ABC Has Cancelled the Reboot of “Roseanne”

Who wasn’t excited when it was announced that the classic 1988 sitcom Roseanne was making a comeback? Back then, it was an iconic show that painted an honest picture of what it was like to raise kids in Middle America.

Viewers could relate to the main character, Roseanne Connor — a real-life Midwest mom who was living a working-class life in Illinois — on so many levels, which is why it always did so well, and consequently, why it was brought back to life.

And things were going really well for the reboot. In fact, roughly 18.2 million viewers tuned in to see what the family had been up to for the past two decades. However, the third week’s episode stirred up quite a bit of controversy.

In the episode, Roseanne and her granddaughter, Harris, were arguing about excessive use of the washer and dryer. She yelled at her pretty aggressively, telling her she needed to be more grateful, and then called her an “entitled little b**ch.” Harris shot back, calling Roseanne a “stupid hillbilly.”

That’s not all—things went a little “dark,” as some critics put it, when Roseanne forced Harris’s head under the kitchen faucet, pinned her down, and sprayed her aggressively with water while shouting, “Welcome to the hillbilly day spa!”

Fans thought this went a little too far and ratings took a slight dip around that episode. However, for the next two months, ratings remained high, and there wasn’t anything too negative to say about the episodes. In fact, the show was already renewed for a second season.

But on May 29, things took a turn for the worst when ABC suddenly decided to cancel the entire series after a racist tweet went viral from the star of the show herself: Roseanne Barr.

The tweet was referencing Valerie Jarrett, an African-American woman who was a senior adviser to Barack Obama throughout his presidency. Roseanne wrote in the tweet if the “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj.”

Roseanne deleted the tweet and apologized immediately. “I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans,” she said. “I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”

But sometimes an apology just doesn’t cut it. Even after deleting the tweet, saying she was sorry, and having high ratings, it wasn’t enough. ABC remained firm in their decision to cancel the show.

“On behalf of all the writers and producers, we worked incredibly hard to create an amazing show,” said the series showrunner Bruce Helford in a statement. “I was personally horrified and saddened by the comments and in no way do they reflect the values of the people who worked so hard to make this the iconic show that it is.”

“There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing,” Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger said in support of the decision.

Check out the video below to learn more about the cancellation and hear what ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey—the one who made the decision to cancel the show—had to say about it.

Were you an avid Roseanne fan? What do you think about the decision to cancel the Roseanne reboot? Do you agree or disagree with the decision?