Season 3 of the “Roseanne” spinoff tackles the struggles of COVID expertly.
BY: JACOB POLITTE
Online Editor
Despite the unceremonious departure of its original star, “The Conners” continues to mirror its predecessor “Roseanne,” tackling real-life issues that matter to those who struggle to make ends meet.
COVID-19 has forced unprecedented storylines on the spinoff’s third season―currently airing on the ABC Network and led by industry veterans John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, and Sara Gilbert. It also has majorly affected the production of the show itself; the show, one of the first to resume production after the events of last spring, is filming without a live studio audience, and has placed several other COVID-preventative protocols in place. These changes aren’t noticeable to the typical viewer, and the way the show is made still feels the same.
But on camera and in the script, the effects of the pandemic are more prevalent than ever. The fictional town of Lanford, Illinois is suffering more than ever as a result of the economic devastation of COVID, and so are the show’s characters. As the season opens, Jackie (Metcalf) is working overtime to keep her new restaurant open despite not being allowed to have customers dine in, and the publication that Darlene (Gilbert) and her boyfriend started folds and goes out of print, forcing her to get a job at the factory her mother used to work at. And family patriarch Dan (Goodman) is on the brink of losing his house, as the premiere finds he and his family days away from eviction, forcing the elderly father to lay off his entire construction staff to try and make ends meet.
Even some of the show’s less featured characters are having COVID struggles of a different kind. In the season’s second episode, the younger Conner brother DJ (Michael Fishman) is proving to surprisingly be the most successful member of the family, but has to leave his young daughter Mary home alone for increasingly long periods of time due to his recent promotion and the work commitments that come with it; his wife is deployed overseas. When the family suggests that Mary stay with them during the days that DJ works, he’s understandably upset, but the money he’s making is too good to give up, especially during a pandemic.
Only two episodes of the third season of “The Conners” have aired at the time this article was published; a third will air on Wednesday. The show looks to continue to effectively tell stories that portray COVID’s effects on the average American. It’s not a perfect season, but it says what needs to be said.
