Why did Roseanne die on The Conners? Character exit explained

The Conners began as a direct sequel to ABC's famed Roseanne, which featured the titular character's (played by Roseanne Barr) story. But the fan-favorite character who laid the foundation for ABC's ongoing sitcom was never featured in the show, primarily due to Barr's online activity.

Barr fell out with ABC following her controversial, allegedly racist comments on X. According to reports, the actor was fired after she wrote a series of racist tweets about former Barack Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. After her dismissal from Roseanne, following the critically and commercially successful 10th season of the show, there were rumors of the show being canceled, despite it being renewed for an 11th season.

The 11th season was promptly canceled after the controversy, but the rest of the cast was ready to go on without the titular character. This is when ABC reached a deal with the rest of the cast and crew to premiere The Conners instead of Roseanne.

The absence of Roseanne Barr was explained in the premiere of the first episode of The Conners, where it was stated that Roseanne Conner died from an opioid overdose, effectively concluding her arc without much fuss. The rest of the cast members continue to appear in The Conners.

---

Roseanne Barr's controversy before The Conners explained

After the extremely successful run of Roseanne, which concluded with a ninth season in 1997, the show was briefly revived in 2018. The tenth season, which served as a direct sequel to the previous seasons, planned to go ahead with the characters and had nicely developed story arcs.

But a tweet from Roseanne Barr changed it all. In a since-deleted tweet, Barr said that White House aide Valerie Jarrett looked like a combination of “Muslim Brotherhood + Planet of the Apes," sparking extreme backlash online.

The actress apologized for the "bad joke," but it was beyond saving after the intense backlash. Immediately after the tweet went viral, writer Wanda Sykes declared she was not returning to the show. Sara Gilbert also promptly commented on the development, saying:

"Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."

This led to ABC ultimately firing Roseanne Barr. The 11th season of the ongoing show became The Conners season 1, where it was revealed that Barr's character had died from an opiod overdose.

But there was a lingering problem of ignoring her name and stories from the first few seasons of The Conners. Thankfully, the show got off to a good start and eventually surpassed its predecessor.

Barr later told The Los Angeles Times in an interview:

"I just can’t bear it, so I don’t,...When they killed my character off, that was a message to me, knowing that I’m mentally ill or have mental health issues, that they did want me to commit suicide...They killed my character … And all of that was to say thank you for bringing 28 million viewers, which they never had before and will never see again. Because they can kiss my a**."

The Conners is all set to return with a sixth season on February 7, 2024, which will continue the story further.