‘The Conners’ Star Says Series Finale Features Something Never Seen on TV Before

Sara Gilbert teased a unique ending for The Conners. The ABC sitcom’s seventh and final season is currently underway, with a total of just six episodes to close out the story of the TV family fans were first introduced to in 1988 on Roseanne. Speaking with Good Morning America on April 1, Gilbert, who played Darlene Conner on both shows, hinted that the series will have an interesting finale.

“I think viewers will be happy, I hope," Gilbert said. “And there's also something we do at the end that I haven't really seen that I can recall on another show. So I think that will be fun for people to see.”

Gilbert confirmed that the show won’t be wrapped up in a neat, 22-minute “bow.” “It is The Conners after all,” she said, adding, “Somebody asked me if it's a happily ever after, and I said well it's a Conners ever after. So I won't speak to whether it's happy or sad, but I think we try to keep things real and keep things satisfying. I think it's a really satisfying ending.”

Gilbert noted that with just six episodes to close things out, producers tried to treat The Conners final season as a “limited series.”

In a separate interview, Gilbert’s TV daughter Emma Kenney told TV Line that there will be some unanswered questions following the finale. “In previous seasons, we did 13-to-22 episodes, so it definitely is difficult to wrap the whole world up in just six episodes — three hours, ultimately. It does leave a few open-ended questions towards the end," she shared.

In addition, Laurie Metcalf, who long played Aunt Jackie Harris on the show, teased that viewers could be left hanging a bit when The Conners clan ends their run. “There’s a lot to wrap up and I think the writers are really working hard to get everybody’s storylines sort of … not completed,” she admitted to People magazine. “It’s not going to have a big bow tied up with the Conners.”

The Conners airs Wednesdays on ABC.