History Trivia / Roseanne

** As mentioned below the original title for the series was actually ''Life and Stuff'', and was not originally designed to be Roseanne Barr's personal creative vehicle. Prior to Barr's inclusion the original concept of the show was to follow three women with equal billing; one being married, one having lost their husband (either via divorce or death), and one who is single and has never been married. This did carry over a bit into the final show, only with Roseanne as the married woman taking up the majority of the attention, with her sister Jackie as the single woman, and her best friend Crystal as a widower.

* OldShame:
** As mentioned above, Creator/JossWhedon wrote five episodes, but he doesn't look back on it fondly. Apparently Roseanne Barr's diva behavior was at its worst and the crew bore the brunt of it.
** The final season of the original run seems to have become this, with Dan's death being written out in the new season, along with the lottery win that led to season 9's infamous GenreShift.
** In a 1992 interview with Joan Rivers on the Joan Rivers Show, Sara Gilbert stated that the episode "Nightmare On Oak Street" was one she didn't like, particularly because it "was high on the embarrassment factor" of getting her period

* OldShame: Despite its enormous success in the ratings, Barr's extremely controversial Twitter posts led numerous networks to pull all reruns of the series, though CMT and TV Land re-added the series to their lineup in October 2018 following the premiere of ''The Conners'', with Paramount Network following suit two months later.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. Both were blue-collared (and comedy), wisecracking dysfunctional families from Illinois and both shows ended the same year. The chief difference was that MWC deliberately grew more over-the-top cartoonish while this series was so dedicated to gritty realism that at times, were it not for the deadpan snarking and gallows humor, it would barely qualify as a comedy. Although ''Roseanne'' received more critical acclaim and numerous Emmy wins (mostly at the expense of ''MWC''), the latter show lasted a full decade and is usually remembered more fondly. See OldShame and YMMV.{{Roseanne}} for more details.

* RealLifeWritesTheHairstyle: During the final season, Creator/JohnGoodman was also filming ''Film/TheBigLebowski''. At one point, he appears as Walter.

* DuelingShows: With ''Series/MarriedWithChildren''. Both were blue-collared (and comedy), wisecracking dysfunctional families from Illinois and both shows ended the same year. Although ''Roseanne'' received more critical acclaim and numerous Emmy wins (mostly at the expense of ''MWC''), the latter show lasted a full decade and is usually remembered more fondly. See OldShame and YMMV.{{Roseanne}} for more details.

** While initial talks about a revival were in the works, Roseanne was very tight-lipped about what the Connor family was up to, saying it was intellectual property which might be developed later. However, apparently the talks fell through, because at the end of 2009 she posted a [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110108225932/http://www.roseanneworld.com/blog/2009/12/reunion-show.php blog]] that gave a few details as to what the family was up to (their fate in the ''actual'' revival is detailed in brackets):
*** DJ gets published. (DJ doesn't appear to have ever attempted a career as a writer; he joined the military, served overseas, and returned home to work as a menial laborer.)
*** Mark dies in Iraq. (Mark ''did'' die - [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim he pretty much had to]] - but his cause of death was revealed in the third season of ''Series/TheConners'' as a motorcycle accident.)
*** David leaves Darlene for a woman half his age. (He ''did'' leave Darlene - for the same RealLife reason in both versions, because Creator/JohnnyGalecki was busy on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' - but his eventual girlfriend "Blue" is shown to be his own age.)
*** Darlene meets a woman and they have a test tube baby. (Darlene isn't gay, and her two children are both the product of her marriage with David. After they break up, she becomes interested in another man, Ben, but is unable to have children with him.)
*** Becky works at Wal-Mart. (Casa Bonita, actually, but close enough.)
*** Roseanne and Jackie open the first medical marijuana dispensary in Lanford, Illinois and pay off the mortgage before the house is foreclosed on. (Roseanne and Jackie did lose the Lunch Box, but Roseanne was working as an uber driver and Jackie as a "life coach".)

*** Mom sells a painting for ten grand. (Mom does have a nest egg, but there's no indication she got it from selling anything.)
*** Nancy and Arnie remarry. (Nancy does briefly reappear but her sexuality is never mentioned.)
*** Jerry and the grandsons form a band like the Jonas Brothers. (Jerry doesn't appear directly but is said to be a fisherman off the coast of Alaska; Darlene's son Mark is an artist, not a musician; Jackie's son Andy has never been mentioned and is believed to have been retconned out.)
*** Dan shows up alive after faking his death. (The "Dan was DeadAllAlong" explanation was completely [[RetCon retconned]].)
*** [[TransEqualsGay Leon has a sex change op.]] (Leon never appears, strangely enough.)

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: While initial talks about a revival were in the works, Roseanne was very tight-lipped about what the Connor family was up to, saying it was intellectual property which might be developed later. However, apparently the talks fell through, because at the end of 2009 she posted a [[https://web.archive.org/web/20110108225932/http://www.roseanneworld.com/blog/2009/12/reunion-show.php blog]] that gave a few details as to what the family was up to (their fate in the ''actual'' revival is detailed in brackets):
** DJ gets published. (DJ doesn't appear to have ever attempted a career as a writer; he joined the military, served overseas, and returned home to work as a menial laborer.)
** Mark dies in Iraq. (Mark ''did'' die - [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim he pretty much had to]] - but his cause of death was revealed in the third season of ''Series/TheConners'' as a motorcycle accident.)
** David leaves Darlene for a woman half his age. (He ''did'' leave Darlene - for the same RealLife reason in both versions, because Creator/JohnnyGalecki was busy on ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' - but his eventual girlfriend "Blue" is shown to be his own age.)
** Darlene meets a woman and they have a test tube baby. (Darlene isn't gay, and her two children are both the product of her marriage with David. After they break up, she becomes interested in another man, Ben, although she does consider having a third child with him.)
** Becky works at Wal-Mart. (Casa Bonita, actually, but close enough.)
** Roseanne and Jackie open the first medical marijuana dispensary in Lanford, Illinois and pay off the mortgage before the house is foreclosed on. (Roseanne and Jackie did lose the Lunch Box, but Roseanne was working as an uber driver and Jackie as a "life coach".)
** Arnie becomes the best friend of the governor of Illinois. (Arnie didn't appear as Tom Arnold and Roseanne Barr were very much on opposite sides of the whole Trump debate despite having shown signs of reconciliation beforehand.)
** Mom sells a painting for ten grand. (Mom does have a nest egg, but there's no indication she got it from selling anything.)
** Nancy and Arnie remarry. (Nancy does briefly reappear but her sexuality is never mentioned.)
** Jerry and the grandsons form a band like the Jonas Brothers. (Jerry doesn't appear directly but is said to be a fisherman off the coast of Alaska; Darlene's son Mark is an artist, not a musician; Jackie's son Andy has never been mentioned and is believed to have been retconned out.)
** Dan shows up alive after faking his death. (The "Dan was DeadAllAlong" explanation was completely [[RetCon retconned]].)
** [[TransEqualsGay Leon has a sex change op.]] (Leon never appears, strangely enough.)
** Bonnie gets busted for selling crack. (Bonnie never appears either - not surprising, she hasn't been seen since season 4.)

* AbsenteeActor: Creator/MichaelFishman (D.J.) does not appear in the episode "Darlene v. David", even though it revolves around his niece Harris' birthday and his daughter Mary does appear.

* UnderminedByReality: The entire revival was predicated on disproving stereotypes of Trump-era American Republicans, in particular that they were racist. Then Rosanne Barr posted a tweet about Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett on Twitter that many derided as racist, whereupon it was cancelled and retooled into the less-explicitly political ''Series/TheConners'', without Barr.

** Mark dies in Iraq. (Mark ''did'' die - [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim he pretty much had to]] - but his cause of death was revealed in the third season of ''Series/TheConners'' as a motorcycle accident.

* BannedEpisode: "Roseambo" was withdrawn from further airings after the events of September 11th, 2001 due to its' terrorism plot, though it was eventually released on DVD.

** Mark dies in Iraq. (Mark ''did'' die - [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim he pretty much had to]] - but his cause of death was never revealed.)

* UnderminedByReality: The entire revival was predicated on disproving stereotypes of Trump-era American Republicans, in particular that they were racist. Then Rosanne Barr made flagrantly racist remarks about Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett on Twitter, whereupon it was cancelled and retooled into the less-explicitly political ''Series/TheConners'', without Barr.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Roseanne Barr has always been treated as a magnet for controversy, a controversial tweet made on Barr's Twitter account about Valerie Jarrett caused ABC to cancel the revival after one season, despite getting relatively high ratings.

** Roseanne Barr plays Roseanne Conner.

* FakeNationality:
** Glenn Quinn was Irish, and had a couple of slips through the show, including once when Mark came home drunk; this seemed oddly fitting, since the struggle between the two accents sounded pretty much like someone who has had a few too many and are slurring their words.

* TheCharacterDiedWithHim: Mark's actor, Glenn Quinn, died a few years after the original series ended. When the show returned in 2018, it was mentioned that Mark was dead.

** Things, however, hit their peak with a controversial tweet by Barr against a former adviser of Barack Obama, prompting producer Creator/WandaSykes to be disassociated from the series and numerous other cast and crew, including Roseanne's ex and former supporting actor Tom Arnold condemning her words. Within a day, ABC released a statement also condemning Barr's repugnant comments, and formally cancelled the series altogether.

* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: Roseanne Barr has always been treated as a magnet for controversy, but [[TheLastStraw the misdemeanor in question that led to her removal]] from the 2018 revival was a controversial tweet made on Barr's Twitter account about a black former advisor to Barack Obama. ABC thus cancelled the revival after one season, despite getting relatively high ratings.

** Things however, hit their peak with a controversial tweet by Barr against a former adviser of Barack Obama, prompting producer Creator/WandaSykes to be disassociated from the series and numerous other cast and crew, including Roseanne's ex and former supporting actor Tom Arnold condemning her words. Within a day, ABC released a statement also condemning Barr's repugnant comments, and formally cancelled the series altogether.
* FranchiseKiller: The series was renewed for another season ''the day after the revival's premiere'' due to the strong ratings for the first episode, but thanks to an infamous tweet in late May 2018 by lead actress Roseanne Barr (which also resulted in Wanda Sykes and Creator/EmmaKenney deciding to leave), the revival was cancelled afterward. Due to Roseanne's public image having already become shaky before the series aired, this will likely be the death knell for the sitcom, though an {{Aftershow}} called ''The Conners'' was greenlit by ABC less than a month later without Barr's involvement.

* FranchiseKiller: The series was renewed for another season ''the day after the revival's premiere'' due to the strong ratings for the first episode, but thanks to an infamous tweet in late May 2018 by lead actress Roseanne Barr (which also resulted in Wanda Sykes and Emma Kenney deciding to leave), the revival was cancelled afterward. Due to Roseanne's public image having already become shaky before the series aired, this will likely be the death knell for the sitcom, though an {{Aftershow}} called ''The Conners'' was greenlit by ABC less than a month later without Barr's involvement.

* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Michael Fishman so uncannily resembles Roseanne Barr that they even remark on the resemblance InUniverse (even though a child looking like one of his parents is hardly remarkable in RealLife). That said, Roseanne Barr has remarked that Fishman looks more like her than her actual children do.

** One of the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} and ridiculous examples of all time, with plenty of unabashed LampshadeHanging. When Lecy Goranson left the show for school, Becky was written out as having moved to Minnesota, but eventually returned, now played by Sarah Chalke. At the beginning of the 8th season, Goranson returned and played Becky steadily for a run of episodes, with Chalke actually ''cameoing as a different character'' in the Halloween episode. After this, Chalke was brought in again as Becky on-and-off over the course of that season for any episodes Goranson was unavailable for, including the Disneyworld two-parter and Darlene's wedding. Finally, at the beginning of the 9th season, Chalke took over again.

** Sarah Chalke is a Canadian actress, playing the American Becky.

** Allegedly the main reason for the departure of Sal Barone, the original D.J., after the pilot. He and Sara Gilbert didn't get along.