Roseanne - The Return

I sure hope so.

While this isn’t anywhere near my normal practice area (patents and IP) I can’t think of any cause of action here. Tortious interference is the closest (though it frankly isn’t even close) that I can come up with, but I don’t see how you can prove that Roseanne intentional set out to harm the relationship between the other actors/staff and ABC.

More corporate shade being thrown.

The Middle is also a great show that just ended after 9 years.

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Oh, did The Middle just finish? I watched a good chunk of the first five seasons or so, and then got out of habit for some reason. It had a good heart overall, I thought.

Good for Neil Flyn, parlaying that one killer look in the first episode of Scrubs into an 18-year sitcom career.

Barr is quite the interesting person, she has seven ids with Multiple Personality Disorder. I suspect the pressure brought out some interesting behaviors…

From 2001:

If they kill off the Roseanne character and keep the show going, Roseanne (Barr) continues to make money off it, as she owns the characters and show concept. So while she personally wouldn’t be on-screen, that isn’t an acceptable solution. The show needs to die.

Supposedly ABC is looking into using the other actors and crew in a different show, as they’re under contract and will be paid regardless. But if that new show is basically Roseanne with different names, I would expect Barr to sue and probably win.

Why not recast the show? It’s not as if Kevin Can Wait is all that much different from King of Queens. I doubt the King of Queens creator gets anything out of Kevin Can Wait.

Yes, the series finale of The Middle was just a few days ago, and it was a terrific ending to what I consider one of the best acted and most cleverly written sitcoms on television. They never had to resort to political humor or shoehorn in social trends/satire for effect, they got all the laughs (and many touching moments as well) they needed from simply examining the everyday suburban lower-middle class family lifestyle that so many people can relate to. The Heck Family was a comedic over-exaggeration of family life and yet somehow also totally relatable to viewers on many levels. I will miss the show.

And yeah, Neil Flynn is awesome. He’s apparently already at work on a new sitcom called “Abby’s”, which looks like what you’d get if you filmed Cheers in your backyard. He costars with Natalie Morales of Parks and Rec and Santa Clarita Diet fame. No air date yet announced, just “2019”.

Recasting it would be enough, sure. ABC is free to make a show about multigenerational blue collar white people. They just can’t do it with the rest of the Roseanne cast immediately after firing the show creator and owner.

They have to officially end it and start from scratch to avoid Barr being able to sue them over it. Even if they created a new show called “Jackie” and used Metcalf’s character and some other cast members, Barr would have to be paid. I honestly don’t see a way forward for the cast as a group to do anything further together with these characters in this setting.

That said, ABC seems pretty good at the half hour comedy thing (Blackish, Modern Family, The Goldbergs, The Middle) and they now have multiple holes in their comedy lineup with Roseanne and The Middle gone (and I wonder about Blackish, given it’s terrible string of “dramedy” episodes to end the season). Goodman can anchor a show on his own, as can Metcalf, or put them together with the right writers and situation and achieve comedy gold without the risks Barr brings to the table.

I dunno about the rest of those has-beens, but I can’t imagine they’d give up a chance to use John Goodman when he’s already under contract.

Seriously, folks are acting like Rosanne is some raison d’etre for western civilization, and simply MUST be made.

It’s fucking Rosanne. Who gives a fuck? Watch another show.

John Goodman disappoints.

The veteran actor and Roseanne Barr’s TV husband broke his silence on Barr’s racist Twitter fiasco, gingerly broaching the subject that led to his hit ABC TV show getting canceled on Tuesday.

“It’s not that I disrespect you guys. I would rather say nothing than to cause more trouble,” Goodman, 65, politely told an “Entertainment Tonight” videographer who caught up with him Wednesday.

I would rather that he had spoken out, as well but I also understand why he would want to stay out of the middle of this shit show. Besides if the rumors are true and ABC has ideas of a show built around his character, they may have requested he stay out of the fray.

Good point about the network NDA possibility.