Despite her domineering nature, however, Roseanne is a loving wife and mother and loyal friend who works hard and makes as much time for her family as possible.
[6] In 1987, coming up with ideas for new shows, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner of Carsey-Werner Productions decided to look into the concept of the working mother as a central voice.
Barr's act at the time was the persona of the "domestic goddess", but as Carsey and Werner explains, she had the distinctive voice and attitude for the character and she was able to transform her into the working class heroine they envisioned.
[8] Barr has stated she had crafted the "fierce working-class domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding the sitcom and wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal consumerism.
In the original pilot of the show, Roseanne Conner is depicted on a Friday evening preparing to light candles for Shabbat.
[8] In the same interview, Werner said, "I don't think Roseanne, to this day, understands that this is something legislated by the Writers Guild, and it's part of what every show has to deal with.
[8] Roseanne Harris Conner is a lifelong resident of Lanford, a fictional mid-sized city in Illinois, stated to be about two hours from Chicago.
Roseanne married her high-school sweetheart Dan Conner (John Goodman), who works as an independent drywall contractor.
When the series begins, they have been married for fifteen years and have three children: adolescent Becky (Alicia Goranson), pre-teen Darlene (Sara Gilbert), and young D.J.
Roseanne's parents, Bev and Al, arrive for an unannounced visit, sending the family into an uproar when they announce they may move to Lanford.
Roseanne is close to her youngest child, son, D.J., while Dan constantly frets if he expresses interest in anything other than masculine activities.
In the episode "Death and Stuff", a door-to-door salesman dies in the Conners' kitchen, and in the season finale, Roseanne stands up to the new overbearing foreman, then leads Jackie, Crystal, and other coworkers to quit Wellman Plastics.
Roseanne cycles through a variety of menial jobs including telemarketer, secretary for Dan's boss, bartender, cashier at a fast-food restaurant, and, finally, sweeping floors at a beauty parlor.
At home, Dan's poker buddy Arnie Thomas (Tom Arnold) shocks Roseanne when he plants a kiss on her, though it is only meant platonically.
Roseanne wants ten minutes to herself to soak in the bathtub; this turns into a bizarre dream sequence in which the entire cast sings parodies of songs from musical comedies.
When old biker buddy Ziggy (Jay O. Sanders) appears in town, it reminds Roseanne and Dan of their own anti-establishment past.
After a drunken one-night stand with Arnie she is unable to remember, Jackie reevaluates her life and signs up for truck driving school.
At the end of the season, the Conners face severe economic problems as Lanford Custom Cycle fails and Rodbell's Luncheonette closes.
Roseanne's rich cousin Ronnie (Joan Collins) visits and encourages Darlene to apply to an arts college.
Dan enters a new business venture of flipping houses for profit, but nearly goes under after new partner Roger (Tim Curry), skips town as the first mortgage payment is coming due.
[22] Season eight addresses the arrival of Roseanne and Dan's son, Jerry Garcia Conner, who is born on Halloween night.
Dan decides to quit his secure city job to work with Chuck and Bob to help build the new prison being constructed outside of Lanford.
With the pension, final check, and retirement money he receives for leaving his job, Dan gives his family the vacation to Walt Disney World.
To cope, Roseanne twisted major elements of her life for the story, which the audience does not discover until the final moments of the series.
[24] The television program was revived in 2018 on ABC, where it had originally aired, with all main cast including Roseanne Barr returning.
There is also a storyline involving Roseanne taking opiate medication for the pain, much of which she receives from friends, and becoming addicted to the drug.
Amid other important plot points, near the end of the season, Roseanne's knee degenerates further, requiring surgery.
The program was initially renewed for an 11th season but was rapidly cancelled on May 29, 2018, when Barr was fired from the show after she wrote a racist tweet describing Valerie Jarrett, a Black woman and one of President Barack Obama's senior advisers, as the offspring of the "Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes.
"[5] One month after Barr was fired, the other cast members and ABC agreed to create an entirely new program entitled The Conners.
An article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune called their relationship realistic, commenting that while they mock each other, viewers can feel their love while they deal with the kinds of problems real families face.