ABC Executives Reportedly Regret ‘Knee-Jerk’ Firing of Roseanne, Fear The Conners Will Flop
There may be some regret among the top brass of ABC over the firing of Roseanne Barr.
According to a report from The Daily Mail, two senior executives at the network are expressing hesitation ahead of next week’s premiere of the Roseanne spinoff The Conners, suggesting that her firing last summer may have been a “knee-jerk” reaction.
‘We didn’t think it through properly. What Roseanne did was wrong but we shouldn’t have rushed to fire her. It was almost a knee-jerk reaction by Ben [Sherwood] and Channing [Dungey] who should have launched an investigation,’ a source told The Daily Mail. “This would have given them more time to listen to the public, advertisers and cast members to determine the best decision.”
The Conners has the entire cast returning without Roseanne, but one executive fears there simply isn’t enough interest without its star.
“When we greenlit The Conners we thought that the public would tune in to see the family return but what we’ve discovered is that people want Roseanne – they don’t want the family by themselves,’ another source said. “The marketing and publicity teams are horrified as no matter what promotional material is released – and let’s be honest it’s been limited for a show that launches next Tuesday – Roseanne’s fans come out in force stating that they won’t watch the show.”
An ABC insider admitted of a pretty grim forecast for The Conners.
“What we’re expecting is for there to be some tune in so fans can actually learn how Roseanne departs, but from there the worry is the ratings will freefall,” the source continued. “In the end the ratings are all that matter – and there are many people at Disney and ABC who are worried that firing Roseanne will see their Tuesday night ratings drop substantially. And should The Conners flop, Channing and her team will have many questions to answer.”
Roseanne was fired within hours for a racially-charged tweet attacking former Obama official Valerie Jarrett.
[image via screengrab]
