Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Conners season 5, episode 14.
While The Conners season 5 has featured storylines that frankly depict the reality of life, the Roseanne spinoff is one of very few sitcoms willing to approach this topic. It is tough to make serious subjects funny, and even harder to make heavier storylines fit the rigid structure of TV sitcoms. While sitcoms can be surprisingly dark and thoughtful at times, the subgenre is more closely associated with warm, lighthearted entertainment. This is even more true for family sitcoms, which have historically been infamous for schmaltzy golden moments and saccharine, cloying sentimentality.
One thing that made Roseanne and its The Conners spinoff so popular was a rejection of this approach. Both the original show and its revival avoid the easy answers of earlier family sitcoms. Instead, Roseanne and The Conners depict a grounded vision of working class life that resonates with many viewers. While neither show could be called a work of social realism, both Roseanne and The Conners have, with more veracity than many of their contemporaries, addressed issues like addiction, unemployment, life on the poverty line, financial instability, and the unique challenges of raising a family while working numerous jobs.
Why The Conners Needs Roseanne’s Working-Class Sitcom Stories
This recurring theme cropped up again in The Conners season 5, episode 14, “Adding Insult To Injury.” This episode of The Conners proved that similarities between Darlene and Roseanne were not necessarily beneficial, as she repeatedly bombed job interviews by failing to disguise her sardonic, bitter attitude. What made the plot line work was the fact that, in both this episode and season 5's earlier outings, Darlene’s inability to find a job had real financial stakes. This meant that what would perhaps be a montage of wacky interviews in most sitcoms became a half-season of emotionally impactful character study in the Roseanne spinoff.
The Conners, like Roseanne, needs to depict these uniquely relatable working class stories. Otherwise, the spinoff would be unable to stand out in a crowded family sitcom landscape that includes the likes of Young Sheldon, The Goldbergs, Black-ish, and The Neighborhood. While the tragic Jackie story in The Conners season 5 proved the sitcom can be dark at times, the difficulties of affording a carer for an elderly relative are believable, relatable conundrums many face in their lives. In contrast, shows like New Girl and Modern Family depicted their characters' periods of unemployment as inconvenient blows to their ego, rather than the existential threat it is to working-class people.
The Conners Season 5 Grounded Darlene’s Character
Darlene’s unwillingness to bend her morals has always been admirable. Nevertheless, The Conners season 5 proved it can come at a real financial cost to her family. This twist made her struggles feel more lived-in and authentic, as the Roseanne spinoff’s heroine was not simply spouting endless sarcasm despite living a comfortable life.
This was also why petty fights between Ben and Darlene in The Conners season 5 did not ring as true as Darlene’s struggles with her unemployment. They were not grounded in the same relatable, realistic struggle that viewers could connect with. In contrast, The Conners season 5’s handling of Darlene’s unemployment is one of the Roseanne follow-up’s strongest plots.