‘The Conners’ Final Season Gets an Unexpected “Miniseries” Format

The beginning of the (second) end has finally begun, with the seventh and final season of the Roseanne spin-off series, The Conners, celebrating its arrival on Wednesday night. Everyone’s favorite middle-class American family is back, but this season won’t be like the rest. While it will, of course, include appearances from the characters that we’ve come to know and love over nearly four decades of television, the set-up of episodes and storytelling will look a little different from it has in years past. Those who tuned in for the debut episode, titled “It’s Gonna Be A Great Day,” already have an idea of the overarching plot, as John Goodman’s Dan and Laurie Metcalf’s Jackie have started to bicker over the possibility of suing the pharmaceutical company responsible for the death of Roseanne (Roseanne Barr).

Speaking with TV Insider, executive producer Bruce Helford said that over the remaining five episodes, audiences could expect more of a “miniseries” vibe from the production than what they’ve seen in the past. This doesn’t mean that the pharmaceutical storyline will comprise all the drama in The Conners’ final season, but that it will serve as a foundation, teasing, “These story arcs will be the run through [the season]… other things will come up that will also raise heads along the way.”

Further explaining how current events informed the production’s plot, Helford said that a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows individuals to take on opioid companies is part of why Season 7 is skewing that way.

“It was very natural and gave us a way to honor the memory of the matriarch of the family. Despite the things that went on, [Roseanne] was beloved by her family, by viewers, and we really wanted to make sure that there was an appropriate inclusion.”

Season 7 Holds Onto the Show’s Core Principles

Roseanne first premiered in a world already filled with sitcoms like Full House, Growing Pains and Family Ties. Giving audiences something outside the cookie-cutter mold of an upper-class family, Roseanne provided something for the blue-collar middle-class folks out there. Continuing to bring this attitude into The Conners was incredibly important to executive producer Dave Caplan, who saw the Season 7 storyline as yet another reflection of the world working against the titular family, adding,

“It also just fed into the themes that we love to write about, which are the big guys versus the little guys. And the Conners are little guys, and they get what rolls downhill, but not much makes it to the bottom of the hill. And so another opportunity to explore that was kind of irresistible to us.”

The debut episode of The Conners’ final season is now streaming on Hulu.