SPOILER ALERT:This story contains details from Wednesdays series finale ofThe ConnersonABC.
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DAVE CAPLAN:Yeah.
I finished my degree.
Lecy Goranson and John Goodman on ‘The Conners’Disney/Christopher Willard
Its in media-related psychology.
Its how storytelling affects its audience.
BRUCE HELFORD:Were smart people.
(L-R) Laurie Metcalf, Nat Faxon, Sean Astin, Lecy Goranson,John Goodman, Katey Segal, Sara Gilbert, Jay R. Ferguson, Stony Blyden and Emma Kenny on ‘The Conners’Christopher Willard/Disney
BRUCE RASMUSSEN:Or dancing monkeys.
DEADLINE:Talk about your decision to name the last episode The Truck Stops Here.
CAPLAN:It was the bookend, because the first episode ofThe Connershad trucking in it, right?
The first episode of the reboot was called Keep on Truckin.
We kept on trucking.
HELFORD: There were mentions all along.
We never shied away from that.
The family loved their matriarch.
It was important to make that part of the end.
RASMUSSEN:The money was funny.
We knew they werent going to win the lottery.
Theyre doing well in other ways.
HELFORD:The reboot started because we wanted to undo the legacy of the lottery.
We wanted to find a better ending for the show, so we werent going to go back.
DEADLINE:Jackies line of dialogue at Roseannes grave about not knowing where mom was.
Was that your way to acknowledge Estelle Parsons since you couldnt get her to reprise Beverly for the finale?
HELFORD:The last time we saw her was her getting on the train.
It was too much to ask her to come out for the sixth episode.
Shes a phenomenal presence.
Shes a flying Dutchman, I think.
CAPLAN:Because we didnt have him so much, we had to make him a terrible father.
HELFORD:He really did not want to keep doing it.
We were kind of in a position where, how do you explain this guy without killing him?
This guy isnt around.
So unfortunately his character got tarnished in that way.
Had he been there, he wouldve definitely been part of the Mark story, for sure.
DEADLINE:Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert were quite emotional in those final scenes.
HELFORD:Oh yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
People in the audience were crying, for Gods sake.
When they say goodbye, Laurie Metcalf started it.
We had no idea that was coming.
HELFORD:It was real.
They were saying goodbye.
CAPLAN:Youve got to go with it.
RASMUSSEN:We did other takes and that werent as emotional.
They felt less real.
HELFORD:This was the actors saying goodbye to each other for the last time.
CAPLAN:John had pitched to us that he wanted to thank the audience to the camera.
I cant remember one.
RASMUSSEN:They earned that, man, for doing the show for as long as they did.
How can you blame them?
CAPLAN:Oh no.
We try not to say no to him if we can help it.
Hes a big guy.
HELFORD:Hes such a sweet guy.
Not all shows have this.
DEADLINE:How were the final months?
Was there any regret from the actors that it was ending?
HELFORD:I think everybody wouldve been fine continuing forever.
CAPLAN:It didnt feel stale in any way.
HELFORD: There were no contracts to go five years or seven years or anything like that.
ABC granting us those six episodes gave it a real miniseries pop in of ending.
So we had a cohesive line.
It wasnt just a bunch of episodes and then all of a sudden, an ending.
DEADLINE:In those final flashback moments, you didnt include old clips of Roseanne.
CAPLAN:It was contractual.
It really was about these people.
DEADLINE:Which one of you is going to take the afghan home?
HELFORDI dont know where the afghan went.
We had to reclaim a couple of props when we did the reboot.
Michael Fishman had taken Godzilla home with him [afterRoseanne].
We had to get that back.
We had to make a new couch because somebody bought the one.
CAPLAN:I bet Sara has it.
DEADLINE:The last and most important question: What are you guys going to do now?
Will you do another multi-cam?
RASMUSSEN:I was doing drama.
So if these guys have something like that, Im absolutely in.
It makes us feel great to honor the nobility of the working class.
We all come from that, and that is something sorely lacking on TV.
So yeah, were not done.
