The ‘Roseanne’ Reboot Is Filled With Tons of Fun Behind-the-Scenes Secrets!

ABC’s beloved sitcom Roseanne has already scored record-breaking ratings (more than 25 million viewers its first week!) in its triumphant return to television 30 years after its original run. And much of Roseanne‘s original cast — including Rosanne Barr, John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, and Laurie Metcalf — has returned to the show for the Season 10.

“You’re always nervous before you do something, and we’re so grateful to the fans. I mean it’s just unbelievable,” Sara —who was 13 years old when the original Roseanne premiered and 22 when it ended — recently said on an episode of The Talk. “I could cry now just thinking about it. It’s been so many years. You know, it’s my childhood… it’s just amazing to watch,” she said of the show’s high ratings, which have already paved the way for Season 11. It was renewed for another season on March 30, just a few days after its season premiere. With plenty more Roseanne episodes on the horizon, that means there will be even more behind-the-scenes secrets. But for now, scroll down for some fun facts about the current season of the Roseanne reboot!

The case of the missing couch

In March, John (who plays Dan Conner) claimed that the Conners’ famous couch had to be re-created because the Smithsonian had the original. But he was wrong — the original sofa is actually being kept in an LA warehouse by someone who acquired it after the show’s run. “Sara Gilbert tried to get the original back, but the new owner had too many costly stipulations,” explains an insider, “so ABC decided to have set decorators reproduce it.”

Why George really won’t come back

Before he was an Oscar-winning producer and movie star, George Clooney was Booker Brooks, Roseanne Barr and Jackie Harris’ Wellman Plastics foreman during Season 1. Roseanne offered him a reboot cameo, but George “didn’t want to come on, so that was a bummer, but he lives in Italy,” she said. The truth, says the insider, is “George’s politics kept him away.” He’s notoriously liberal, while Roseanne’s a Trump supporter on and offscreen, so “there was no way he was coming back.”

Remembering Mark Healy

Ireland-born actor Glenn Quinn, who played Becky Conner’s hot but dim-witted boyfriend-turned-husband, Mark Healy, on the sitcom’s first run, died of a heroin overdose at 32 in 2002. Now, the cast remembers him in many loving ways. “Not only is Darlene’s son named after [his late] Uncle Mark,” says the insider, “but Roseanne has a photo of Glenn on the set [above] that the entire cast touches before they take their opening bows.”

Sandra returned for the paycheck

Sandra Bernhard’s politics align more with George’s than Roseanne’s, yet she was thrilled when the show’s star asked her to reprise her role as Roseanne and Jackie’s bisexual friend, Nancy Bartlett. “According to Sandra, she doesn’t have the luxury of turning down a paying gig,” says the insider. “Also, she likes Roseanne. Just because Sandra doesn’t agree with her politics doesn’t mean she can’t be on the show!”

What’s hiding in the fridge?

Inside jokes are everywhere — including hidden inside a kitchen appliance. “A crazy fan letter that was kept in the freezer during the show’s original run made its way back onto the set, thanks to Roseanne, who had it re-created,” says the insider. “John, who called the fan nuts, was surprised to find she’d hidden the wacky correspondence back in the icebox.”