There was a real question of whether or not a spinoff from Roseanne that didn’t star Roseanne Barr could possibly work, but the cast of the resulting The Conners proved it could — and in a major way. With filming for season 2 officially underway, the show (which gets 19 episodes this year compared to season 1’s 11)  has released an Instagram video clip of the cast being introduced to the audience to genuine excitement.

There’s not a lot that’s known about season 2 at the moment, though the video does reveal a few interesting things: for starters, the younger kids are noticeably taller than they were last year, Lecy Goranson‘s Becky is definitely further along in her pregnancy than she was last time we saw her, and John Goodman is continuing to lose weight.

We also know that things could be getting interesting for the Dan Conner character. While he’ll still be missing his late wife, according to TVLine, Married With Children star Katey Sagal is expected to return for an extended arc on the series in the role of Casa Bonita bartender — and high school friend of both Dan and Roseanne — Louise. In the eighth episode of season 1, she seriously flirted with Dan, but he rebuked her advances. With more time having passed, however, and the fact that Katey will be sticking around for some time, it seems that there will be some serious developments to that particular storyline. Of course, anyone familiar with the actress will know that, personality wise, Katey would fit right in with the Conner clan.

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ABC

John was recently interviewed by The New York Times, telling the newspaper of Roseanne, “We miss the hell out of her. There’s no doubt about that. Those are shoes you can’t fill … It was actually just like having a death in the family, except you don’t have to eat as many covered dishes.” As to his character’s arc this season, he claims (though we’re not sure we believe him), “I have no idea. I didn’t know where I was going last year. Not far.”

The Conners returns to ABC September 24.