What The Conners Cast Is Doing Next After The Roseanne Franchise Ends

Sadly, The Conners is bringing the Roseanne franchise to an end with its seventh season in 2025, but it won't be long before fans see the cast again. The ABC sitcom debuted as a direct continuation of the original TV show in October 2018, following the Conner family decades after the events of the controversial Roseanne series finale (but ignores many of the developments from the sitcom's last season). The Conners features many of the same cast members from the older show and begins with the characters struggling to cope with the death of the franchise's matriarch.

The Conners season 7 premieres on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at 8 pm ET on ABC and will consist of only six episodes.

Over the course of The Conners' six aired seasons, the family has been through many ups and downs. Both Dan and Darlene got married to new people; Becky struggled with addiction; DJ abruptly left Lanford; Bev was diagnosed with severe dementia; Dan and Jackie retired; and so on. That's only brushing the surface, though. So, as The Conners heads into its final season, the ABC sitcom must bring the Conner family's story to a satisfying ending while also paying tribute to the franchise's legacy. Afterward, the cast will have to move on to other projects.

8 John Goodman

Dan Conner

One of John Goodman's most known roles is as Dan Conner in Roseanne and The Conners. However, his run as Dan is ending with season 7 in the spring of 2025, and the actor is already looking ahead to other projects. Instead of pursuing TV jobs, though, Goodman is choosing to focus on the big screen after starring in The Conners for seven years.

John Goodman's Upcoming Movies	Role	Release Date
Smurfs	Papa Smurf (voice)	July 18, 2025
Untitled Alejandro G. Iñárritu film	TBA	October 2, 2026
Chili Finger	TBA	TBA

Goodman will first star in the 2025 live-action animated musical fantasy movie Smurfs, based on Peyo's The Smurfs comic books. It will serve as a reboot of the Smurfs film series, revolving around the kidnapping of Goodman's Papa Smurf by dark wizards and Smurfette (voiced by Rihanna) and the other Smurfs' subsequent search for him in the real world. Aside from Goodman and Rihanna, the Smurfs cast also includes Nick Offerman, Sandra Oh, JP Karliak, James Corden, Dan Levy, Nick Kroll, Octavia Spencer, Kurt Russell, and many other recognizable actors.

Jerry from Roseanne with Dan from The Conners

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Goodman will also appear in Academy Award-winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu's untitled film alongside Tom Cruise and Sandra Hüller. Unfortunately, not much is known about the 2026 movie, including Goodman's character. The actor's last upcoming movie is Chili Finger, which will also see him serve as an executive producer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chili Finger chronicles the story of Judy Greer's character, a recently empty-nested mother, who discovers a human finger in her fast-food order of chili. Consequently, she blackmails the restaurant, wanting them to exchange money for her silence.

7 Laurie Metcalf

Jackie Harris-Goldufski

Laurie Metcalf remains booked and busy, even after reprising her iconic Roseanne role as Jackie in The Conners for seven years. The actress is set to star in the third season (Monster: The Original Monster) of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan's Netflix biographical crime drama anthology series Monster. Whereas season 1 followed Jeffrey Dahmer's killing spree and season 2 told the Menendez brothers' story, season 3 focuses on Ed Gein, aka, "the Butcher of Plainfield."

Laurie Metcalf was also cast as Mary Evans, Bill Evans' mother, in the upcoming biopic Everybody Digs Bill Evans, which does not yet have a release date.

Metcalf will star in the main cast of Monster: The Original Monster as Augusta Gein, Ed Gein's mother. As for the show's other confirmed actors and actresses, Charlie Hunnam plays Ed Gein, Tom Hollander portrays Alfred Hitchcock, and Olivia Williams stars as Alma Reville. As of the writing of this article, Netflix hasn't announced a premiere date for Monster season 3. However, the streaming service plans on releasing it sometime in 2025.

6 Sara Gilbert

Darlene Conner-Olinsky

While some of her castmates have secured their next projects following The Conners' ending, Sara Gilbert doesn't have anything in the works (at least, nothing that has been announced). So, it's unclear where fans can expect to see Gilbert next. It likely won't be long before the actress secures her next role or writing/producing job, though.

Aside from The Conners, Gilbert last appeared in 80 for Brady in 2023. As for TV, she starred in the 2020 HBO documentary series Equal, which chronicled monumental events in LGBTQ+ history via archived footage and reenactments. However, when discussing the future, Gilbert's next steps are unknown. Perhaps one of CBS' Big Bang Theory sequel spinoffs will bring back Gilbert's Leslie, keeping her in the sitcom world after The Conners finale.

5 Lecy Goranson

Becky Conner-Healy

Similar to the actress who plays her onscreen sister, Lecy Goranson doesn't appear to have any roles in movies or TV shows lined up after The Conners series finale. Goranson starred as Becky in over 250 episodes of Roseanne and The Conners combined. Becky is undoubtedly the actress' best-known role. She can also be recognized for her supporting parts in the movies How to Make an American Quilt, Boys Don't Cry, and The Extra Man. However, now that The Conners is coming to an end, Goranson will have to step away from Becky and look to other projects.

4 Emma Kenney

Harris Conner-Healy

Emma Kenney, who stars as Harris in the cast of The Conners, is moving on from the ABC sitcom via a movie titled Growing up Gorman. Unfortunately, the status of said film is unknown. It has seemingly been in the works for years and is listed as being in the "pre-production" stage on Kenney's IMDb page.

Nevertheless, following her seven-season run as Darlene's daughter in The Conners, Kenney will likely have many opportunities to appear in other TV shows and movies. The young actress most recently guest starred in an episode of NBC's new hit sitcom Happy's Place, suggesting she might continue down the sitcom path after The Conners ends. Given Kenney's Happy's Place character is closely connected to the protagonist, perhaps she will reprise her role in the future.

3 Ames McNamara

Mark Conner-Healy

As for The Conners' other young star, Ames McNamara's next role hasn't been decided or announced. The ABC sitcom was McNamara's first big project, so, it will be interesting to see what he does next once the TV show comes to an end in 2025. McNamara is still quite young, though, and his next steps are unpredictable. Fans will just have to wait and see if McNamara continues acting, and if he does, where they can see him after The Conners.

2 Jay R. Ferguson

Ben Olinsky

Jay R. Ferguson officially joined the main cast of The Conners in season 3, despite appearing in seasons 1 and 2. His character, Ben Olinsky, eventually marries Darlene, and, hopefully, the two will get their happy ending in the ABC sitcom. After it concludes, though, it remains to be seen what Ferguson has in the works.

Custom image of Roseanne laughing in Roseanne season 10 and Darlene scowling in The Conners

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Ferguson hasn't announced any future projects concerning TV or the big screen. As a result, it's unclear where Ferguson can be found next for those who watched The Conners. Hopefully, fans won't have to wait too long and the actor will return to our screens in the near future.

1 Katey Sagal

Louise Conner

Fans won't have to worry about Katey Sagal's future following the series finale of The Conners. The actress wrapped filming season 2 of Netflix's One Piece in late 2024; she is reprising her Married... with Children role in an animated reboot; and she will star in the upcoming psychological thriller Trust alongside Sophie Turner. Similar to her The Conners co-star John Goodman, Sagal stays booked and busy.

While Sagal's schedule is quite busy, The Conners fans might have to wait a while before seeing the actress back on their screens.

Sagal is set to portray Dr. Kureha in the cast of One Piece season 2, which doesn't have a premiere date as of the writing of this article. However, Netflix is reportedly expected to release the new episodes in 2026 at the latest. Meanwhile, not much is known about the Married... with Children animated reboot since its announcement in 2022, and the premiere date for Trust is unknown. So, while Sagal's schedule is quite busy, The Conners fans might have to wait a while before seeing the actress back on their screens.