Emma Kenney Opens Up About Filming ‘The Conners’ Without Roseanne Barr

It’s been a difficult few months for the stars of the Roseanne reboot. The show was abruptly canceled by ABC after star Roseanne Barr‘s racist tweet, but soon after, the network announced a spin-off called The Conners starring Sara Gilbert, who played Darlene Conner on the original show from 1988 until 1997 as well as the 2018 revival.

And now, Emma Kenney (who is set to play Darlene’s daughter Harris Conner-Healy on the series) opened up about what it’s been like filming the revival without Roseanne present — and apparently it hasn’t been that hard. “I think that all of us are very professional,” the actress explained to Us Weekly in a new interview. “And there’s just so many more stories that need to be told through the Conner family and so many other different aspects of life that we’re going to get to tell, and I’m really excited and grateful for that.”

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Of course, Roseanne won’t be on the show, and during a previous interview with The Times of London, John shared how he thinks they’ll address her no longer being on it. “It’s an unknown. I guess he’ll be mopey and sad, because his wife’s dead,” John said. Ouch…

After the spin-off was announced, Roseanne shared her feelings on the show she would no longer be included in. “I regret the circumstances that have caused me to be removed from Roseanne. I agreed to the settlement in order that 200 jobs of beloved cast and crew could be saved, and I wish the best for everyone involved,” she said at the time.

In late May, Roseanne tweeted a racist comment about one of former President Barack’s Obama’s former aides Valerie Jarrett comparing her to an ape. Soon after, Sara addressed how she felt about Roseanne’s hurtful words. “Roseanne’s recent comments about Valerie Jarrett, and so much more, are abhorrent and do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show. I am disappointed in her actions to say the least,” she wrote on social media. “This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love — one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member.”

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It was later reported that Sara won’t ever work with Roseanne again. “She thinks that Roseanne is a disgusting and racist person. Sara will never, ever work with her again,” an insider told Radar Online. The insider added that Sara is glad Roseanne “is finally getting what she deserved a long time ago.” 

However, Sara previously shared she’s “so excited” for the new sitcom. “Sara has a new TV show!” Sara’s The Talk co-host Sharon Osbourne previously declared on the show. “Her show, The Conners, has officially gotten the green light and will air this fall.” Sara then exclaimed with a smile on her face, “I’m so excited, thank you all so much. I really appreciate it.”

A source previously confirmed to ET that some other familiar faces will return to the show as well, including Sara’s other kid from the reboot, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy. Jayden Rey will also return as Mary Conner, the daughter of D.J. Conner (played by Michael Fishman). The actors will join Sara, Laurie Metcalf (Jackie Harris), and John Goodman (Dan Conner), who have already signed on for the project. 

“The first table read was great,” Emma, 18, gushed. “It was so nice to see everyone, and I’m so happy. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.” Luckily for us, The Conners will air on ABC on Tuesday, Oct. 16 from 8 p.m. until 8: 30 p.m., the network announced this summer. So much sooner than we thought!