AlthoughThe Connersseason 7 isn’t out yet, longtimeRoseanneviewers can still attempt to hazard a guess as to where the show’s heroes will end up by its finale.The Connersseason 7will be the show’s final outing, bringing theRoseannefranchise to an end after 35 years.Roseannefirst began in 1988, and the family sitcom enjoyed 8 acclaimed seasons before 1997’s infamously bad season 9 ended its original run on a sour note. 2017’sRoseannerevival retconned season 9’s story and brought the working-class comedy back to critical acclaim and ratings success.
The Conners' Best Season 7 Ending Would Mean Abandoning Roseanne’s Spirit
The Conners season 7 seems to promise a brighter future for the family, but this happy ending risks disregarding the secret weapon of Roseanne.
However, star Roseanne Barr’s racistTwitterrant led the show’s creators to fire Barr and kill off the title character, retooling and retitling the series in the process. Thebest episodes ofThe Connersprove the series never needed Roseanne to succeed and, as unlikely as it might sound, the spinoff eventually ended up feeling almost indiscernible from its predecessor. The family grieved their loss and then moved on, new cast members were introduced, and life in Lanford continued as usual. This makes theharsh reality ofThe Connersseason 7 endingthe sitcom franchise harder to face.
8Dan Will Finally Retire In The Conners Season 7 (For Real This Time)
Dan Will Join His New Wife Louise and Jackie In Retirement
AfterThe Connerssomehow survived killing off its title character, something no other sitcom has done, it seemed like the series might never end. As such,Dan’s retirement inThe Connersseason 3 never felt like a real commitment, since the character was both a workaholic and a magnet for debt. Sure enough, Dan was working at Ben’s family hardware store and building Darlene a house within the year, despite ostensibly quitting work as a contractor for the sake of his health. Paying off his mortgage led Dan to work more and more hours at the store throughout season 6.
However, the fire that burned down the store gifted Ben with an insurance payout big enough to clear Dan’s mortgage in one fell swoop. As such, Dan actually can retire in season 7 and this news couldn’t arrive at a better time. Dan’s new wife, Louise, spent seasons 4 and 5 ofThe Connerscomplaining about Dan never spending any time with her, and she worried about him overworking himself throughout season 6. Since Louise has been retired since season 5’s penultimate episode, the happy couple can now finally get to enjoy some peace and quiet together on one condition.
7Louise Will Resign From Her School Board Position In The Conners Season 7
Louise’s Season 6 Plot Went Nowhere
Early inThe Connersseason 6, Dan’s second wife, Louise, decided to run for election to the school board. She was volunteering as a music teacher at Beverly-Rose’s school and, upon realizing how heavily the music classes were being censored to appease parents, Louise decided to put her name in the race. For a short while, it seemed as if this socially conscious storyline might give Louise some purpose in a show that has never really known what to do with her character. However, this was optimistic. Instead,The Connersignored this plot except for a subplot where Jackie took over Louise’s campaign.
Louise was often absent throughout seasons 4 and 5 and her role in season 6 never delved deep into her motivations for getting into local politics.
Theharsh reality forThe Connersseason 7is thatsix episodes are not enough time to suddenly make Katey Sagal’s character a major player inRoseanne’s spinoff. Louise was often absent throughout seasons 4 and 5 and her role in season 6 never delved deep into her motivations for getting into local politics. As such,The Connersseason 7 should see her retire from the position to spend more time with Dan. The storyline has gone nowhere slowly, and she already frequently fights with Dan over how little time they spend together, so their shared retirement would be perfectly timed.
6DJ, Geena, and Mary Will Return In The Conners Season 7
The Forgotten Conners Family Members Will Be Back
Long after killing off Roseanne,The Connersseason 5 dropped another family member from the show’s line-up.Michael Fishman’s DJ played a pivotal role inRoseanne, but The Conners never knew what to do with him, and the writing was on the wall for the supporting character when his wife Geena stopped appearing in the spinoff’s early seasons. DJ lasted until season 5, while his daughter Mary appeared until season 6. While they never got any ofThe Conners’ best character development, these formative supporting stars still must return in season 7 as they are part of the Conner family.
5Harris Won’t Move Back In With Darlene In The Conners Season 7
Darlene’s Daughter Will Successfully Revitalize The Lunchbox
Harris’s season 6 story arc was confusing, to say the least. In the premiere, she showed real initiative and ambition when Jackie’s restaurant, The Lunchbox, was revitalized by TV chef Morris Chestnut. While diagnosing the business’s issues, Chestnut hit the titular family with a hard truth, namely that Jackie’s heart wasn’t in the business anymore and Harris was a better fit for the restaurant. Harris promptly took over The Lunchbox, which seemed destined to give her perpetually aimless character a sense of purpose and drive. However, the remainder of season 6 instead saw Harris flounder and avoid this new responsibility.
The revelation that Harris was living with ADHD was an intriguing storyline, but many episodes simply saw her getting stoned in Mark’s dorm room instead of trying to engage with this new challenge.Harris moved out of Darlene’s house inThe Connersseason 6 finale, and season 7 should not bring her back considering actor Emma Kenney’s early exit from the show. Instead,The Connersseason 7’s Harris storylineneeds to allow Darlene’s daughter to outgrow her family home and embrace her newfound independence as a business owner. In the process, her attempts to revive the restaurant should be a success.
4Mark Will End Up In Legal Trouble In The Conners Season 7
Mark’s Latest Job Is Clearly Legally Sketchy
On the topic of Darlene’s offspring, Mark’sThe Connersseason 7 storyline seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Like many of Mark’s darkest hours, his season 6 finale plight came about as a result of his need for college tuition.Mark took a sketchy, potentially illegal job with email scammersin season 6, episode 13, “Less Money, More Problems,” and this seems like it will come back to haunt him in season 7. The odds are good that Mark will end up being caught and prosecuted for his new money-making scheme, meaning the family may end up back in legal trouble.
3Either Beverly Or Crystal Will Die In The Conners Season 7
One Of These Roseanne Guest Stars Is Doomed
While many ofThe Conners’ highest-rated episodesare holiday reunions that bring the whole family back together,it seems unlikely that Estelle Parsons’ Beverly will return for the show’s final outing. Beverly has been a supporting character sinceRoseanneseason 1, but she and Jackie finally buried their feud inThe Connersseason 6 as she headed off to spend her remaining days on a train journey across America. Beverly’s advanced age and the amends she made with her family make her off-screen death seem likely, but Dan’s mother-in-law Crystal may also be killed off in season 7.
2Becky and Tyler Will Get Married In The Conners Season 7
Roseanne’s Daughter Is In Need Of Some Stability
Crystal’s most recent appearance inThe Connersseason 6 revealed that she was ill and relying on Dan for financial support, setting up an equally tragic potential twist. Either Beverly or Crystal is likely to be killed off, soThe Connersseason 7 can poignantly underline its connection toRoseanne’s original run. However, it is not all bad news for the stars of the family sitcom.Becky’s tragicThe Connersstory arccan still be fixed by season 7 if she and Tyler manage to keep their relationship afloat. Judging by how well things have gone so far, wedding bells wouldn’t be out of the question.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
Becky has struggled a lot throughoutRoseanneandThe Conners, facing tragedy after tragedy and gradually losing hope in the process. Her parents were forced to spend her college fund inRoseanne, her love interest, Mark Healy, tragically died in a car accident, she suffered from alcoholism and addiction after Roseanne’s death, and her relationship with Beverly-Rose’s father fell apart when he was threatened with deportation. Fortunately, Becky’s healthy, happy relationship with Sean Astin’s Tyler, as well as graduating from her Psychology course, can give her the stable base that she needs to move out of Darlene’s house and rebuild her life.
1Darlene Will Work At Hardware Magazine In The Conners Season 7
Darlene Is Overdue A Career Shift
While Darlene’s struggles haven’t been as melodramatically intense as Becky’s life story, Sara Gilbert’s sardonic heroine has struggled throughout both shows.Darlene and Ben’s love storybegan when Darlene worked at a mugshot magazine Ben ran, but this magazine soon went out of business, and Darlene’s relationship with herRoseannelove interest, David, ruined her chemistry with Ben. Years later, Ben and Darlene were reconciled and married, but Darlene’s career remained a struggle. Fired for refusing to cover up pollution at Wellman’s Plastics,Darlene becomes a lunch lady to pay for Mark’s college tuition inThe Connersseason 5.
The Hollywood ReporterreportedThe Connersseason 7 will debut in late 2024 or early 2025.
Now that Mark has switched colleges and Ben has boughtHardwareMagazine with his insurance payout,The Connersseason 7 could see Darlene work at the magazine and fulfill a lifelong ambition of hers. Darlene always wanted to be a writer before her responsibilities got in the way and, with both of her children no longer living under her roof and Becky likely to move in with Tyler, this could soon become a reality for her. This would be an uplifting ending forThe Connersheroine, who spent the entirety ofRoseanneand its spinoff trying to escape dead-end jobs that she always resented.
