The Conners – Poised for Renewal with an Abbreviated 7th and Final Season at ABC

Good news for The Conners fans. The Roseanne followup, which just marked its 100th episode, will be getting a seventh season. The renewal is being finalized, with a short order to wrap the story expected, sources said. I hear it will be around 6 episodes, and the main cast, including John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson, is expected to return.

Six seasons in, The Conners, from Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment, remains a sturdy ratings performer.

Both executive producer/showrunner Bruce Helford and star John Goodman indicated last spring that Season 6 could be The Conners‘ last, with Helford stressing that star/executive producer Sara Gilbert –who was instrumental in getting The Conners off the ground following the shock cancellation of Roseanne — had requested enough lead time so the series can build to a proper ending.

“We’ve got a final episode that may be one or the other. We love it,” Helford recently told Deadline when asked whether they had approached the Season 6 closer as a season or series finale amid uncertainty over The Conners‘ future. He called the episode “unexpected” and “emotional.”

As Deadline reported last month, a tag scene was shot to be added to the Season 6 finale should it become a series finale. That will no longer be necessary.