The Conners Recasts Key Roseanne Role
The Conners will look a little different when the Roseanne spinoff premieres next month — and we’re not referring to the absence of the franchise’s titular matriarch. Mindy Project vet Xosha Roquemore, who portrayed DJ’s wife Geena in last season’s Roseanne revival, will not be returning for the ABC offshoot. The role will now be played by relative newcomer Maya Lynne Robinson, who is coming on board as a series regular.
ABC announced the recast late Friday via the following tweet. “The little girl that DJ was reluctant to kiss is all grown up. Welcome to The Conners [Maya Lynne Robinson].”
The character of Geena holds a pivotal place in Roseanne canon. In the sitcom’s original run, she was the girl DJ refused to kiss because she was African-American. In Season 10, we learn that DJ ultimately married 
Geena and the pair had a daughter, Mary. Because Geena was serving overseas, we only saw the character (as played by Roquemore) once via Skype. It remains unclear what precipitated the recast.
“We’re thrilled to welcome the incredibly talented Maya Lynne Robinson to the cast this season,” said showrunner and executive producer Bruce Helford in a statement. “Her character 2nd Lieutenant Geena Conner, whom a younger DJ was reluctant to kiss in his school play, comes full circle as his wife and Mary’s mother, bringing back a little piece of Conner history. Yet, while Geena is no stranger to the family, viewers old and new will enjoy seeing how her ‘military-style’ discipline meshes with the Conners’ more laid-back attitude.”
The Conners is set to premiere on ABC on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 8/7c.
I know many aren’t even going to give this show a chance, but I’m going to watch
I don’t understand the hate for the show moving forward without Roseanne. I mean, I do get she was the star, but the show was always an ensemble piece. Don’t forget that Frasier didn’t sound like the greatest idea at first; look how well that turned out. People, give it a chance before you make up your minds. This is a brilliant cast and crew. It will succeed or fail based on the writing. The odds are in the show’s favor.
The difference is that Frasier was a minor character in Cheers and viewers knew nothing about him when it began and it was a great ensemble show. Imagine the show going forward without Frasier and renaming it The Cranes. That’s what’s happening with Roseanne. The Comments will having a ratings bump from curiosity but I doubt it’ll last. No show lasts without its titular star. Think of the show Valerie becoming The Harpers…it didn’t last long without her.
Actually? Valerie was only one season with Valerie, The Hogan family ran for 6 years…it lasted longer without her than with her, it even ran an extra yeah on CBS after NBC axed it.. and it wasn’t even that great a show. I am curious to see where it goes..I absolutely think the cast and writing can pull it off and it might.surprisr more than a few people and work very well
I thought she was one season’s one and 2. Then it became Valerie’s family then the Hogans.
Yeah, uhhh… still Frasier got character development after being an early fan favorite and stayed on til Cheers’ conclusion. The Cranes as a name in relation to either makes no sense.
And Valerie later was re-named The Hogan family and it lasted four more seasons.
Whatever Point you’re trying to make: laughably invalid.
Never heard of either show
I agree 100%
Agree i won’t watch just because abc and what they did to her I hope the best for all the other co-host I love John Goodman but I can’t watch
I agree….frasier was an interesting enough character on his own…and he wasnt the main character on cheers, so it was easy to want to still follow him to see his new life…im not watching new show…and i dont know either of djs wife[s] either way…so its still a matter of roseanne not being there…shes the one thats rules and runs the show that everyone else orbits around and reacts to
However maybe the show will gain viewers with Roseanne’s departure. I haven’t like Roseanne Barr for years, long before the revival of her show. I didn’t watch any of the first season but am willing to give the new show a shot without Roseanne as part of the cast. ABC did the correct thing to Roseanne just like CNN did when they fired Kathy Griffin from their New Years Eve Show when she posted a very low-class “joke” or whatever she referred to it as when she held up a fake beheaded Trump in a video. They both got what they deserved.
I will not watch this race challenged show til one of the daughters get pregnant by a college educated black male or one who is in military. The son getting a bed warmer has always been OK with Redneck’s.
cause morons gonna hate?
WOW – so you saying YOU are a moron for hating Roseanne? OH THE IRONY!
Roseanne was treated so badly and her comment did not deserve during her. She is the star of the show and always will be. She is a wonderful person. She had many African Americans on her show, one of the first gay couples and her mother came out in the season 9. What else does she need to do!!?
ABC and Disney owe her an apology!!! What she tweeted wasnt that awful anyway. I therefore wont be watching!!!!
I agree. Take a good look at The View. It is the WORST show on TV.
ABC allows that trash to be on every day.
Amen
Now I agree with that
I’m with you 100%
I always like when white people stick up for other white people when they openly tweet racist comments.
You mean like black people always stick up for each other when they do something racist?
Both you AND Steve are showing your true (racist) colors by even making these ridiculous comments. 😢
Sad.
And you Julie showing your ignorance and hatred by going to racism at the first chance? Are you saying black people DON’T look after each other? Surely it’s a GOOD thing to defend your own! But hey you LOVE showing your hatred for people to push your fascist tendencies eh!
I wonder if we will ever see Jerry or Jackie’s son (Andy)? ….Like… were they both written out or something? If they are going to make this show unique without the voice of Roseanne they’re going to have to do something to shift the tone. Bringing back DJ’s wife says they’re actually going to focus on all the Connors, if so, then they need the whole family to show up.
Jerry was mentioned first episode as he living on a fishing boat – during the dinner prayer.
Yeah but you’d think he’d come home for a bit considering his mom is probably dead.
As Avalyn mentioned below, Jerry was addressed. Andy was completely erased from the revival, similar to Will and Grace’s kids
That’s right. And where is Dan’s half siblings?
I thought the reason DJ didn’t want to kiss her for the school play was he had a crush on her.
That doesn’t even make sense.
It was because he thought she was different.
Wouldn’t you WANT to kiss the girl you have a crush on??
Not if you think it means you have to marry her. The misconceptions of a child can reach far.
So much stupid in this world …where to begin. I know, right here. ^
If memory serves me correctly, the reason the pre-adolescent DJ didn’t want to kiss Genna was because she was a girl. (girl cooties)
Yes, it had nothing to do with her race.
DJ could not possibly be the biological father of Mary. Bill Cosby pulled this kind of stuff on his show where his kids were an amalgam of genetic impossibilities. Bill knew better… all he had to do was look at his own family to know what he was doing was completely ridiculous. In the case of this show, it’s even more so…
Yes, he is. Mary’s mother is Geena, Geena married DJ decades after refusing to kiss her, DJ and Geena conceived Mary, and Geena is not what you think she is.
It all makes sense. Your comment does not and is extremely ridiculous.
I think he’s referring to the fact that Mary isn’t biracial, whereas if DJ was the father she would be. On the flipside, on the Cosby Show they had some seemingly biracial kids, even though the parents were clearly not.
How do you know she isn’t bi-racial? My Grand-Daughter is bi-racial and she has very dark skin. Your comment doesn’t make any sense.
Every article I’ve seen, they say The Conners, the Roseanne spinoff…they’re still using her name to sell the show. Archie Bunker, George Jefferson and a few others said way way worse.
They are using it to REFERENCE the show, to give it CONTEXT, and, to DIFFERENTIATE it from the show that was titled ROSEANNE! Sheesh!
Archie Bunker and George Jefferson were characters. If Carrol O’Connor or Sherman Hemsley had made those remarks in real-life they would have been fired.
I’m with Mary. We should immediately call Archie Bunker’s place of employment at the loading docks and demand he be fired. We should also boycott George Jefferson’s dry cleaning business. It’s the last time I will get my shirt starched by him!
Remember Valerie Harper’s 80s show? They killed her off, brought in Sandy “Look at me with BOTH eyes!” Duncan, and it hung around for a few more years. Anything’s possible!
Valerie Harper is/was a good actress, so is Sandy Duncan, but neither one is nothing like Roseanne! 😁
Yes,you are right. They are good actresses. Roseanne is nothing like them. she’s an awful “actress”. I’m giving this show a chance , because of the trio of excellent actors: Goodman, Gilbert and Metcalf. On the other hand, D.J. is like his “mom”, a cringeworthy bad actor.
Getting rid of the lead is a known similarity, but that’s about the extent of things. The differences between the two situations speak volumes. Most notably is the fact that the change from Valerie’s Family to the Hogan family wasn’t done after 10 seasons of establishing Valerie as the lead.
the big difference was that the show had focussed on teen idle and son jason bateman, this was one of the reasons valerie was upset that and it had become a descent size hit so she was going for more money.
roesanne has some good actors but the focus has always been roesanne right or wrong how she dealt with her family with an opion of her own that she wasn’t changing no matter what her sister or husband thought.
i cant blame abc for going through with it, first 10 will do good it will end season rated in top 5 comedies on abc good enough for a year 2, then unless rosesane can get them more free advertising it will be over, charlie sheen halo only last so long
A lot of recasting this season among shows. Is it a new trend?
It’s been a trend for as long as tv has been around.
I would venture that in these #PeakTV times, with ~400 scripted shows being produced, actor conflicts/options are more likely to come into play than 10 years ago.
Do your research DJ didn’t want to kiss the girl because he had a crush on her . It wasn’t because she was black.
Was because she was black not because he had a crush on her !
Wrong again.
If you had a crush on someone, you would want to kiss them.
Dan : “No matter what it is, you can tell us.. is it because she’s black? It is, isn’t it?”
DJ : “Well, you’ll be mad if I say yes.”
Dan : “No we won’t.”
Roseanne : “Yes We Will! I didn’t raise you to be some little bigot.”
DJ : “I just don’t wanna kiss her!”
Roseanne : “Hey! Black people are just like us. They’re every bit as good as us and any people who don’t think so is just a bunch of banjo picking, cousin dating, barefoot embarrassments to respectable white trash like us.”
How about YOU do some research ;)
Then he responds I don’t want to kiss her because she’s a girl. He just didn’t want to kiss a girl in general it had nothing to do with her skin color.
You DO your research it WAS because she was black
First of all I also thought Valerie Jarrett was white, only reason they’re adding DJ’s wife is to bring more black people to watch, how racist is that, they think people are stupid I guess !!!
Wow! Maybe read articles you comment on, she was in the last season.
Sounds to me like they want a strong-willed, brash female character to drive family conflict now that Roseanne’s gone. That has nothing to do with race.
Ooooooh. That was a racist comment in itself. Oops. :-)
WTH? Roseanne was strong-willed and brash and often drove the family conflict that propelled the stories. It sounds to me like they’re looking for DJ’s wife to fill that role now, but with a militaristic twist. If you’re seeing something racial in that, I think that says more about you than it does about me.
Oh you mean you didn’t get the memo? Didn’t you know that if you disagree with anyone now and don’t share their views you are automatically a racist? The word is so watered down now it’s laughable.
How is ADDING a new black actress to the show RACIST?!?! By your (incorrect) understanding of the word, that would be like saying any gay characters that get added to a show is homophobic…
(It’s like the total opposite!)
Hope it fails. I won’t watch. What Roseanne did was not racist and pretty much every actor on this show (exception John Goodman) tossed her under the bus as if they were harbouring the knowledge for decades that the woman was a big racist, but of course they continued to work with her, politically correct morons that they all are.
My thoughts exactly.
Spot on
It was racist and stupid! So get over it! If you don’t want to watch the show…Don’t!
Karen – Roseanne posing for photos while dressed as Hitler and savoring a tray half-burned cookies coming out of the oven in the shape of people isn’t racist and horribly offensive?
Quote from the article that accompanied these photos: “Roseanne asked to dress up as Hitler for the spread, as she believes (or at least jokingly said that she believes) that she may be the reincarnation of the Führer himself.”
“pretty much every actor on this show (exception John Goodman) tossed her under the bus as if they were harbouring the knowledge for decades that the woman was a big racist…”
Obviously, yes Karen, since the original series ran from 1988 – 1997, the cast and production team of the show had a tremendous amount of time to witness her behavior first-hand as well as beyond in order to make a proper judgment call.
Agreed. I’m done with ABC completely.
PLEASE give Roseanne one more chance!! PLEASE! This show will no be fun without her! She is the glue to the show Conners cannot go on with out her Dan needs her!
Bringback Roseanne! She did nothino wrong!Valerie Jarret should be ostracized!
She did nothing wrong?! You have got to be kidding! You people are sick!
Valerie Jarret should be ostracized? WTH are you talking about? She had nothing AT ALL to do with this mess. Stupidest comment on all of this I’ve read yet.
These comments are ridiculous. Valerie Jarrett??
I Will truly truly miss Roseanne. Don’t know if it will survive without her. Roseanne, Jackie, an Dan were the star. An Darlene younger days were great. Bring Bring Roseanne back. Don’t know if I will continue watching, but will watch first episode.
White couple- Bad
Black couple- Bad
White and Black couple- Good
Just because Trump’s in office, it doesn’t mean interracial relationships should be promoted. Hollywood needs to stop shoving them down our throats. I hope this show tanks, just like Alex inc. did.
look around you…….there are far more mixed marriages than you think………especially in military towns. The whole topic should be redundant by now.
Exactly…as if Amelia has never seen interracial couples on TV before. I take it black-ish isn’t on her DVR, or she didn’t go see Fences at the theater. This has been around for decades. I remember watching Tom & Helen on The Jeffersons as a kid, and I didn’t think it was a big deal. I just thought they were funny. Fast forward…Zac Efron & Zendaya were amazing together in The Greatest Showman. This has been the norm for a long, long time. Amelia, it’s called REAL LIFE. And before you jump all over me…I voted for Trump. Yes, even the Deplorables can see the bubble you’re living in.
What a terrible sentiment! And what’s wrong with interracial couples? They are not some Hollywood invention. Interracial relationships exist in reality and TV shows have them as a reflection of society. Grow up!
You are so right.iam so sick of the white and black relationship theme they try and shove down our throats.I guess white women aren’t good enough for white men anymore….according to Hollywood and we all know that they know what’s best for us.so Connors,suck a big one!!!!
Wow, nice bubble you live in. Interracial relationships are just a reflection of our society. People tend to watch shows that they can relate to, and, like it or not, a lot of people can relate to interracial couples.
Your comment-incredibly ignorant.
It’s like pc to add black character, mixed couples, etc to every show on tv now! This all started with the Hollywood/Oscar stink, made by Jada Pinkett Smith. They just started adding black actors to every single show, many times after writing out the white characters. It’s just very puzzling that every show seems to be doing this lately. It’s far better to have shows with great black actors in leading parts, not just all these characters plugged into every existing show.
There is so much talent on this program I don’t think I will even miss Rosanne. Good Luck to everyone and I will be watching !
That’s right gotta get more black folk on there to boost viewers seeing their going to lose a boat load of Rosanne fans.maybe more black people will do the trick.wrong….no Rosanne,no watch.maybe they should have just killed Darlene off instead.that alone would be a big improvement.
I miss the reruns y couldnt she keep her opinions to herself
Ok get rid of Rosanne,add a black person and shazam no one will notice Rosanne is gone and maybe she will add more black viewers to make up for the viewers they lost.give me a break.no Rosanne…..then they can take that show and shove it.
It wouldn’t be fun to watch a show where someone is in mourning the whole time. I think it would be best if they number one forgot all about Jerry and his boat..who cares pretend he never existed like family matters did with the little sister. I mean no…there was no sister wink wink. Or maybe they could have Roseanne passing away however shoot to like a ten months later scene at the end and on to the next episode where they start moving on. That is what I feel would make it at the least tolerable.
I have to admit I will miss the Roseanne I do feel she should be off the show without money to think about her mental state and get some help but able to come back and renite with the series. Dan’s mother had mental issues in past seasons it would be interesting how he would react to his wife having mental issues. What Roseanne said was wrong and hateful. We as a society need this reminder that words hurt and should be condemed. I don’t believe she should loose all if she truly is sorry.
Doesn’t matter who they recast will not be watching it without Roseanne,there is No Conner’s without Roseanne.
not going to be the same without rossane!!!!!
Very cool to bring that character back to the show. I’m only worried that this is a cast full of lightweight actors. I mean dj and his sibs were kinda of terrible last round, no?
I will keep it simple. I hear constantly what. Others say on TV and nothing is done. It was WRONG TO ELIMINATE ROSEANNE. VALERIE IS IRANIAN AND DOES BELONG TO THE SISTER ORGANIZATION OF MB. I LIKE DAN BUT WILL NOT BE WATCHING. WITHOUT ROSEANNE DAN AND THE SISTER TO ROSEANNE ARE ONLY TWO WORTH TURNING ON. GOOD LUCK. NOT WATCHING
This show will bomb
Good luck with that. Those untalented once child actors that Roseanne hired and made stars of would be nowhere today without her. Then they don’t even bother standing with her knowing full well she’s not a racist. Nobody wants to see a show about mopey dopey depressing Darlene or Becky the alcoholic, plus Michael Fishman can act his way out of a paper bag. Oh yeah and screw John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf.
waiting for this to fail miserably..
Edit: Michael Fishman CANNOT act his way out of a paper bag.