As The Conners comes to an end, some characters from the Roseanne universe are expected to reprise their roles in the seventh and final season — but which aren’t returning?
Roseanne originally aired on ABC from 1988 to 1997. After being briefly revived in 2018 — and after star Roseanne Barr’s eventual exit from the series amid controversial social media posts — the story transformed into The Conners.
After seven seasons on the air, the sitcom is preparing to wrap up — but not without some exciting cameos first. Emma Kenney hinted how certain characters will be addressed on screen, exclusively telling Us Weekly in March, “The series finale does show tribute the way we could. We’ve had so many amazing guest stars and recurring roles over the years. Everybody has been so fun and brought in something different to the show.”
Kenney’s costar and onscreen aunt Lecy Goranson weighed in on the idea of Barr’s character being brought up in the final episodes. “It’s a really interesting thing. [The idea of] when to bring her up, how it has been through the series is when it seems right,” Goranson shared with Us that same month. There’s touches of it without really landing on it and making it super heavy.”
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Despite not every fan favorite making it back for the six-episode season, Goranson was proud of how The Conners found a way to mention certain missing characters — starting with Roseanne.
“If it felt like this is a Hollywood thing to bring all the guest stars back, that’s exciting for the audience. But it’s not really true to the world of the show,” the actress noted. “We’ve had people have feelings about the show since Roseanne left. But with what we have, it’s been really, really tasteful and well done, so I’m proud of it.”
Keep scrolling to find out which Roseanne stars could — or won’t — return to The Conners:
Roseanne Conner
The Roseanne revival was canceled in 2018 after Barr’s controversial comments about then-President Obama’s former senior advisor, Valerie Jarrett. The spinoff was created without Barr’s involvement and she hasn’t made an appearance since the drama.
“I just can’t bear it, so I don’t [watch],” Barr told The Los Angeles Times in February 2023. “When they killed my character off, that was a message to me, knowing that I’m mentally ill or have mental health issues, that they did want me to commit suicide.”
She continued: “They killed my character … And all of that was to say thank you for bringing 28 million viewers, which they never had before and will never see again. Because they can kiss my a**.”
Dan Conner
Season 7 introduced a story line where Dan (John Goodman) and Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) are at odds about suing Big Pharma for Roseanne’s death.
Jackie Harris-Goldufski
In addition to the fictional legal drama, Metcalf reunited with her daughter — and fellow actress — Zoe Perry on multiple episodes of the show’s final season.
Becky Conner-Healy
“I don’t want a break. I would love a spinoff,” Goranson, who has shared the role of Becky Conner with Sarah Chalke since the OG series, exclusively told Us in March. “I imagine that might be complicated but I would love that. I love my colleagues so much and the crew.”
Goranson offered Us a hint of what is to come, adding, “I think one of the things that I was hoping that did happen [when wrapping up The Conners] was knowing that they were going on with their lives. So it wasn’t like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a lightning bolt and there go the Connors.’ I hope that it would give you an imagination of Becky — who’s been through so much — that you knew that there was some hope in her future.”
Harris Conner-Healy
During an interview with Us in March, Kenney said she “trusted the writers” when it came to wrapping up her arc, “I liked the way my character Harris’ story ends and I could definitely envision the rest of her life if it were to be on camera too. … [The writers have] known all of these characters for so long now. I knew they were going to do all of the characters justice.”
Mark Conner-Healy
It hasn’t been confirmed whether Ames McNamara will return after previously leaving five seasons in. According to Kenney, the series finale “does show a tribute the way we could. We’ve had so many amazing guest stars and recurring roles over the years. Everybody has been so fun and brought in something different to the show.”
David Healy
“[David is] very much mentioned, very much alive in the story,” executive producer Bruce Helford told TVLine in March 2025. “We love Johnny [Galecki], he was always welcome, but he has more or less started life anew down in Nashville [following the conclusion of The Big Bang Theory].”
D.J. Conner
Fellow executive producer Dave Caplan told TVLine that “there was so much to do in six” episodes that there won’t be time to revisit characters whose stories were already wrapped up. (Michael Fishman only appeared in four seasons of The Conners before his exit.)
“Honestly, once you see the arcs [you will understand],” Helford added. “What we never want to do is just bring somebody in just to see that person on the show. We want everyone to have something important to play.”
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Beverly Harris
Season 6 showed Estelle Parsons‘ Bev make amends with Jackie. As a result, she likely won’t return since the actress is now 97 and living in New York, which wouldn’t make it easy for Parsons since the show filmed in Los Angeles. Helford, however, confirmed there would be an update on Roseanne’s mother before the finale, adding, “There are certainly some comments made about her situation.”
Geena Williams-Conner
Along with Fishman’s exit, Maya Lynne Robinson‘s character was written off as well. Season 5 confirmed that D.J. reunited with his wife, Geena, who was stationed in Germany. The final episodes are set to touch on how their daughter Mary — who was written out after season 5 — joined her parents overseas.
