You-Know-Who’s Name Will Never Actually Be Spoken on ‘Roseanne’
For all the talk of ABC’s Roseanne pandering to Donald Trump, you may have noticed the President’s name was never actually spoken. That’s by design, and star Sara Gilbert surprisingly confirms the new revival season won’t ever use the name at all.
Star and executive producer Gilbert stated as much during an episode of Watch What Happens Live, and The Hollywood Reporter followed up to confirm that Trump’s name wouldn’t be spoken for the rest of the nine-episode season. "The Conners aren't Trump supporters,” said Gilbert. “Roseanne's character is a Trump supporter — she's the only one — and we never say his name, actually, in the show." A key portion of last week’s premiere saw Roseanne and her sister arguing about the other voting for “him” and “her,” respectively, though only Green Party candidate Jill Stein was mentioned by name. Gilbert elaborates:
The show is not about politics. It's not about anyone's position or a policy, it's really about what happens to a family when there's a political divide, which is something that I think the entire country can relate to and something we need to talk about. So, with our show, it's never about 'doing an issue' or 'doing politics,' it's: How do these things affect a family unit?
Of course, Trump himself predictably took credit for the premiere’s ratings success, and even called Roseanne Barr personally to congratulate her. The ABC revival is also already renewed for a second season – eleventh overall for the show – and it may well be that the next thirteen episodes directly mention Trump.
Otherwise, ABC will re-run the Roseanne premiere on Sunday night, and new episodes will air on Tuesdays. Stay tuned for more in the meantime.
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