ABC is rebooting “Roseanne” to tackle Trump era issues after cancelling Tim Allen’s “Last Man Standing,” another show that was sympathetic to Trump voters.
Comedian Roseanne Barr supported Trump in the 2016 election, telling The Hollywood Reporter last summer that “we would be so lucky if Trump won.”
According to ABC executives, viewers should expect her new show to talk about current issues, but ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey isn’t sure whether Barr will mention the president by name.
“I don’t know whether Roseanne [Barr] will speak about Trump by name,” she said. “But she’s going to speak very honestly.”
“We’re going to be tackling some of the topics that are in the conversation today. I’ll leave it that,” she added, explaining that her network has felt a push to appeal more to Trump voters.
“What the election revealed was that there’s parts of our country that didn’t feel heard, that they didn’t have a voice. When you look at how the polling data went in the run-up to the election, it was kind of big surprise to many people that the election turned out as it did,” she said.
The show is being added to the network despite the cancellation of Allen’s “Last Man Standing.” Many alleged the decision to cancel the show was politically motivated, spurred by Allen’s support of Trump. The actor himself was “stunned” by the cancellation.