ABC in Talks For 'Roseanne' Spin-Off with Entire Cast...Except Roseanne

Nick Kangadis | June 5, 2018
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If what is being reported actually happens, then it looks like ABC was looking for a reason to get actress and social media firebrand Roseanne Barr off of their network.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, ABC is in talks with multiple people — other than Barr — to film a “Roseanne” spin-off series that would include everyone that worked on the show, except of course Barr.

However, it seems as though that ABC executives are simply trying to get their money’s worth since they are still contractually on the hook to pay the stars of “Roseanne.” The show had been renewed for another season after the first episode garnered huge ratings for the network, and the actors on the show are contractually obligated to be paid for “at least 10” out of the scheduled 13 episodes.

The Hollywood Reporter also reported:

Stars [Sara] Gilbert, [Laurie] Metcalf and [John] Goodman still expect to be paid for the since-scrapped 11th season. The trio, along with Barr, negotiated new deals for the 13-episode season at $300,000 per episode (up from $250,000 for season 10). They expect to be paid for at least 10 episodes since their options were exercised. What's less clear is if and how the writing staff, including showrunner Helford, will be compensated.

The only problem is that no one seems to know for sure whether the actors would be paid considering “Roseanne” was cancelled. But, $3,000,000 is a lot of scratch to walk away from without a fight.

“Roseanne” was cancelled within hours of an indefensible tweet that Barr sent out denigrating former senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, Valerie Jarrett. Barr equated Jarrett to a combination of terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood and the film “Planet of the Apes.”

No matter what anyone thinks of Barr, “Roseanne” wouldn’t be “Roseanne” without her. It’ll be interesting to see how the proposed spin-off would explain the departure of the original show’s matriarch.

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