ABC revives Roseanne

UPFRONTS: Classic sitcom Roseanne, cancelled by ABC almost 20 years ago, is being revived by the network as an eight-part run with the original cast. Shonda Rhimes has also landed a new drama.

Roseanne Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Michael Fishman and Lecy Goranson have all signed up to resume their roles in the Roseanne reboot while Sarah Chalke will play a different character to the one she originally played.

“The Conners’ joys and struggles are as relevant – and hilarious – today as they were then, and there’s really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne,” said Channing Dungey, president at ABC Entertainment.

Roseanne was broadcast on ABC from October 1988 to May 1997, airing across nine seasons and 222 episodes, via Carsey-Werner Productions. The new season will air in 2018, ABC announced.

In related news from ABC, the network has confirmed that season seven will be the final season for the Shondaland drama Scandal. The show is due to fill the Thursday 21.00 slot next season as part of exec producer Shonda Rhimes’ TGIT block.

At the same time, ABC has ordered a new Shondaland drama straight-to-series. Set in a Seattle firehouse, the latest series from the producers of Grey’s Anatomy follows a group of firefighters.

“No one can interweave the jeopardy firefighters face in the line of duty with the drama in their personal lives quite like Shonda, and Grey’s signature Seattle setting is the perfect backdrop for this exciting spin-off,” said Dungey.

Stacy McKee will write the scripts and exec produce the as-yet untitled series. Rhimes and Betsy Beers are executive producers. The series will be produced by ABC Studios and Shondaland.