Roseanne Revival Will Basically Disregard the Original Series Finale

Ever since the revival of Roseannewas announced, fans have been wondering how the new iteration would address the original series finale, in which Roseanne (Roseanne Barr) revealed that her husband Dan (John Goodman) had died, and that many of the later events in the series were just stories she'd written as part of the grieving process. And now we finally have a (sort-of) answer.

At the Television Critics Association summer press tour Sunday, ABC President Channing Dungey confirmed that Goodman is expected to return to the show as Dan Conner.

"I wouldn't say that [the revival] is ignoring the events of the finale, but I can confirm that Dan is definitely still alive," Dungey told reporters.

In addition, another familiar face may be joining the reboot. Dungey also indicated that the network is currently negotiating with actor Johnny Galecki to return to the series, saying that conversations are "in progress."

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Galecki, who currently stars on CBS's The Big Bang Theory, portrayed David Healy, whose longterm relationship with Darlene Conner (Sara Gilbert) eventually culminated in a marriage and a baby at the end of the series.

Gilbert was already expected to return, with David's presence to be felt by fans in the form of their children together, but Galecki's potential reprisal of the role was unknown.

The news that Goodman would return, along with the fact that Darlene and David's children were being cast for the series had previously indicated that the finale twist -- which also included the revelation that David actually ended up with Becky (Lecy Goranson/Sarah Chalke) while Darlene married Mark (the late Glenn Quinn) -- would be at least partially inconsequential to the revival.

Roseanne will return for a limited 10th season in 2018.