on Tuesday, May 29, after its lead star posted an offensive "joke" about Valerie Jarrett, former Obama aide, on Twitter.
At least 200 people aside from Barr were also affected by the cancellation, according to Digital Spy. The network is now expressing that they want to keep the same group of people that worked with Barr together for a possible new series, as early reports suggest.
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Keeping "Roseanne" on air without its lead star will not only require a title change — since the show and all its characters were created by Barr and Matt Williams, it would mean that continuing the show will still benefit the actress, financially at least, as Entertainment Weekly pointed out.
According to an insider, ABC is instead considering designing a new series around Goodman, Metcalf, and the rest of the TV clan. So far, nothing has been decided as of this time as the network are still looking at all their options.
The network is, after all, still on the hook for cancellation costs and other expenses that come with shutting down the production of the show, despite the sudden. cancellation. Entertainment Weekly did confirm that there's still a payroll for 13 episodes' worth of cast options, to be paid by Carsey-Werner, the producer of the sitcom. Making a new show for the rest of the cast also means that ABC will cut down their losses with their quick decision to drop "Roseanne."
Aside from the cast, the writers and other staff of "Roseanne" are still around wondering what to do next, shocked as they are not just by the show's cancellation, but also by Barr's tweet itself.
Dave Caplan, one of the veteran writers for the canceled show, is one of those who still believe that there's a project they can do with all the people who are now not working on "Roseanne."
"Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen and I have a pilot project with Tom Werner for ABC and we'll continue working together. I know that Tom really regretted the fact that we had such a wonderful writing staff together — a real rare collection of talent — and I know he'd like to continue using it in some fashion if that were possible," he explained to the Hollywood Reporter.
So far, ABC has declined to comment on the reports.
