Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Conners Season 7.The ConnersSeason 7 came to aconclusion last week, but as warned by starEmma Kenney,the actress who plays Harris Conner-Healy, in an interview withTVLine, there was one major issue with the finale series. After 100+ episodes,The ConnersandRoseannestory is over. The originalRoseannestarted in 1988 and aired nine seasons before concluding in 1997. In 2018, Roseanne was revived for what some consider its tenth season. However, it was canceled one season after the main star,Roseanne Barr,was fired for an inappropriate tweet.
Thus,The Connerswas born. The main star, Roseanne, was removed from the series under the guise of an accidental overdose, and the rest of the Dan (John Goodman), Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Becky (Lecy Goranson), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and the rest of the Conner clan continued to share their storylines onscreen for about seven years. However, now the show and all its revivals are over. There are no moreRoseanneorThe Connersto bless TV screens, as the final season is officially complete. Unfortunately, though,The Conners’last season made one major mistake.
‘The Conners’ Season 7 Was Far Too Short
When it comes to sitcoms, it’s common for them to have around 20 episodes per season, which is what the originalRoseanne seriescontained.Most ofThe Connersseasonsalso had more than 15 episodes. ForRoseanneand its revivals, the episodes are also less than a half hour after considering the commercials, so while the seasons are long,there isn’t always a lot of time to share all the stories, even in a full season.However, as Kenney hinted, there was a problem with the final season.
The Connerswere ready to end their and Roseanne’s story with the final season containing six episodes, making the shortest season ultimately the series’ biggest pitfall. With the other six seasons being almost quadruple that amount,this final season is considerably shorter than previous ones, totaling about “three hours,” according to Kenney. While it’s not unheard of for other series to have short final seasons, such asArrowandBrooklyn Nine-Nine,The Connersstill had a lot of story to tell and the finale didn’t wrap them all up.
‘The Conners’ Proved It Could Survive Without Roseanne
The series promoted a new lead, and it worked like a charm.
The Connersseason being shortisn’t the only issue; it leads to a bigger problem: a lack of time. As Kenney stated, “it definitely is difficult to wrap the whole world up in just six episodes… It does leave a few open-ended questions towards the end,” which is exactly what occurred. With only six episodes,there wasn’t much time left for all the stars to share their growth or how they’d progress.Some characters were left out of the finale completely and weren’t even mentioned. DJ, the third-youngest child and oldest son, wasn’t involved in the final season or the finale, despite him being on the show for the first few seasons of the revival.
There was also concern about Jerry, the Conners’ youngest son. He didn’t appear in the series at all, although he was briefly mentioned to be on a fishing trip in Alaska. In the show, Dan also made comments about having three kids, which the producers claimed they would explain later on. Unfortunately,fans never received any answers regarding Jerry’s whereabouts. Also, Beverly’s (Estelle Parsons) road trip or her health also wasn’t mentioned, and she too was involved from the beginning of the revivals.
Overall, while theseries did its best to give the charactersinvolved positive storylines, ultimately, the finale missed an opportunity to fully satisfy viewers. Having a long season would’ve allowed the show more opportunities to follow up on the other storylines and tie tighter knots around the stars' progress. A longer season could’ve also probably given Roseanne a more appropriate and rewarding farewell. Darlene still ended her segment at a weird place with her husband Ben, and just a few more episodes could’ve cleaned up the finale just a little better. Ultimately, despite strong storylines throughout the show,The Connersfailed to land on its feet thanks to the much shorter final season.
Watch all episodes ofThe Connerson Netflix in the U.S.
The Conners
