Roseanne Conner
Roseanne Harris Conner is the title character of the TV series Roseanne, created and portrayed by comedian and namesake Roseanne Barr. Roseanne is bossy, loud, caustic, overweight, and dominant. She constantly tries to control the lives of her sister, husband, children, co-workers, and friends. Despite her domineering nature, however, Roseanne is a loving wife and mother and loyal friend who works hard and makes as much time for her family as possible.
Roseanne Conner reappeared in the first season of the 2018 revived series, but was written out of the series after Barr was fired in 2018. In the spinoff series The Conners, the character is portrayed as having died of an opioid overdose.Creation and conception
In 1987, coming up with ideas for new shows, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner of Carsey-Werner Productions decided to look into the concept of the working mother as a central voice. Up until that point, there had been shows with working mothers, but only as an adjunct to the father in the family. Werner had suggested that they take a chance on Barr whom they had seen on The Tonight Show. This was because he saw the unique "in your face" voice that they were looking for, and he contacted her agent and offered her the role. Barr's act at the time was the persona of the "domestic goddess", but as Carsey and Werner explains, she had the distinctive voice and attitude for the character and she was able to transform her into the working class heroine they envisioned. Barr immediately took the role.
Barr has stated she had crafted the "fierce working-class domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding the sitcom and wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal consumerism.
Barr, born into a white working-class Jewish family in Salt Lake City, played a "nominally half-Jewish, working-class wife and mother" in the series. Although some commentators have mistakenly claimed that Jewishness is not mentioned on the show, Roseanne Conner is depicted as having a Jewish father. The Jewishness of Barr and her character on the show has sometimes been overlooked, a fact that some commentators have claimed is because of public perceptions that Jewishness is at odds with being part of the white working class, in part because of antisemitic stereotypes that depict Jews as wealthy as well as Jewish self-representations of Jews as being middle class. Barr has referred to Roseanne Conner as a "Jewish mother".
Barr became outraged when she watched the first episode of Roseanne and noticed that Matt Williams was listed as the creator in the credits. The series had originally been called Life & Stuff. She told Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly, "We built the show around my actual life and my kids. The 'domestic goddess', the whole thing". In the same interview, Werner said, "I don't think Roseanne, to this day, understands that this is something legislated by the Writers Guild, and it's part of what every show has to deal with. They're the final arbiters." During the first season, Barr sought more creative control over her character, opposing Williams' authority. Barr refused to say certain lines and eventually walked off set. She threatened to quit the show if Williams did not leave. ABC let Williams go after the thirteenth episode.Biography
Roseanne Harris Conner is a lifelong resident of Lanford, a fictional mid-sized city in Illinois, stated to be about two hours from Chicago. She and her younger sister, Jackie Harris, are the daughters of Beverly and Al Harris. Roseanne married her high-school sweetheart Dan Conner, who works as an independent drywall contractor. When the series begins, they have been married for fifteen years and have three children: adolescent Becky, pre-teen Darlene, and young D.J. ; a fourth child, Jerry Garcia, is born late in the series. Roseanne and her family deal with the many hardships of poverty, obesity, and domestic troubles with love and humor.Season 1
Roseanne is a line worker at Wellman Plastics, along with Jackie and their friend Crystal. Roseanne's parents, Bev and Al, arrive for an unannounced visit, sending the family into an uproar when they announce they may move to Lanford. Much to Roseanne and Jackie's relief, their parents say they are actually not moving. Roseanne also deals with tomboy Darlene's burgeoning puberty amid her daughter's own ideas of femininity. She also copes with boy-crazy Becky's dating issues, including first boyfriend, Chip. Roseanne is close to her youngest child, son, D.J., while Dan constantly frets if he expresses interest in anything other than masculine activities. Season one also finds the Conners experiencing, and surviving, a tornado. In the episode "Death and Stuff", a door-to-door salesman dies in the Conners' kitchen, and in the season finale, Roseanne stands up to the new overbearing foreman, then leads Jackie, Crystal, and other coworkers to quit Wellman Plastics.Season 2
Now that they have quit Wellman Plastics, Roseanne and Jackie look for new jobs. Jackie joins the Lanford Police Department, though Roseanne thinks it too dangerous. Roseanne cycles through a variety of menial jobs including telemarketer, secretary for Dan's boss, bartender, cashier at a fast-food restaurant, and, finally, sweeping floors at a beauty parlor. At home, Dan's poker buddy Arnie Thomas shocks Roseanne when he plants a kiss on her, though it is only meant platonically. The Conners celebrate an outrageous Halloween that becomes an annual feature of the series. Roseanne wants ten minutes to herself to soak in the bathtub; this turns into a bizarre dream sequence in which the entire cast sings parodies of songs from musical comedies. Later, Becky increasingly rebels against Roseanne and Dan's parental authority as she becomes attracted to edgier guys. When old biker buddy Ziggy appears in town, it reminds Roseanne and Dan of their own anti-establishment past. Darlene shows a talent for writing after winning recognition at school for her poem. Roseanne's own writing talents receive a boost when the family creates a basement writer's den for her birthday. This is the first season where the audience hears Roseanne thinking aloud.Season 3
The season opens with Roseanne confronting a possible unplanned pregnancy, though the test turns out negative. Roseanne lands a waitress job at the Rodbell's department store luncheonette. She likes her job and co-worker, Bonnie, but despises her strict boss Leon Carp. Later, she locks horns with snooty new neighbor, Kathy Bowman. In the season finale, Ziggy reappears, proposing to open a motorcycle repair shop with Dan and Roseanne. While in the process of getting the business off the ground, Ziggy backs out, not wanting to feel responsible if the business fails and Dan and Roseanne lose their house. However, he leaves his share of the money for Dan to open it by himself. Dan, semi-estranged from his father, Ed, is dismayed that Crystal is marrying him and is pregnant. Becky defies her parents by dating Mark Healy, a punkish rebel teen they forbid her from seeing. Jackie breaks up with her boyfriend Gary who wants her to quit the police force after she is injured on duty. Jackie quits anyway because she would be confined to a desk job. Crystal gives birth to Dan's half-brother, Ed, Jr.Season 4
Roseanne and Dan open their new motorcycle repair shop business, Lanford Custom Cycle, while Roseanne continues working at Rodbell's luncheonette. Becky is still dating Mark, who now works for Dan at the bike shop. Becky shocks Roseanne by asking for birth control. Roseanne and Dan deal with Darlene's personality shifting into a withdrawn, sullen goth teen. Later Roseanne gets breast reduction surgery due to chronic back problems. After a drunken one-night stand with Arnie she is unable to remember, Jackie reevaluates her life and signs up for truck driving school. Dan and Roseanne accompany Arnie and Nancy when they elope to Las Vegas. Jackie and Roseanne's mother, Bev, tells them that their father has been having a 20-year affair with a woman named Joan. At the end of the season, the Conners face severe economic problems as Lanford Custom Cycle fails and Rodbell's Luncheonette closes.Season 5
After closing the bike shop, Dan returns to drywalling. Roseanne and Jackie each receive $10,000 from their mother, Bev who divorced her husband, Al. The sisters, along with friend Nancy, decide to open a diner. Bev becomes a fourth partner to provide the additional money they need. Seventeen-year-old Becky elopes with unemployed boyfriend Mark, who gets a new job in Minneapolis. Jackie moves in with boyfriend Fischer, who later physically abuses her; Roseanne and Dan help Jackie leave him, though Dan is briefly jailed for assault. Jackie and Roseanne's father dies, and Roseanne confronts Joan, his longtime mistress, as well as the abuse she and Jackie suffered as children. Roseanne's rich cousin Ronnie visits and encourages Darlene to apply to an arts college. Darlene, now dating Mark's younger brother, David, wants him to move into their house when his mother is about to move to a new town. Roseanne and Dan initially refuse, but Roseanne relents after witnessing Mrs. Healey's abusive behavior. Darlene is accepted to a Chicago arts college but decides to decline after David is rejected for the same school. Roseanne wants Darlene to wait a year, then reconsiders after learning David threatened to break up if she goes. When Darlene admits she fears failing, Roseanne convinces her to go. Dan enters a new business venture of flipping houses for profit, but nearly goes under after new partner Roger, skips town as the first mortgage payment is coming due. Jackie saves Dan from financial ruin by buying the house.Season 6
When Roseanne and Jackie insist their troublesome mother stay away from the Lunch Box, Bev retaliates by selling her share to Roseanne's odious former boss, Leon Carp. Roseanne discovers marijuana hidden in her basement and accuses David until Dan says it is her old stash. They, along with Jackie, smoke it. Roseanne's past as an abuse victim arises when she reacts violently to D.J. after he joyrides in her car and wrecks it. Becky and Mark return to Lanford and move into the Conners' house. Roseanne discovers David has been living with Darlene in Chicago. She forces David to return to Lanford, keeping the truth from Dan, who later finds out and briefly evicts him. Roseanne and Dan struggle to have another baby but Jackie becomes pregnant after a one-night stand with Fred, Dan's co-worker at the city garage where he now works. Jackie gives birth to a son. At the end of the season, Roseanne coordinates Jackie and Fred's wedding.