What would you think about revisiting "Roseanne"?
Yes, yes, I'm in.
I no longer attempt to stab people
when I'm angry with them.
♪
We answer it,
all the questions people have asked me for 20 years.
I wanted to see what the Connors were up to in 2018.
I couldn't believe we were sitting there
reading these characters. In front of the set.
It was the absolute first thing I had ever done.
29 years ago, you're talking about.
Laurie said something to me, like, I don't know what I'm doing.
And I was like, well,
if Laurie doesn't know what she's doing, then...
It's a mess.
Roseanne hates the script.
The writer hates Roseanne.
I wanted total control.
Her name is on the freaking thing.
The show was tapping into something
that other shows weren't.
Some of the fun stuff was
Dan and Roseanne and Jackie getting high.
It still cracks me up every time I see it.
All right, listen up, everybody.
I got an important announcement to make.
You're a woman trapped in a man's body?
Sharon Stone.
Toby McGuire.
- Leo DiCaprio was on. - He was a doll.
Am I allowed to say that?
I hope you don't show that clip.
- Feels like such a time warp. - Like being home again.
_
"ROSEANNE: The return."
Here's our host, Joy Behar.
_
Hello, everybody.
It was a sitcom originally called
"life and stuff" and that's exactly what America saw,
every day family life,
headed by a mother unlike anything TV had ever seen.
A brassy comic taking on the hottest topics
in the funniest way imaginable.
Hey, sounds familiar.
Now, she's back with the rest of the Connor crew,
and no doubt, the new "Roseanne" will
be as groundbreaking and funny as ever.
I'm on my way to the set of the "Roseanne" show
for the "Roseanne" show reboot.
It's been 20 years.
I'm so happy to see you!
It's pretty amazing. It's very exciting,
but it's very emotionally overwhelming.
Am I ready yet?
It's September 2017
and it's a family reunion.
- You look great! - Ah, baloney.
Roseanne and the rest of her cast mates
are gathering to read through the script.
The name of the number one script,
20 years to life.
Not bad for a one-time struggling comic...
who forelayed her unique take on family life...
into a life changing appearance on the Tonight Show.
She's a housewife from Denver, Colorado.
Oh my god, I was anything but relaxed.
Being funny on Tonight Show
made your career if you were a comic.
Getting on the Tonight Show was the thing that every comic
in Los Angeles was desperate to do.
And this is her very first appearance on national television.
Would you welcome, Roseanne Barr. Roseanne?
I thought I was going to fall over.
I'm obsessive, so, I must have done
that seven-minute act, like a 150 times.
I hate that word, housewife.
I prefer to be called domestic goddess.
It's very hard to understand how one spot on one show
could make our break your career as a comedian.
"The tonight show" was that spot.
The Carson spot leads to more work and more national exposure.
What does it take to become successful
and how tough it is for you, compared to men?
I think it's harder to be a man comic
- Are you? - Oh yeah.
Because they are generally not funny or intelligent.
Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner meet up with Roseanne
and they get talking about the possibility of doing a sitcom
that would focus on a character like the one Roseanne
talked about in her standup.
It started with an idea about
how interesting it would be to portray a family
in which the mom was a working mom.
I was inexperienced as far as acting and...
but I was a big fan of sitcoms all my life
and I always pretended that I had "the Roseanne show."
Marcy and I were developing this idea
and we said, "well, you know what",
"this may be a hard sell, actually."
Even though we had "the Cosby show" on television,
which was the number one show.
NBC passed on it
and then we brought it to ABC.
So, they cast it,
and the first thing they do is they get John Goodman.
They need to get people who are really good,
because Roseanne has no acting experience.
All I knew about Roseanne Barr
that she was a rising comedian,
and she was on a pizza hut commercial.
That's the only time I'd ever seen her.
How about we take the kids out
for pan pizza and you can eat at the salad bar?
We hit it off from the very beginning.
We kind of made each other laugh.
And that's why I felt like I had the job
as soon as I left the audition.
- _ - We'll go broke tryin'to pay'em.
We'll end up with a poor heart
Nobody else was ever considered.
We kind of bonded around making each other laugh
and he has a working class background, too,
so, I knew he was the guy,
and as soon as I read with him,
I knew we had a hit show.
Feel this baby, there's a 200-point game
pulsating through these fingers.
Let's not waste it on bowling.
And then the next person they brought in was
Laurie Metcalf to play the sister.
I had a real heavy theater background.
Zero TV.
And I allowed myself two weeks to be in L.A.
and during those two weeks,
I happened to go on the Roseanne audition.
So, I was literally in the right place at the right time.
Laurie was her tow truck driver.
She'd nudge her into the marks and uh...
and then let her go.
You know, I'd sort of steer her this way.
Yeah I guess I was that, it's like a push here, push there.
Then meeting the kids, we auditioned a lot of kids.
Oh!
I was eating Chinese food
with my family and I opened a fortune cookie and it said,
"you will be graced with the presence of stardom."
And then the phone rang and it was a callback for "Roseanne."
Come on, just answer my question.
It's none of your business.
It is my business when you start sneaking out of this house
to meet some guy that I would consider leaving your father for.
I'd never been in an audition process before,
other than like, for the school plays.
Ha-ha.
Michael came in, he was 6. He looked like my family.
And he sits down, he goes, want to hear a joke?
- So, I'm like, yeah. - So, I asked her,
why did the turtle cross the road?
I go, "I don't know."
And the punchline was, "chicken's day off."
Chicken's day off. I go, you're hired.
Mum, I finished folding the laundry.
Thank you, honey. You're one of my three favorite kids.
What about me?
No.
It was the absolute first thing I had ever done.
It was a life-changer.
When I met the entire cast,
I think we went to a Howard Johnson
to have our first table read,
and seeing the family trickle in
was just so exciting.
- She started it. - She started it.
Okay, we know who started it.
It was the first time I got this feeling,
even though I was young, I just felt like,
oh, we have something big here.
They certainly did have something big here.
A cast member who would later go on
to become academy award-winner George Clooney.
We used to play basketball together.
You know, he's that cute and charming
and someone you want to pal around with in real life.
George Clooney was, you know,
just the manager at a factory
on a show and was a small character,
and we all felt like he was magical and he was a great guy.
All right, listen up, everybody.
I got an important announcement to make.
You're a woman trapped in a man's body?
On-set, the cast finds chemistry and comedy,
but behind the scenes, there is drama, lots of it.
The show that will soon return for its tenth season
was once in real danger
of never making it through the first.
They knew they had something really special here,
but they also had somebody
who wasn't used to the rules of television
and who was not going to be easy to work with.
My feet hurt and I got
periodic bouts of depression,
but other than that, I'm fine.
I don't know if she told you this but,
we were editing the pilot
and Roseanne called me up and I was just checking with her
and I was saying how great the show was.
And she said, "I'm not sure I want to do anymore episodes."
- And I said... what? - Big trouble.
The network wants to pull the plug, Roseanne hates the script,
the writer hates Roseanne, it's a mess.
And that will begin...
a high stakes battle
between two very powerful people on this show
Roseanne Barr, its star,
Matt Williams, its creator and executive producer,
that will never be resolved.
We had big fights.
Oh, yeah, we all were aware of that, yeah.
I mean, we were right there.
Roseanne wanted him out.
Roseanne wanted control of the ship creatively.
The tension was, you know, unbelievable.
I remember he threw over a table and chairs
and said, "I'm not a scribe"!
She was promised a show to voice her point of view.
And what was on the page at that point was really not that.
The show premieres in October of 1988.
As the cast watches the pilot,
Roseanne notices something is missing.
Because that is the first time
that Roseanne Barr sees the credit,
"created by Matt Williams."
She believes that she is the creator of "Roseanne."
Ah!
Roseanne had it tougher
because, as a woman, coming into it,
especially in those days,
she really had to fight for the power.
You were in the first year of "Roseanne."
It was a big hit. You played what, her boss?
Yes. The first season she wanted it to be a specific way.
Matt Williams did not.
And there was a big fight
and she eventually asked Matt to leave.
Now, Matt's a nice guy, and very talented.
Roseanne was right.
And so, that is the question.
Is the show actually going to proceed without Roseanne?
People told me that he was keeping a list
of all the offensive things I did,
so that they could replace me,
and it included included belching and things like that.
In the end, Williams decides
to leave the show over creative differences.
Matt Williams goes on to create "Home Improvement",
with Tim Allen, which is hugely successful.
I knew I would have the last word and I always did.
Well, she's around and Matt's not.
There you have it.
When we come back...
- What? - You're fired.
From hot button topics on-set...
school's having a food drive for poor people.
Well, tell them to drive some of that food over here.
To getting really steamed off-set.
I made the sign that I put on my door,
these are the people that will be fired
when this show goes to number one.
One year later, they were all gone.
We continue now with more
of "Roseanne: The return."
♪
She was the queen of ABC,
she was the queen of television.
In no time at all, Roseanne has become a smash hit.
It's the number one show in the country,
reaching a staggering 30 million viewers.
And Roseanne has creative control.
When this show hits number one,
the head of ABC entertainment,
he sends a chocolate cake to the show.
They gave me a chocolate number one.
Well, Roseanne has heard,
that when guys have number one shows,
they don't get cakes. They get, like, Maseratis.
They get, like, Ferrari's.
And they gave me a [BLEEP]
Chocolate number one.
Excuse me.
She feels it's disparagement.
But once Bob Eiger got on ABC,
boy, they started upping the gifts, I'll tell you.
- You read my diary. - I have to go to work.
The question about Roseanne was always,
was she representing a new kind of person?
Was she this newly empowered woman
who was taking on the old guard?
Or was she just like a tyrant, like anybody else was,
firing men and women?
I made the sign that I put on my door,
these are the people that will be fired
when this show goes to number one.
And one year later, they were all gone.
When I took the job, my agent
and my lawyer said, she will fire you.
She fires everyone after a year.
And I said... okay.
They said, it's going to be a hell of a year.
She fired me.
If you're working for Roseanne,
she's not going to settle for much at all.
And rightly so. Her name's on it, and it's her story.
It's her real life.
Being Roseanne, it was not the calmest of places.
So, you had to kind of be ready, on your feet.
We were often changing stories last minute.
Sometimes it was, hey, I met...
- Joan Collins. - Yeah, I met Joan Collins at a party
and I want Joan Collins to play my cousin,
so, write her into the episode this week.
That's a nice outfit.
Thank you.
That's a nice... place.
It was a little crazy.
- Oh hi Arnie. - Hey Rosie,
where is the "Man of the House"?
Tom Arnold is put in the writer's room.
And Tom Arnold is there,
to make sure that Roseanne's wishes are followed.
Tom Arnold will enjoy many titles on this sitcom.
Actor, writer, producer.
And perhaps most importantly,
Roseanne's real life husband.
It makes things tricky on the set.
Roseanne taking up with Tom Arnold was a huge story.
And all this is turning up in
"people" magazine and all that stuff.
It's all a big topic of conversation.
You are such a leech.
There was always some drama going on
every week that I was there.
Wow!
"Roseanne" really did change things in TV.
Oh, no, not June Cleaver.
She wasn't your typical housewife.
Oh, let me do it, it's easier.
She wasn't your typical actress
with this voice...
that could be very piercing and grating.
D.J.! Becky!
Dan, come here!
Just that really blue-collar working class person.
Us regular people, we're paying more taxes
than the rich people because they got all the
lawyers to figure out the loopholes.
I want to figure out loopholes.
To represent working class,
as the noble class in this country,
that just hasn't been the point of view.
Roseanne was the first woman
I saw on television that was rejecting the social construct
of what femininity was supposed to be.
Well, I always wanted to do a show
that was complimentary to the viewers,
who I felt were, you know,
me when I was a little girl watching TV.
Give me this damn thing.
Make it about something that I can identify with,
and she certainly did that.
In my culture, it was always
a strong mother-based home
with a loving husband
and some problems and loudmouth kids,
so, I wanted that.
Come on, mom.
And of course they faced money issues.
Our school's having a food drive for poor people.
Well, them them to drive some of that food over here.
It was a show where you could see people paying bills,
or the lights being turned out, because
we weren't able to pay all our bills.
Or the games Roseanne would play,
how to shuffle around the bills.
First, we send in the phone bill
and we forget to sign the check.
There you go.
Then they send the water bill to the electric company
and electric bill to the water company.
- Now you're cooking. - And you know,
that charge card bill, it never even showed up.
That's what Roseanne did over and over again.
She just constantly reinforced this idea that there were
struggles to be had.
- What? - You're fired.
You don't have to have a sex
- just to have a boyfriend. - I know.
Look what I found in David's room
when I was cleaning today.
Oh, man, that looks like pot.
It's set up as a comedy.
Everybody's loving it.
First season and everybody's relating to it.
And now she starts introducing issues.
Dad, I'm real sorry that you died
before I got to tell you some stuff.
The birth control stuff.
It's time for me to... um...
Get some birth control.
Uh-huh.
I think the episode,
where D.J. doesn't want to kiss the girl
in the play is kind of pivotal American television.
I just don't want to kiss her.
Hey. Black people are just like us,
they're every bit as good as us
and any people who don't think so
is just a bunch of banjo picking, cousin-dating,
barefoot embarrassments to
respectable white trash like us.
We dealt with domestic abuse
with Jackie's character and her boyfriend.
Darlene says your back's all bruised up.
- No, It's nothing. - Well, let me see.
No, don't. Don't.
Just stop.
Everyone was terrified of tackling that subject.
Was it going to be too dark?
Was it going to turn people off,
to watch that when they're turnded into sitcom?
That son of a bitch.
You don't understand.
- He beat the crap out of you. - No, he didn't.
It's no big deal.
I came back to her and I said,
"powers that be, are very concerned about this."
Don't want to do it.” She said, "We're doing it.”"
I said, "okay, great.”"
"Roseanne was one of the first" people
in that arena that said no, you know, this is it.
It has to be this good all the time or I'm not going to do it.
Don't say anymore.
She was always willing to
sacrifice some of the laughs in a sitcom
for the depth,
and I think people loved her for that reason.
I did.
They were in the comedy business.
But it did give you an ongoing sense that this show
was tapping into something that other shows weren't.
And that's what made it special.
- Next... - ♪ O say can you see ♪
She's singing, she's kissing.
And we're dishing...
on the mystery of the two Beckies.
Where the hell have you been?
I was surprised that they recast me.
♪
On the show, Roseanne Conner
is struggling to make ends meet.
That negative attitude of yours
it's gonna get you nowhere.
This is nowhere.
But in real life, Roseanne Barr is on top of world.
The domestic goddess became a Hollywood diva.
The embodiment of white trash with money.
Peek inside her home and you'll find
a softer side of Roseanne,
as she showed my friend Barbara Walters.
Her kitchen is bathed in the yellow hue
of Monet's house in France.
You're acting as if you are
the woman who understands all the women,
while you're living in a gorgeous house...
No. I'm the woman who has been screwed
every single way a woman can be screwed
and have lived through it.
And survived it and pulled through and triumphed.
Triumphed, she says.
All the power jobs are taken.
Margaret is running England.
Ben is turning the letters over.
Because while she's the star of a sitcom,
her personal life with then-husband
Tom Arnold is a soap opera.
Her life outside of the show, it did spiral and spiral.
Yet they would never expect the fallout from Roseanne
singing the national anthem at a baseball game.
I was the general partner of
the San Diego Padres at the time.
And we were doing a night,
actually celebrating working women.
And the best thing I can say is,
I thought it was a good idea at the time.
I hope you don't show that clip.
♪ O say can you see ♪
♪ by the dawn's early light ♪
Roseanne gets out there to sing the national anthem, and
she does not do
what we would call a mellifluous version.
♪ And the rocket's red glare ♪
♪ the bombing bursting in air ♪
She spits, and she grabs her crotch.
Like a player would, like adjusting
their jock strap, and spitting.
And that's kind of her whole gag after it.
And people are aghast.
By the time she walked out of that stadium,
she was lucky, as someone said, to be alive.
People hated her.
The president of the United States criticized her.
President Bush today called the comedian RoseanneBarr's
performance on Wednesday night disgraceful.
That's the way I feel about it.
And I think a lot of the San Diego fans said the same way.
I got out there and I sang about four notes and then
I thought it was okay in the beginning
and then everybody started booing me
and I really went into this panic thing, and,
you know, I sang "the Star Spangled Banner" as best I could
under the circumstances.
My whole life was lived out with the tabloids.
Everything that's ever occurred,
you get the phone call.
She's always told everybody to be brave,
and she really embodies it.
It's a pitfall of being, you know,
celebrated and then,
them wanting to tear you down in the same moment.
She was an easy target, you know?
Uhm, for because she's so outspoken.
It's just a beautiful morning today,
it just makes me want to sing.
Ultimately, Roseanne did what she does best.
Turn strife into satire.
That woman is on the cover of every one of these papers.
Check it out. She put a voodoo curse on her ex-husband.
She's a damn good singer, though.
The series was so huge
that Roseanne broke many of the sitcom rules,
like having multiple people play the same character.
Quiet, you.
Becky!
I'm Lecy Goranson,
and I play Becky on "Roseanne."
Well, you look incredible.
- Really? - Yes.
Get in the kitchen.
The Becky.
Not the one and only, but kind of.
Did I hear right, we're going on vacation?
Ladies and gentlemen, the role of Becky,
originally played by Lecy Goranson,
then by Sarah Chalke,
then by Lecy Goranson will be
played this evening by Sarah Chalke.
I'm Sarah Chalke, and I was Becky 2/4.
God, I hate this family.
We had Lecy Goranson playing Becky,
and then when she left for school,
Sarah Chalke played Becky.
And then I came in for a couple of years,
and then she came back, and then I came back.
Where in the hell have you been?
Where the hell have you been?
Why does everyone keep saying that to me?
Seems like you've been gone for three years.
It was the kind of thing you would see in a high school play.
You know where you triple cast
the lead in "Once upon a mattress"
so everybody gets a chance.
Disney world? I've always wanted to go there.
Aren't you glad that you're here this week?
They had us all watching
an episode of “Bewitched” at the end.
And Roseanne says...
I cannot believe that they replaced that Darren.
And Laurie says... "They knew it was a hit show",
they knew they could get away with anything."
And then I say...
"Well, I like the second Darren much better."
So, they always found ways to,
you know, wink at the audience
but. and not shy away
from the fact of what we were doing.
Come here, I got it.
Where are you? Come here.
That's a staple of Roseanne's show.
Silly inside jokes.
But what eluded Roseanne for so long,
was acceptance by her peers in Hollywood.
- [ROSEANNE]: I think I got nominated. - [MAN]: There you go!
- You got nomineed for an Emmy, you think? - I got an Emmy nomination.
That moment finally came when she and co-stars John Goodman
and Laurie Metcalf are all nominated for Emmys.
The Emmy goes to...
Laurie Metcalf!
Yeah!
I had received an Emmy.
She presented it. And I really quickly in my mind,
I thought, is my name really on that card
or did she just say it?
Because I wouldn't have put it past her.
I had to make sure it really...
Metcalf wins, but the others don't,
and soon, art imitates life on the set of Roseanne.
I was sitting there polishing my Emmy,
you know, in the living room on the set.
And she and John were trying to steal it away from me.
- Give me that. - No.
- Come on, I want it. - No!
- Give me it. - No.
- Come on, no - Give it... give it!
Give it, come on!
What's going on? Oh!
Roseanne would finally get her statue
the following year.
Next, as the parade of famous faces marches on through...
I'm the only one here,
and the sign says Dr. Whitman, so, that's me.
The cast comes to face the end.
This has been a D.J. Conner film.
The show ended and I was devastated.
When Roseanne returns, literally.
We continue now with more of
"Roseanne: The return."
Through nine seasons of award-winning television,
the "Roseanne show" welcomed so many guest stars
and future stars along the way.
I'm the only one here
and the sign says Dr. Whitman, so, that's me.
George Clooney.
Oh my gosh, I remember George Clooney
came on early in his career.
You know, I've been playing a long time.
But I used to be a "High Scorer".
We're talking about bowling, Booker.
That too.
Who wouldn't like to kiss Johnny Galecki?
Johnny and I have such a special connection.
And when we get to work together, it's just an added bonus.
I'm sorry, am I being too loud?
No, you're being perfect and you know it.
Johnny Galecki, my god.
He's got so much money. I can't believe...
I'm angry for his success.
No, I'm very happy for him, he's great.
I tried an accent once but it didn't work for me.
People kept asking if I was wearing a retainer.
Sandra Bernhard,
who is so funny.
I specifically told Arne to be here at 9:30.
All these years later, people will comment on, you know,
what I was wearing and loved the outfits
and just Nancy's outrageousness.
It is really a big part of the lexicon of my career.
James Pickens, he's unbelievably talented.
But we knew that, you know, decades ago.
Even before I got the "Grey's Anatomy" gig.
People would say, I remember you
from "Roseanne." You were Chuck.
You're a wideman, Marvin.
They even brought on Bob Hope on time for a cameo.
The audience just, just went up.
We get so used to seeing great people
that it just becomes an every day thing.
Sometimes you have to step back from it for awhile,
and look around and go, wow,
I got to work with some of the best who ever done it.
Martin Mull and Fred Willard, who are just incredible together.
- And Sharon Stone. - My friend toe Tobey Maguire
was on the show. Leo DiCaprio was on.
Leonardo DiCaprio was Darlene's friend.
He was a "Doll" too, he was real sweet.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
DJ, don't forget to come to my party on friday.
He was another one of those really talented people,
who goes, you know, to "Third Rock From the Sun"
and then, obviously his career was really blossoming.
But the legacy of the show
wasn't just in front of the camera.
There was sitcom magic behind the scenes.
We were writers on "Roseanne",
and we're the creators of "the Middle."
Are you over 50?
- Ugh, yes. - Do you feel overwhelmed with clutter?
We loved the writing of "Roseanne" so much.
And we said, if we could bring that kind of authenticity,
dealing with having that heart
you know, and yet having the comedy,
all those are things that we brought from "Roseanne"
- into "the Middle." - Yeah, and not being afraid,
to write some serious situations
with characters who don't have a choice
always to quit their job.
Or... you know, if their credit card bill comes,
it actually is a real problem for them.
"The Middle" is definitely rooted in "Roseanne."
"The Roseanne show" became the roots
of a comedy writing family tree.
We had so many big writers
that have created incredible shows.
Heline and Heisler went on and created "The Middle".
Amy Sherman-Palladino.
Who obviously went on to create "Gilmore Girls."
Danny Jacobson.
Bruce Helford,
who went on to create
- many, many days of "Drew Carey". - And "Drew Carey"
and multiple things.
Chuck Lorre.
They * a lot of 'm.
It's a great training ground, and everybody knew,
if you survived "Roseanne", you must be pretty good.
We owe a debt to our time at "Roseanne."
And we have an Afghan on couch.
- Just as an hommage to Roseanne. - Absolutely.
It's a little nod, Afghan on the couch,
It means home to us.
I think that what Frankie and
Roseanne have in common.
Is, they're not like June Cleaver as far as their families go.
They're not wearing pearls and a dress with an apron.
They don't necessarily always
have a kind word
or an encouraging word for their kids.
And not that they're mean, but...
it's just sort of a realism with your kids
that I think a lot of parents relate to.
Okay. Here's your hat. Backpack.
Lunch.
I think what comes through in both shows
is the heart and the love.
♪
Just as it opened, so many seasons around the kitchen table,
"Roseanne's" last episode in 1997
included a final gathering of the extended Conner family.
The dining table is sort of like the hallmark
of where everybody gathers
for all important events and I think that
she used, you know, the kitchen and the table
as the linchpin of all those stories.
So, it made sense that you would resolve it all at the table.
The final episode shocked the viewers
with revealing Dan's character was actually dead,
and the entire last season, you know,
where they were rich and won the lottery...
We won the lottery!
Was all just a story Roseanne made up.
None of it happened.
My writing is really what got me through
the last year after Dan died.
I think I'll be a lot better now
that this book is done.
The sad ending hit hard for fans and for the cast.
The show ended and I was devastated.
Maybe one of the hardest moments of my entire life.
If you can picture everybody you know
that you literally have built
your world around for nine years
suddenly, everybody has to leave.
It was strange to be only, you know, 22 years old,
start back at ground zero and have to
build my life back up after having early success.
The show ended, but life moved on.
So, after the show, I did a bunch of other acting, "Seinfeld."
- Is there anybody else here but you? - I'm alone.
I did a few movies. And I focused on family.
And I met my wife and got married.
I really wanted my kids to have some kind of normal life
and I wanted to be heavily involved as a dad,
and so, I went behind the scenes,
I worked on the technical side of everything.
And then I was a high school coach,
mostly baseball, and softball.
I guess I look at it is, I got to chase my dream.
So, I kind of always loved
to help other people chase theirs.
I uhm, had been commuting from Canada,
so I moved back there.
Did my general arts degree.
Then when I was 24,
I was like, okay, I'm ready, I'll go back.
And then got lucky and got "Scrubs."
Next patient.
And ended up staying.
After the show was over, I...
did a few movies and I just started to work again,
and do different projects.
Lecy Goranson finished college,
and continues to act in film and theater.
You... go... to... sleep...
John Goodman's career includes dozens
of blockbusters and independent hits.
And Roseanne returned to standup, started a farm,
and even ran for president.
And Laurie Metcalf...
And then maybe you learn to pull yourself up,
And not expect everybody to do everything... ahh!
Well, she's going for Oscar gold next month.
Get ready for the return of "Roseanne."
Rare home video.
Their first day back in the old house.
We continue now with more of
"Roseanne: The return."
After 20 years...
Are you ready?
- Yeah, this is day enough. - I am for today.
The cast of "Roseanne" is back to work.
This is the first time they see the recreated set.
That first moment when we walked in together...
I don't know if you can totally explain it.
- Do you remember... - This is so... look at that.
It was just like walking into your home,
because it was so familiar.
Hi, everybody!
- Oh, my god. - Oh, my...
It was so crazy to walk into the set for the first time.
It feels like such a time warp.
Everybody remembers the couch!
And the Afghan.
Cans of Spam, and all the knickknacks
and the pictures on the walls and everything.
It was startling to walk onto that set again after 20 years.
I don't have the words to describe how it was.
It-it was strange, exhilarating,
the wallpaper was reproduced from photographs.
And the hair was standing up on my arms.
Like being home again.
So, we'd ever corn,
and then we had to find our pickled eggs.
- Where are the pickled eggs? - Pickled eggs?
Because we always had a big jar of pickled eggs in the pantry.
And that we got on Amazon.
The first table read was surreal.
Oh, she's my tootsie-wootsie...
There he is!
Just having everybody sit around the table
like we used to and have sets behind us
looking almost exactly the same.
It was truly incredible.
Everyone was crying and laughing.
And the network was excited,
which never happens.
Kids laughing, Roseanne curls up next to Dan.
Hey, just because they're up
doesn't mean we have to give up, you know, pleasuring me.
I don't have no time for the whole symphony of love.
But you can do with the "Greatest Hits".
It ended up being more of a magical,
like, Christmas morning.
How did they all get here after 20 years?
There's something I've been wanting
to talk to you about for a while now.
It began when John Goodman appeared on Sara Gilbert's talkshow.
What's that, kiddo?
Uhm... God,
I don't know how to say this.
I'm a talk show host.
It was just a fluke moment on Sara's talk show.
We did a little "Roseanne" sketch at the top of the show
and that, that felt like gold.
You know, for a minute there,
I thought you were going to tell me you were gay.
Just like falling out of bed, it was so easy.
Let's save something for halftime.
John, would you ever consider a reboot of "Roseanne?"
- Oh, hell yes. - I just thought,
oh, maybe the cast will do this.
So, I reached out to Roseanne and...
she thought about it a little bit
and we started to talk about it
and it just started to feel right.
I got a call from Sara Gilbert saying,
"What would" you think about revisiting 'Roseanne'?”
and I said, "Yes, yes, when?"
Where do we show up? I'm in.”
I came with a list of things
that I would have to have in order to do it.
I have a lot of anxiety. I don't bear stress well at 65.
I can't be at odds with anybody anymore.
Too old. And she said, I can do it.
And I said, all right, well, then do it.
And she did. Three weeks later, we had a deal at ABC.
The Conners joys and struggles are as relevant,
and as hilarious today as they were then.
And there is really no one better
to comment on our modern America than “Roseanne.”
We're at a point in time
in our country where people are divided.
Where there's a lot of frustration and there's a lot of angst.
There's a lot of economic frustration.
And I think the Conners really signify that.
Our last elections, the jokes were just writing themselves.
I will wake up with jokes in my head. Dream jokes.
We wanted to show an accurate depiction of America.
And there are new faces in the Conner family portrait.
One of my favorite episodes
was when D.J. Wouldn't kiss the black girl in the school play.
Is it because she's black?
Well, you'll be mad if I say yes.
- No, we won't. - Yes, we will.
We wanted to honor a lot of those really powerful story lines
currently in this season, he married her
and they have a child that's on the show.
They are unlike any other family on television.
And again, in this run, like the first run,
do not shy away from any topic.
I think it's exactly what's needed.
And it's so damn funny.
I think people need to laugh right now.
You're not seeing double?
Both Beckys are back,
on screen together for the first time.
It was really fun.
I play Andrea on the show and I...
hire Lecy to be my surrogate.
A lot of our old friends are back on set too,
but what about everybody's favorite outfit,
that chicken shirt?
I don't know the origin story
other than it's fabulous.
The chicken shirt came about as a joke with wardrobe.
They thought initially that it was kind of ugly.
But next thing you know,the chicken shirt ends up on the show
and then it kind of grew.
Roseanne was wearing it and Laurie was wearing it.
And I think I wore it once.
It just got around.
We thought it was so hilarious that it became a game
of who could wear the chicken shirt
and it rotated on different cast members.
Oh, the chicken shirt is definitely back.
Of course, the chicken shirt
and the Afghan,
it wouldn't be "Roseanne" without either of those.
[LAUGHING]
The end of the day, folks still like to be told great stories.
And the Conners, they told great stories.
I think it may even be funnier now,
just because of the times we live in.
What's going on, both
socially and culturally and politically and...
I think this is probably perfect timing to reboot "Roseanne."
There's a lot of surprises in for people.
I think we answer all the questions,
people have asked me for 20 years.
Here's a test for you.
What's the one thing everybody remembers from "Roseanne?"
You'll find out when we return.
Ah, the Afghan on the couch.
You know you had one.
But it wouldn't have been "Roseanne" without it.
- Dan won't get off the couch. - Honey, get off the couch.
- Shh. - I believe,
the Afghan just showed up on the set.
Who knew that it would become iconic, you know?
This is the show.
- This thing right here. - What is it with you?
All you do is lay here on the couch staring at that stupid TV.
We wanted an Afghan like my grandmother used to make.
Now come on, Dan, we're missing a chance
to give this family a dose of culture.
She'd whip them up in about two hours.
She was so good at it.
Everybody's house in the Midwest had one of those,
so, it was like, part of having some realism in the show.
- You look great, mom. - Well, thank you.
We've all taken naps on that couch.
People have used that Afghan to sleep in.
While writers were rewriting stuff.
You don't even know what cop material is.
Somebody swiped it.
They always gave me that when I say,
I'd like to have that Afghan.
Oh, it's in the Smithsonian.
That's what they tell me.
We spent a lot of time jumping around,
and playing on it, and jumping over it,
and the set really, for us, feels like home.
Roseanne, my dear, thanks for the memories.
And we look forward to make new ones with you.
You can catch a first look at the new "Roseanne"
during this year's Oscars.
And of course, the brand new series
starts March 27th right here on ABC.
I'm Joy Behar.
Thanks for watching.
And I'll see you tomorrow on "the view."
Good night.