The Conners has officially written Jerry Garcia Conner out of existence, thereby scrapping the character's long-anticipated return to the series. Spawning from the ashes of the ill-fated Roseanne reboot, which was canceled due to a racism controversy pertaining to its titular star, The Conners premiered on ABC in October 2018. The show centers on the daily struggles of the eponymous blue-collar family (John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman, and Lecy Goranson) as it tries to survive on a modest income while coping with the sudden passing of its matriarch: Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr). The Conners season 2 concluded in May 2020. ABC then quickly picked it up for a third season, which debuted last week.
Named in honor of the Grateful Dead's lead guitarist, Jerry Garcia Conner was born in Roseanne season 8 during the 1995 Halloween when Roseanne and Dan (Goodman) were in their forties. Barr became pregnant three months after her character had conceived, so the cast compensated for the actress's minimal screen time during Roseanne season 7. When Roseanne was rebooted in 2018, Jerry Conner was not immediately written out. Rather it was mentioned that Jerry was lying low on a fishing boat in Alaska and that he contacted the family only infrequently. But after Roseanne's cancellation, he wasn't heard from again leaving fans curious about the character's fate.
Finally, during Wednesday's Halloween and election-themed episode, The Conners season 3 subtly erased Jerry Garcia's existence from the Roseanne franchise. During a scene in the episode, Becky points out that she is one of Dan's three kids (along with Gilbert's Darlene, and Fishman's D.J.). Becky's contention is then reiterated by Dan who confirms that he and Roseanne “had one favorite and two backups." Showrunner Bruce Helford has since weighed in on the issue. During an interview with TV Line, he confirmed that Jerry Garcia has indeed been written out from the show.
"We didn’t really have room to add Jerry Garcia. As we moved on to The Conners, we decided that, with the wonderful additions of Ben, Louise, and Emilio, our cast was large enough to do stories for 40 episodes a season, and that since we hadn’t brought him up in three years, we wouldn’t pick up on the narrative of Jerry.”
Helford additionally confirmed that several arcs from Roseanne's original season 8 and 9 do not apply to The Conners. Helford says that the arcs either limited the exploration of new creative avenues for the existing characters or they were a part of season 9's dream period, which involved the Conners winning a lottery. Jerry Garcia is not the first character from the original show that The Conners has removed from existence. Previously it was revealed that Jackie's (Metcalf) son Andy, who was born in Roseanne season 6, did not exist in The Conners universe. Helford, however, adds that Jerry's erasure from the show is not a done deal, as it's possible that Dan is so angry at Jerry that "he denies him as a son."
It's true that The Conners has a lot of regulars as well as a lot of supporting characters. And Jay R. Ferguson's promotion to the main cast has divided the attention within the family even further. But it is not a fair excuse to pass on an important original character that fans have been waiting to see on screen for so long. If The Conners sticks to the storyline about Dan being mad at Jerry, it will have ample opportunity to reintroduce the character in the future, even if it's just a cameo appearance. But a total lack of resolution seems dishonest, especially when fans are already infuriated with Andy's deletion.
Source: TV Line