1 The Conners Fact Makes The Show Dropping A Roseanne Character Even More Shocking

While it was always going to be a major surprise for The Conners to drop a Roseanne supporting star, this particular actor’s behind-the-scenes role on the show made their exit all the more surprising. The Conners is no stranger to cast reshuffles. The show began life as Roseanne, a popular family sitcom that ran for nine seasons in the ‘90s. In the infamously disastrous final season of Roseanne, Roseanne’s husband Dan was sent to care for his mother before being killed off in the finale so actor John Goodman could pursue his movie career. When Roseanne was revived in 2017, this death was retconned.

After Roseanne’s season 10 revival proved a hit, Roseanne Barr herself was fired from the show for racist tweets. Roseanne’s death shaped The Conners, a spinoff that continued the story of her grieving family after her sudden demise. As such, it was no major shock when The Conners announced that one of the sitcom’s major players wouldn’t return in season 5 of the spinoff, since the show had already said goodbye to two major characters before. However, the identity of the original Roseanne character dropped by The Conners season 5 came as a shock thanks to their work directing the series.

DJ’s Actor Directing The Conners Season 4 Made His Exit Surprising

Actor Michael Fishman directed four episodes of season 4 before DJ was abruptly dropped in The Conners season 5. While The Conners season 6 might still bring back DJ since the character isn’t technically dead, he was demoted from a series regular in season 4 to never appearing onscreen again in season 5. The fact that Fishman directed so many of season 4’s outings made this a surprise, particularly when some of the actor’s episodes were critical hits and ratings successes. However, DJ’s reduced screen presence did mean that his exit from The Conners didn’t derail the series completely.

Although Fishman had taken to directing episodes of the series in season 4, the only reason that DJ’s actor was able to take on this role is because The Conners relied less and less on his character as the spinoff continued. While Darlene and Becky remained major characters in the series and will be in The Conners‘ shorter season 6, DJ’s role gradually diminished after season 1. The character never gelled with the rest of the family, largely because his rebellious streak had been toned down during his offscreen time in the military. DJ’s increased maturity made him less volatile than his sisters, making his stories less fun.

How The Conners Season 5 Covered Up DJ’s Absence

DJ was said to be working outside Lanford thanks to a promotion, which explained why he didn’t appear onscreen in The Conners season 5. However, this thin excuse didn’t explain why he let his daughter live with the Conners during the week instead of with him. What made this even stranger was the fact that Mary didn’t appear in every episode of The Conners, meaning it was unclear whether she lived with the family every week or just sometimes. This crucial detail proves that The Conners wasn’t able to paper over this Roseanne character’s departure entirely.