The Conners EPs Tease the 'Oh S--t!' Return of an OG Roseanne Character: Viewers Will Be 'Very Surprised'

The Conners has a big surprise in store for longtime fans.

Speaking to TVLine ahead of the Wednesday, Sept. 21 premiere, executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan let slip that a character last seen on Roseanne is poised to make their first appearance on the ABC spinoff in Season 5.

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“I can’t reveal it, but there is someone coming from years’ past,” Helford teased. After a slight pause to determine just how much he wanted to reveal, he added: “It was a very memorable appearance when this person was there, and this person is coming back.” He also suggested not to overthink his use of the word “appearance.” (Hmm…)

“I think people are going to be very surprised and go, ‘Oh s–t!'” Helford said. “It’s someone who will very much be remembered from the previous show.”

Added Caplan: “It’s one that the true fans are really going to appreciate.”

Asked if they could point us in the direction of when this character first appeared on Roseanne, Helford suggested that we look “way back to the beginning” — but given that Roseanne and The Conners have run a collective 14 seasons (and counting), “beginning” doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she appeared in the very first season. That said, it’s probably not a character introduced late in the series’ original 1988-1997 run.

So, who might it be? Since 2018’s Roseanne revival, we’ve had appearances by Sarah Chalke (not as Becky No. 2, but as Andrea), Judy Prescott (as schoolteacher Ms. Crane), Estelle Parsons (as Bev), Sandra Bernhard (as Nancy), Natalie West (as Crystal), Adilah Barnes (as Anne Marie), Johnny Galecki (as David), James Pickens Jr. (as Chuck), Meagan Fay (not as Kathy Bowman, but as the grandmother of Mark’s classmate Austin), Noel Fisher (who assumed the role of Ed Jr., last seen as a baby) and Danielle Harris (as Molly).

We can also rule out Roseanne and Dan’s fourth child Jerry, and Jackie and Fred’s son Andy — neither of whom exists, as far as The Conners is concerned. Plus, neither of them was around “way back in the beginning.”

Scroll down to review our list of potential returnees — we limited all but one of our picks to characters who appeared within the first five seasons of Roseanne — then hit the comments with your predictions.

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