Roseanne Barr's New Sitcom 'MeeMaw' Features Conservative Cast, John Goodman Declines Cameo
Barr, who self-funded the politically-charged series, says former co-star John Goodman turned down an offer to guest star.
Roseanne Barr is preparing to return to television with her self-funded sitcom, titled "MeeMaw," but without the involvement of her former "Roseanne" castmates, including John Goodman.
Barr told The Hollywood Reporter that Goodman, who played her husband on "Roseanne" for a decade, declined an offer to make a guest appearance on her new show. Barr stated that her son approached Goodman with the request, and he refused. She added that she is no longer on speaking terms with any of her former "Roseanne" co-stars following a 2018 social media scandal that led to the cancellation of the ABC reboot.
"Nobody is more brokenhearted than me. I just choose to remember the fun and the good times," Barr reflected on her fractured relationships with her former colleagues.
"MeeMaw" features a cast of actors and comedians known for their conservative political leanings and support for Donald Trump. The ensemble includes "Sopranos" actress Drea de Matteo, actors Randy Quaid and Jon Lovitz, and comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. Quaid portrays Barr's on-screen husband, while de Matteo plays her daughter.
In the series, Barr plays a character described as a "fiercely patriotic prepper grandma" with a "mixed-race family" who aims to "save America, take down a criminal empire, and throw her granddaughter the perfect Bat Mitzvah."
De Matteo, who has voiced support for Trump and voted for him, called working with Barr a potential career highlight. Hinchcliffe has previously faced backlash for controversial remarks, including a comparison of Puerto Rico to "a floating island of garbage" at a Trump campaign rally. Quaid has called for a redo of the 2020 presidential election.
Despite the conservative casting, Barr maintains that the show will "make fun of everybody" and is not exclusively targeting progressives. She indicated it would include jokes that "the lefties are gonna love."
The "Roseanne" reboot was canceled in 2018 after Barr posted an offensive remark on Twitter about Valerie Jarrett, an African-American former advisor to President Obama. Barr later apologized, calling it a "a bad joke," but the backlash led ABC to cancel the show, which had been one of the highest-rated programs that year. Barr was subsequently dropped by her agent.
Following the cancellation, ABC launched a spin-off series, "The Conners," which included all the original "Roseanne" stars except Barr. Her character was written out of the show by dying from an opioid overdose. "The Conners" ran for seven seasons until 2025.
Goodman had previously described his relationship with Barr as "work friends" in 2018, stating he believed she was "not a racist." In a 2023 interview, he expressed sympathy, saying, "I felt bad for her. I just feel terrible about the whole thing. We had a great time. And I love her. She’s just her own person."