Although The Conners season 4 had seemingly forgotten all about Jackie’s boyfriend, Neville, one line in the sitcom made it clear that the series intends to bring his plotline back soon. A lot is going on in The Conners season 4, so it is understandable that the sitcom occasionally loses track of one or two titular family members. Harris’s lengthy feud with her mother Darlene, along with Darlene’s on-again, off-again relationship with Ben, took up so much screen time that Darlene's son Mark didn’t appear in The Conners season 4 for three whole episodes before the show returned to his plotline.
Sometimes The Conners leaves storylines unattended for so long that it begins to feel like the series has forgotten about them. Becky’s academic probation, for example, or Harris’s frequent issues with her immature boyfriend, Aldo, have both been dropped by The Conners season 4 despite initially seeming like serious, character-reshaping subplots. As a result of this tendency, it was refreshing and reassuring to see Jackie’s boyfriend, Neville, mentioned in The Conners season 4 for the first time in a long while.
While on the phone with his misanthropic great-grandmother Beverly, Mark had a throwaway line in The Conners season 4, episode 18, "The Best Laid Plans, A Contrabassoon and A Sinking Feeling," about how Jackie was still dating a much younger man. Jackie’s role on The Conners season 4 has, in recent episodes, mostly consisted of her advising the family’s young and old members while meddling in their love lives, professional lives, and personal lives. However, she had a love interest of her own earlier in season 4, and Mark’s line highlighted how much The Conners has since forgotten about Neville. Jackie and Neville’s relationship allowed The Conners to mine both comedy and pathos from Jackie’s insecurity over the age gap earlier in season 4, but since season 4, episode 10, “Spills, Pills and the Midnight Lasagna,” there has been radio silence around the relationship.
Neville Goldufski is a vet who didn’t mind the significant age gap between him and Jackie. He began dating Jackie after they met via Louise, Dan’s post-Roseanne love interest. Neville is Louise’s brother, but the mild-mannered easygoing vet is not a lot like his hot-headed sister, making him a perfect pairing with the high-energy Jackie. Early on in The Conners season 4, the laidback Neville’s disinterest in drama made him a great foil for Jackie as he couldn’t comprehend why his new girlfriend would feel insecure about him working with his younger ex, Helen.
However, just as the couple’s story was getting interesting, Neville was essentially dropped by The Conners season 4, which was particularly strange considering Jackie still appeared in every episode and Dan even noted how weird it was that she spent so much time in the eponymous family home. However, this approach did let The Conners play Jackie and Dan off each other, a welcome dynamic that brought to mind old Roseanne episodes, and now it is clear from Mark’s line that Neville hasn’t been entirely forgotten. As a result, The Conners season 4 can bring back one of the show’s most promising plots, since viewers have been reminded of Jackie’s tumultuous romantic relationship while still mining tension from Dan and Jackie's interplay.
The Conners is currently airing on ABC with new episodes debuting on Wednesdays.