Roseanne
CAST: Roseanne, John Goodman, Lecy Goranson, Sarah Chalke, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Laurie Metcalf
9 Seasons from 1988 - 1997
Production Co: the Carsey-Werner Company
Network: ABC
The Reagan era lowered a blanket of conservatism upon America during the '80s. Under it simmered the AIDS crisis, the shrinking incomes of middle class families and a slowdown of the women’s rights movement.
Enter comedienne Roseanne Barr, who snapped up the blanket and exposed the dirty secrets lying in the bed of America’s heartland. Barr’s character, along with her TV husband played by John Goodman, worked multiple jobs, struggling to keep up with the bills and raise their three children. This bitchy, bossy, hard-working matriarch of the Connor family, she put a feminine face on blue-collar America.
The show was considered groundbreaking and was as controversial as it was popular for its honest and bold writing that tackled previously untouched subjects in primetime such as poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, sex, menstruation, birth control, teenage pregnancy, masturbation, obesity, abortion, race, social class, domestic violence, and gay rights.
The series is available on DVD.
When Roseanne was filming, she was a frequent guest at nearby among other local eateries, always holding court, sometimes with her team of writers and cast.
Tile #237 on the Studio City Walk of Fame
From historian Marc Wanamaker's upcoming book:
Roseanne introduced new elements to reflect its times: Mom, not Dad, was the center of the household; both were hefty people; both worked; and when at home, Mom never failed to have a foul word for the kids. The one thing that did not change was the basic element of a loving family. Mom didn’t really mean it and every put down was accompanied by a laugh. The show was a huge hit from the first episode and catapulted Roseanne from stand-up to the cover of every magazine on the newsstand in late 1988.
The series was shot on CBS Studio Center’s Stage #2…lucky stage…home to Gilligan’s Island, Mary Tyler Moore Show, WKRP in Cincinnatti and That 70’s Show. George Clooney was a regular in the ’88-’89 season. Tom Arnold was also on the show (’89-’93).
