How can ABC make its 'Roseanne'-less spinoff 'The Conners' work? Focus on Darlene

If the Conner family has to return, at least this time it might have the right matriarch.

Despite the quick cancellation of "Roseanne," after Roseanne Barr used a racial slur to describe former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, the series that bore her name will make it onto ABC's fall schedule, in a way.

ABC Thursday picked up 10 episodes of a spinoff, tentatively titled "The Conners," to debut this fall, without Barr but featuring other major cast members  John Goodman (Dan), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Lecy Goranson (Becky) and Michael Fishman (DJ). ABC ominously describes the series this way:  "After a sudden turn of events, the Conners are forced to face the daily struggles of life in Lanford in a way they never have before."

The network stressed that Barr would have no financial or creative involvement in the new series.

For ABC, this is a win, considering canceling "Roseanne" over Barr's behavior meant canceling the No. 1 show of the TV season, which had already been renewed for a second 13-episode season.

But creatively, I'm not convinced we need more from this family. The Jarrett controversy aside, the "Roseanne" revival was a mess of poor writing and often racist undertones. It was unfunny, relied on political buzzwords instead of consistent characters and generally didn't work creatively, despite its dominance in the ratings.

But when it found time for Gilbert's adult version of Darlene, there was something that more resembled the "Roseanne" of old. And although the description of the new "Conners" frames it as the same family ensemble minus the key member, a new show is an opportunity for Darlene to step into the void Roseanne is leaving behind.

Darlene was always the sitcom's best character. It took a few seasons for her to be more than Becky's (Lecy Goranson) obnoxious little sister, for her to start shining in her schoolwork and her writing and be the great curly-haired hope of the Conner family. Her refusal to conform to societal expectations of femininity was a bright light for weird young girls who watched the sitcom. And her hard work paid off: She succeeded enough to go to college, to find a partner (Johnny Galecki) and to get out of Lanford.

The revived "Roseanne" reframed Darlene's story as a tragedy. Single, unemployed and back living in the same house in Lanford, she represented one of the biggest struggles of working-class kids who attempt upward mobility – sometimes it doesn't work. Despite her talents and her degree, Darlene is as trapped in the cycle of poverty as her sister Becky is, and coming to terms with that became her central narrative on the new "Roseanne."

Darlene's storylines last season weren't perfect, but a series about a working-class single mom struggling with her own identity as she raises her kids is far more appealing than the nostalgic, controversial mess that was the revived "Roseanne."

To be honest, we don't need the "Conners" spin-off, and it's unclear if the viewers who tuned in for "Roseanne" will be interested in one, either. Although I like Darlene as a character, I'd be perfectly happy not to see more of her or the rest of this cast. We should probably stop trying to make this problematic series happen. (One reason: Under Screen Actors Guild rules, the principal actors would have to be paid for seven episodes even if they weren't produced, because ABC had officially renewed "Roseanne.")

But if we have to have the Conners on TV in some form, I'd rather see Darlene's point of view than Roseanne's.

WPXI