“Roseanne” is back! A little more than 20 years after the original run of the show ended, the crude-yet-oddly American mom returns to the small screen — and this time, she’s a President Trump supporter!
I know what you’re thinking. A Trump supporter on a major network?! It’s true!
Star of the show Roseanne Barr broke the news during a panel discussion with the rest of the “Roseanne” cast at a Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour event on Monday. Much like her real-life self, Barr admits that her character on the show is a Trump supporter, telling the Hollywood Reporter:
In The Roseanne Show, I’ve always tried to have it be a true reflection of the society we live in. I feel like half the people voted for Trump and half didn’t, so it’s just realistic. And, in fact, it was working-class people who elected Trump, so I felt like that was very real and something that needed to be discussed and especially about polarization in the family and people actually hating other people for the way they voted, which I feel is not American.
Whether or not you like Barr, she's absolutely correct.
It’s most certainly not American to hate another person for the way they voted. In fact, that used to be patently un-American, or so I thought. But in modern day America, Barr is taking a big risk making the star character of what will be a highly scrutinized show comeback — not just because comebacks are always compared to the original, but because the lead character will openly support a president who isn’t the media's favorite person.
During the Q&A segment, "Roseanne” show runner Bruce Helford divulged that partisan politics will play a role in the show and even cause divisions within the Conner family.
“We wanted to find a way for this particular family, which represents a full cross-section of values and beliefs, to get that debate going in a very honest way,” Helford said.
I see nothing wrong with that. There’s no problem with a show putting forth liberal narratives, as long as the other side is heard as well. At the very least, the show may even prompt a halfway civilized dialogue between the two sides, should it be successful.
While she doesn’t blindly agree with everything Trump has done so far in his presidency, Barr spoke of her real-life support of Trump.
“I think it was time for us, as a country, to shake things up and try something different,” Barr explained.
That might be the most sane thing a Hollywood celebrity has said in quite a while, considering the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
It'll be interesting to see how the television critics and the media cover the comeback of “Roseanne.” Now that we know the lead character is a Trump supporter, don’t be surprised if the critics sabotage the show with poor reviews.
Look at what happened to Tim Allen and “Last Man Standing.” Good luck, Roseanne! You’re going to need it.