AlthoughThe Connersisn’t the most experimental sitcom ever made, theRoseannespinoff did attempt to pull off a pair of bizarrely ambitious live episodes in seasons 2 and 4. It is always hard for sitcoms to maintain an audience’s attention, and the genre is home to some pretty shameless gimmicks when it comes to enticing viewers. From celebrity cameos to killing off recurring characters, sitcoms have run the gamut of sweepstakes tricks over the years in an effort to attract better ratings.Roseanne’s spinoffThe Connersis typically a low-key affair, but even this comedy isn’t immune to such efforts.
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The Conners, like its predecessorRoseanne, focuses on the eponymous working-class family from the small city of Lanford. Proud of its creative debt to traditional sitcoms likeAll In The Family,The Connersgenerally avoids the self-aware meta-humor of recent, more experimental sitcoms.The Connersseason 7is unlikely to feature an animated episode or any similar ratings gimmick, so this made the show’s seasons 2 and 4 surprises all the more unexpected. In these outings,The Connersfeatured not one, but two live episodes, the latter of which even incorporated improvised scenes from non-professional actors who won a contest.
The Conners Season 4 Episode 1 Featured Non-professional Actors
Contest Winners Played The Conner Relatives Mark Called
In season 4, episode 1, “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience,”The Connersincluded improvised scenes featuring non-professional actors in a live episode. These actors were called live on air and tasked with improvising alongside Mark’s actor Ames MacNamara in a gimmick that could easily have gone disastrously wrong. Fortunately for everyone involved, the contest winners provided amusing banter in response to Mark’s questions instead of anything more risqué. However, the episode still jarred bizarrely with the grounded tone of the series as a whole, as does its predecessor season 2, episode 13, “Live From Lanford.”
“Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience” was outright jarring as the episode broke the fourth wall entirely.
In “Live From Lanford,” the Conner family discussed politics in real time as Mark and Harris watched coverage of the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary. Since it didn’t involve any audience participation, this was a more straightforward live episode. That said, the risky format shift still felt like an odd choice for the show. In contrast, “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience” was outright jarring as the episode broke the fourth wall entirely, with Darlene running from one set to another and the aforementioned phone calls from Mark. The effect is bizarre upon a re-watch.
The Conners Season 4 Episode 1’s Live Taping Was Already Risky
Two Versions Of The Live Episode Aired In Quick Succession
Even without the phone call conversations, “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience” was always a risky proposition. Some of thebest episodes ofThe Connersrely on intense dramatic confrontations between the family, but the season 4 premiere’s storyline needed to be a little lighter than usual due to its frequent fourth-wall breaks. Meanwhile, the fact that the episode was intended to air live across America meant that it was performed twice in rapid succession to account for Eastern and Pacific time zones. Thus, every logistical challenge of filming the outing was doubled down on, including Mark’s calls to contest winners.
Fortunately for the show’s creators,The Connersseason 4’s live episode went off without a hitch. This didn’t necessarily mean that it was worth the risk, as it was hard not to feel like the episode was a gimmick. There were numerous broader issues withThe Connersseason 4, including ignoring Roseanne entirely at Dan and Louise’s wedding and sidelining Harris’s relationship with Aldo in the finale. As such, prioritizing the novelty of a live episode over ironing out these story issues smacked of desperation, provingThe Conners’ character developmentwasn’t the primary concern of its creators.
The Conners Season 4’s Experiment Didn’t Fit The Show’s Tone
Roseanne’s Spinoff Isn’t As Experimental As 30 Rock Or Community
The Connerssuccessfully pulled off its live episode in season 4, but there is no denying that the episode still felt out of place.30 RockandThe Simpsonsboth had successful live episodes beforeThe Conners, but they were also both much weirder, more self-aware sitcoms that frequently addressed their metafictional status.30 Rockwas a comedy show about creating a comedy show, whileThe Simpsonsis filled with nods to its own status as a cartoon that alternate between sly and blatant. In contrast,The Connersgenerally takes itself relatively seriously and doesn’t break the fourth wall.
Ames McNamara
Mark Conner-Healy
EvenRoseannewould have been better suited to a live episode thanks to experimental outings like season 2, episode 8, “Sweet Dreams,” or season 9, episode 9, “Rosemabo.” The latter was hardly critically acclaimed, but it proves thatRoseannealways had an experimental side thatThe Connersnever shared. There is a reason that few viewers expectThe Conners’ upcoming final seasonto have an extended action movie parody within its six episodes, and it’s because the series prides itself on reflecting reality. This made season 4’s premiere feel oddly misguided, since breaking the fourth wall wasn’t the sitcom’s forte.
The Conners Never Revisited Live Episodes
This One-off Experiment Followed A Live Season 2 Episode
Unlike “Trucking Live in Front of a Fully Vaccinated Studio Audience,” ”Live from Lanford” sidestepped many of the issues that make live episodes feel gimmicky. For one thing, the outing focused on a real-life event that gave it a reason to be broadcast live. For another, the plot centered on the banter between the family and their political disagreements. This ensured the outing still felt somewhat like a normal episode ofThe Conners. It might not have matchedThe Conners’ highest-rated outings, but any episode that gets the family into one place and sparks some conflict between them is bound to succeed.
The Hollywood ReporterreportedThe Connersseason 7 will debut in late 2024 or early 2025.
However, the biggest saving grace of this earlier experiment was the lack of audience participation. The contest winners all put in great performances, but the inevitable staginess involved in calling non-professional actors to improvise while on air didn’t fit with the tone ofThe Conners. There are plenty of broader, sillier sitcoms where this type of comedy would have succeeded, butThe Connerswas ill-suited to something that felt borrowed from a wilder, wackier series. As such, it is a good thing thatThe Conners’ second live episode was theRoseannespinoff’s last attempt at this television tradition.
