The Real Reason Roseanne Had To Recast Becky Conner

Television series can be creative laboratories, especially early in their runs. The creators and their writing staff might find their initial concept morphing into a completely different type of show (e.g. “Cougar Town” went from being a Courtney Cox vehicle about older women chasing younger men to an ensemble sitcom about nerdball friends who drink a ton of wine), while some shows head down narrative alleys they ultimately pretend never existed (like the time Landry and Tyra killed a guy during the second season of “Friday Night Lights”)

And then sometimes life just flat-out gets in the way. Sometimes an actor feels like they’ve become too big of a star and prematurely bolt the show (à la David Caruso and “NYPD Blue”), or they get fired over a contract dispute (which is how “Valerie” became “The Hogan Family”).

This brings us to “Roseanne” and the case of the two Beckys. For five seasons, Lecy Goranson was terrific as the eldest daughter of Dan (John Goodman) and Roseanne Connor (Roseanne Barr). Then she eloped with her boyfriend Mark (Glenn Healy), and appeared to be gone from the series for good. The show’s producers, however, wanted to bring back Becky, so they did in the form of future “Scrubs” star Sarah Chalke.

You didn’t have to be showbiz savvy at all to assume that there was some form of behind-the-scenes drama going on at “Roseanne.” Why would an up-and-coming performer like Goranson just up and exit the second most popular show on television?
If you’re hoping for a sordid tale of an ego run amok or worse, prepare to be sorely disappointed. Goranson left because the then 18-year-old actor wanted to go to college (something she spoke about publicly during a 2019 interview on “Live”). So, she enrolled in Vassar during the fifth season, and was eventually written out via the aforementioned elopement. But the writers valued Becky’s presence in the ensemble; hence, during the sixth season, they recast her with Chalke.

Things got wonky when Goranson was able to rejoin the cast during the eighth season. Rather than fire Chalke, the series’ creatives alternated between the two (partially due to Goranson’s ongoing studies). The show, no stranger to self-aware humor, had fun with the obvious Becky switcheroos, which culminated with a closing credits parody of “The Patty Duke Show” opening.

When “Roseanne” returned in 2018, Goranson took back the role of Becky full time, while Chalke was given a new character named Andrea. Both stuck with the series after Barr was fired for making racist comments about Valerie Jarrett, a former advisor to President Barack Obama. Amazingly, “The Conners” (as it was renamed following Barr’s axing) will complete its seven-season run this year.