The original cast will not be the only ones taking part in the upcoming revival of Roseanne. When Roseanne premiered, there was nothing else like it on TV. Most sitcoms were about wholesome families of means and moralistic life lessons. And then came the Connors, a lower-class family who struggled financially and whose parenting philosophy seemed to include a fair amount of sarcasm. The series was a smash hit, running from 1988 to 1997 and covering many topics which at the time were controversial and rarely, if ever, shown on TV - including gay marriage, abusive parents and relationships, and the family's daughters dealing with their first periods and acquiring birth control.

Now after 20 years, Roseanne is coming back. The entire main cast is returning for a limited run - including John Goodman in spite of his character Dan's death by heart attack in the original series. Not only does that include the whole Connor family, but also Roseanne's sister Jackie, played by Laurie Metcalf.

While on The Tonight Show, Metcalf spoke about the cast reuniting for the series, and also pointed out that there will be some new characters joining the show:

"Everybody's on board, yeah. There will be new people, because we had children. You know, Roseanne and I both had little tiny tots 20 years ago. So there will be new characters."

Those tiny tots Metcalf was referring to were her character's son Andy and Roseanne and Dan's son Jerry. When the series ended Andy was a toddler and Jerry was still an infant, so what kind of adults they both became is wide open for the writers to figure out. This also leaves the possibility of the return of Fred - Jackie's ex and Andy's father - played by Michael O'Keefe.

The series finale of the original show also had Darlene bring her newborn daughter home, and Becky was revealed as pregnant. While it is not clear if anything from the final season will be considered a part of the new series or whether all of it has been erased - like Dan's death - it's pretty likely that some or all of the Connor children will have children of their own taking part in the new series.

Metcalf's comments could be more far-reaching than just the now-grown children. While the focus of the original series was on Roseanne and her family, there is also a history of guest stars and supporting characters as well. The characters' friends and significant others, co-workers, and extended family were always getting caught up in the various schemes and stories of the main characters. Many of them appeared as often - or even more often - than some of the main characters did. There is still no word on how many of these characters will be returning - or how many new characters and guest stars there will be.

Many of the guest stars on the original series also went on to become quite well known during or after the series. George Clooney, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Johnny Galecki are just a few examples of people who had recurring characters on Roseanne before they were household names. Perhaps some of the new actors on the show will follow in their footsteps and achieve fame down the road.

Next: Roseanne Revival Promo

Roseanne’s 8-episode revival premieres in spring 2018 on ABC.

Source: The Tonight Show