The "Roseanne" spinoff that was canceled last month is returning to primetime without Roseanne Barr, according to Variety on Thursday, June 21. The show will be called "The Conners" because it will still be based on that family with the exception of the matriarch.

USA Today reported that this is a win for ABC because it was the network's No. 1 show at the time it was canceled. Besides, it had already been renewed for a second season with 13 episodes.

The cast of 'The Conners'

The original cast members -- including John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman -- are expected to return.

Roseanne was involved in the show coming back on the air. However, she will receive no financial benefit, as she had in the original show and the spinoff. Roseanne agreed to step away from any involvement so the 200 cast and crew could get their jobs back. She had been credited for being the creator of the Roseanne Conner character that the whole series was centered around.

ABC has agreed to 10 episodes with the same themes as the previous shows. This number of episodes is three fewer than had been given to the canceled "Roseanne" show. That's because the show is already behind schedule. When the show was canceled on May 29, it was the same day writers were ready to begin writing for the next season.

Now they have to change their entire strategy to deal with Roseanne's absence from the show in a positive way. As of now, it is not known how the previous main character will be written off the show. The Conners can't go on without some mention of her in the storyline.

The debut

“The Conners” will debut this fall on Tuesdays at 8 PM on ABC.

That was the time the “Roseanne” show had occupied before it was abruptly canceled after Roseanne tweeted a racist statement about Barack Obama's former aide, Valerie Jarrett. The premiere of "The Conners" has not been revealed yet, but it will be behind other fall shows because of the time away from production during the last few weeks.

The spinoff will continue with modern-day topics that viewers can identify with. Those contemporary issues are the same ones that made the former "Roseanne" show popular when it first started exactly 30 years ago in 1988 and again with the short-lived spinoff. Now that Roseanne Barr will not be there, USA Today says it will be a good opportunity for Sara Gilbert to take the lead on the show in her role as Darlene.
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