How The Conners Can Succeed or Fail This Season

After ending an extremely successful run there was no doubt ABC was going to bring back Roseanne for another season. What kind of network wouldn't want to bring back their top-rated show?

Unfortunately, ABC forgot the namesake of their ratings juggernaut did not know how to keep her mouth shut and she crossed the line yet again with a racist tweet which sent everyone in the industry spinning.

ABC, which is owned by Disney, only had one choice to make regarding this matter and they made the correct decision.

In a matter of hours ABC's entertainment President, Channing Dungey, dropped the ax on Roseanne. It was unimaginable a network would cancel a show which brought in roughly $45 million of advertising revenue.

Of course with all the potential money Roseanne could make at stake, and the hundreds of people out of a job, ABC came up with another plan -- Roseanne without actually using Roseanne. They decided to move ahead with a series focusing on the Conner family specifically Darlene, Dan, and Jackie.

The biggest question many fans of the series are asking is not only how will The Conner's explain the absence of the most prominent member of the family, but how will the series make the other members of the Conner family as interesting to watch as Roseanne was.

The easiest and quickest, way the show can easily distance themselves from Roseanne is by killing her off. They thankfully set up the death of the main rather easily.

On Roseanne Season 10 Episode 9, Roseanne discussed the possibility of passing away on the operating table. It may have been just a throwaway moment but it's also the easiest way for the show to distance itself from Roseanne while also explaining what happened to her.

Through the death of Roseanne, we can see exactly how the family is able to cope without her being around. How will Dan move on without his wife? Will Darlene step up, even more, to take care of the family? How will Jackie be able to go on without her sister being there to offer up some type of advice?

There are so many possibilities The Conner's could go with if they went with the death route. The only downside to a death is it's not something many comedies can get away with. Is there a way to make light of death? Of course but it gets tricky when it comes to the lead, and the former namesake, of the series.

The biggest disservice the show could do is completely ignore Roseanne. They could easily write off Season 10 as a dream -- a little tongue in cheek homage to the dreadful Roseanne Season 9. While it would be comical to make an entire season a dream it would also be a copout. You can't just ignore your controversial star and just move on.

The "ghost" of Roseanne will be looming over the entire season despite ABC trying to distance themselves from her. By making The Conner's ABC is truly taking a risk in attempting to get the audience on board with focusing on the other members of the family. An argument can easily be made to not even go along with a new series.

The network knew what kind of woman they were getting into bed with when they brought the series back for a tenth season. While we are all entitled to our own opinions, Roseanne's opinions crossed the line time and time again. Did ABC have a plan B in place because they knew Roseanne would go off the rails?

The writers and producers of The Conner's have a lot to handle. They not only have to deal with trying to figure out a way around Roseanne but they also have to create a show fans of the original series would be interested in while also trying to make money for ABC.

One could only hope they are able to strike it rich and create an interesting and fun, series which continues telling the Conner's story. I am interested to hear what everyone else thinks.

Do you believe going forward with The Conner's is a good idea? Or do you feel as though the show should have just stayed dead because Roseanne was the star?

Let me know in the comments below and make sure you head over to ABC on Tuesday, October 8th for the season premiere of The Conner's. Look for a review of the episode on TV Fanatic after the episode.