Roseanne returns for a revived tenth season March 27th, 8pm on ABC.
Another day, another pop culture revival! The legendary comedy series Roseanne is returning to ABC. Admittedly, I had never seen an episode of the original nine-season run, so diving into the three early episodes made available for reviewers, I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a charming series that remarkably seemed nostalgic to me, despite not being a familiar viewer.
To be sure, there were some inside jokes for diehards that went straight over my head, like how John Goodman’s Dan is alive and well despite being killed off in the now-irrelevant series finale, or that Sarah Chalke plays a different character here than she did in past seasons. Still, prior knowledge of the Conner family is not required to feel at home with these new episodes. This is mainly due to every character being a sitcom archetype, but it’s a plus nonetheless.
A bunch of the new installments deal with prominent social issues, but none will be discussed more than the 2016 election. In fact, the only thing I knew about Roseanne prior to watching the show was that creator and star Roseanne Barr is a legitimate right-wing nutcase on Twitter. Thankfully, politics are handled gracefully for the most part, and the Trump-supporting aspect of the show is completely played for laughs. Unfortunately there’s just a tad of “both sides”-ism, but it can be ignored.
I’d be remiss not to mention the wickedly talented Laurie Metcalf in this article. Fresh off dramatic roles in Broadway’s A Doll’s House Part 2 and the Oscar-nominated Lady Bird, she jumps right back into that laugh track rhythm we all love. She quickly became my favorite character in the show. Maybe I’ll start watching The Big Bang Theory just for her! (Just kidding, that will never happen.)
I despise most shows in this genre, but I can actually see myself adding Roseanne to the DVR. That’s a win!
TV and City 