Roseanne star Sarah Chalke, who took on the role of Becky Conner in 1993, faced many challenges both on and off set.
During an appearance on Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinners on Me podcast, the 49-year-old actress spoke about the “intense” dynamic on set between the cast and writers.
“I think the only reason I was able to actually go in and do that job was because I was so naive, I didn’t really understand,” said Chalke, who replaced the original Becky, played by Licy Goransson, in 1993. Please understand. ”
Chalke said the atmosphere on set was turbulent when Ferguson brought up “tension” between the writer and the show’s co-creator Roseanne Barr.
“It was insane. It was like a bunch of writers getting fired,” she said. “It was a pressure cooker.”
After the cast change, Chalke said she received mixed reactions.
“[Someone]said, ‘I much prefer the first Becky,'” she told Ferguson. “And I thought, ‘Okay, yeah. She was great. I agree. She was great.'”
After playing Dan and Roseanne Conner on Roseanne from 1988 to 1998, John Goodman and Barr agreed to reboot the show of the same name.
The nine-episode first season aired from March to May 2018, but in the summer of that year, Barr made a series of controversial comments about Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama, which led to her being fired from the show.
Barr disputed the claims and apologized for making a “bad joke.”
Due to the success of the reboot, the network made the decision to change the title from “Roseanne” to “The Conners” and Burr’s disappearance was explained by an off-screen death.
In the documentary Roseanne Barr is America, the comedian opened up about her fall from grace following a controversial 2018 tweet and explained why she turned down ABC’s offer to return to The Conners after being fired.
“They called me and asked if I would come back as a guest star. You come back as a ghost,” Barr said in the documentary. “You want me to come back on the show you stole from me and killed my love for, and you want me to come on and play a ghost just because the ratings are high?”
Barr said he quickly turned down the offer.
“I’m going to go bowling this week,” she recalled saying.
Representatives for ABC and Barr did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment at the time. People magazine reported that Barr’s claims about the offer were false.
After the tweet scandal, Barr sat down with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“I feel like I apologized, explained, asked for forgiveness, made amends. That’s part of my religion,” she said at the time. “I was so sad and I’m so sad that everyone thinks that about me,” she added. “I never meant to hurt anyone or say anything negative about an entire race.”
