Roseanne Barr is actively working on her return to television. The Emmy Award-winning comedian — who was let go from the Roseanne revival after making a controversial tweet about Barack Obama’s aide Valerie Jarrett — is developing a four to six-episode series that she’ll soon start shopping around to networks. The untitled series, which Barr wrote alongside Roseanne producer Allan Stephan, will center on an Alabama farmer who wants to “save America with guns, the Bible, petty crime, and alcoholism.”
Per an exclusive report from Variety, Barr described the upcoming project as a “cross between The Roseanne Show and The Sopranos.” The central character, who grows and sells drugs like cannabis and magic mushrooms, will save “the United States from drug gangs and China.”
She went on to explain the series in more detail, adding that:
“It’s silly and out there. [It will contain] very offensive ideas and a lot of swearing. I live with my daughter and her husband and their six children on a farm. And they have goats running through their house and stuff. It’s based on my life as a farmer in Hawaii. They save America with guns, the Bible, petty crime and alcoholism. It’s kind of like the Coen brothers thing.”
Barr believes the show will resonate with audiences, especially following the presidential election of Donald Trump, going so far as to say that she is ready to create the series herself if Hollywood doesn’t bite.
“Hollywood has made itself irrelevant to the American people,” she says. “If they want to survive, they should work with the new president. American people elected him in an overwhelming victory. They should get back in touch with [them] and make some money, which I don’t know if they do or not ’cause they’ve proven to be ideologues rather than [business people]. What shocks me is the fact that they prefer to lose money and then explain that to the shareholders who apparently have no problem with that.”
Roseanne Barr: From Lanford to MAGA Rap and Beyond
As out there as the plot of Barr’s would-be new series may be, she is on to something: audiences want to see relatable characters on their screens. This is exactly why Roseanne succeeded. The Emmy-winning sitcom, which ran from 1988 to 1997 before its 2017 return, portrayed a working-class family, and many viewers saw themselves in the show’s characters. The series was heralded for its humor, social commentary, and strong female characters.
As revivals and reboots began to make their way on network television, so did Roseanne. Barr returned alongside original series stars John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson and Michael Fishman. The revival (the show’s overall tenth season) did well, which was not unexpected given the original sitcom’s success, but was quickly canceled after one season aired. After Barr tweeted: “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj” about Jarrett, ABC axed the series and called Barr’s comment “inconsistent with network values.”
While Barr would never set foot in the Conner family home again, the remaining cast returned to ABC with The Conners, which saw the family living after the matriarch’s death. When asked if she’d consider ABC as the network for her new series, Barr unsurprisingly said, “F— no.”
Post-Roseanne, Barr has hosted The Roseanne Barr Podcast and appeared in the comedy special Cancel This!, as well as DailyWire+’s animated series Mr. Birchum. Most recently, Barr collaborated with Canadian MAGA rapper Tom MacDonald on “Daddy’s Home” (about Trump’s return to the White House).
Along with writing on the upcoming untitled series, Barr will also star. We’d love to hear the Coen brothers’ feedback on the show’s “out there” premise — though who knows if they will have much, if anything, to say.
Roseanne Barr’s new series does not yet have a production studio or network/streamer attached to make it.