'The Conners' will premiere on Oct. 16, ABC says
"The Conners," ABC's previously announced reworking of the canceled "Roseanne" reboot, will premiere Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the former show's 8 p.m. timeslot, the network said Tuesday in its fall-schedule announcement.
ABC ordered production on the new show last month after ending the recent revival of the original 1988-1997 sitcom "Roseanne" in May following a racist tweet by star Roseanne Barr. In its June 21 announcement of "The Conners," ABC said that Barr "will have no financial or creative involvement in the new series."
No details were given on how her character, the matriarch of a multigenerational blue-collar family in Illinois, would be written out of the storyline.
The June announcement also noted that original series stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman would return, with "additional cast members" to be named later. The "Roseanne" revival also included Emma Kenney and Ames McNamara as the Gilbert character's two children and Jayden Rey as the Fishman character's daughter. It was unclear if they were returning.
Additionally, ABC announced that "The Alec Baldwin Show," a primetime interview series hosted by the Massapequa-raised Emmy Award-winner, would debut Oct.14 in the Sunday 10 p.m. time slot.
Meanwhile, "Grey's Anatomy" will enter its 15th season with a two-hour premiere on Sept. 27, followed by fifth-season premiere of "How to Get Away with Murder.” Other highlights include the new competition series "Dancing With the Stars: Juniors," pairing celebrity children with professional junior ballroom dancers, premiering Oct. 7.