Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Conners season 5, episode 10.
While Katey Sagal’s Louise was unavoidably absent for much of The Conners season 4, it took until midway through season 5 for the Roseanne spinoff to address this. The larger a show’s ensemble cast is, the longer viewers can expect to go without seeing their favorite characters. While Ames McNamara’s Mark is a scene-stealing supporting star in The Conners, he was absent for four episodes of the family sitcom in a row because the Roseanne spinoff needed to facilitate storylines starring other characters.
Similarly, while The Conners season 5 gave Louise a purpose beyond her status as Dan’s second wife, this came after a season where she was frequently absent from the series. Louise was introduced in The Conners season 1 as a potential love interest for John Goodman’s Dan a few months after the sudden death of Roseanne. Louise soon proved a perfect match for Dan, but the pair’s courtship was tentative at first, which allowed Sagal to gradually transition from a season 1 guest star to a season 3 series regular. However, real life altered the plot of The Conners season 4, which was not noted in-universe until season 5.
Why Louise Was Absent For So Much Of The Conners Season 4
Katey Sagal was unfortunately involved in a car accident during the production of The Conners season 4. Louise was written out of the Roseanne spinoff as Sagal recovered and Dan’s comedic side shined in The Conners as the character’s more serious storylines were put on hold in her absence. While this resulted in more screen time for Aunt Jackie’s romance with Louise’s brother Neville, Louise’s absence was still noticeable in The Conners season 4. Luckily, The Conners season 5, episode 10, “The Dog Days of Christmas.” saw the show’s characters finally discuss this in-universe as Louise admitted that touring with her band was beginning to take its toll on her.
How Louise’s Absence Impacted The Conners
Despite The Conners season 4 being set during Louise and Dan’s first year of marriage, Sagal’s character was absent for a lot of the outing’s episodes. Later in the season when she returned, Louise and Dan shared some storylines about Dan prioritizing his children and grandchildren over his wife, but these fell flat after Louise had spent weeks on tour. Louise didn’t even introduce Dan to his new mother-in-law until The Conners season 5 due to her hectic schedule, so Louise’s complaints that he failed to find time for her didn’t work as well as the plot might have if Sagal’s temporary exit hadn’t happened.
Meanwhile, Sagal’s time away from The Conners resulted in another shift in the dynamics of the show’s supporting stars. In earlier seasons of The Conners, a lot of the dramatic heavy lifting fell on Dan, Roseanne’s grieving widow. However, as aunt Jackie gained more screen time in The Conners season 4 thanks to her relationship with the laid-back vet Neville, this changed. Gradually, Jackie’s tribulations were taken more seriously by the Roseanne spinoff, and she became less of a figure of fun. In The Conners season 5, Jackie’s character transformation saw her become a source of wisdom and support for Becky and Darlene, which would never have happened without her season 4 arc.
How The Conners Season 5 Episode 10 Addressed The Louise Problem
While Jackie benefited from Louise’s pared-down screen time in The Conners season 4 and John Goodman’s Dan got to show a more playful side, season 5 still needed to eventually address the impact of this imbalance. This happened in “The Dog Days of Christmas” when Louise talked about how much perpetual touring burnt her out, saying she felt too old for live music and admitting that it felt like she hadn’t seen Dan in weeks—a sly fourth-wall-breaking nod. While Jackie’s brutal season 5 arc means Laurie Metcalf’s character is still getting a lot of the sitcom’s story focus, this episode showed that The Conners season 5 has gotten better at integrating Louise into its lineup.
As proven by the events of “The Dog Days of Christmas,” The Conners is still in the process of finding a place for one of its newest arrivals. Downplaying the role of Sagal’s character so shortly after Dan and Louise got married inevitably resulted in an uneven season 4, and the Roseanne spinoff is still working out how to navigate the pair’s relationship. However, The Conners season 5 deserves props for explicitly addressing this issue with a meta-joke in “The Dog Days of Christmas,” particularly when the Roseanne follow-up could have simply avoided the issue.
Episodes of The Conners air Wednesdays on ABC.