There is the familiarity of the Conner house, still well-worn, the iconic couch taking center stage in the family room. It is difficult to admit, but nearly everything about the production is competent. In many ways, the first two episodes of the “Roseanne” reboot are excellent. The promise of jobs and the myth of the white working class as the only people struggling in this country, which animates so much of our present political moment, are right there, in this sitcom. Roseanne the character voted for Donald Trump because he talked about “jobs.” For that she sacrificed so many other things.
#ROSEANNE THE NEW YORK TIMES ROXANE GAY TV#
What I found is that the tensions in the TV show - which more than 18 million people watched, a network TV high since 2014 - are the same tensions that shape this current political climate. I wanted to see how the Conners were doing 20 years later. The original “Roseanne” was a smart, hilarious and groundbreaking show that covered a lot of important ground in prime-time television. Nonetheless, I was curious about what Roseanne Conner, her famous television alter ego, has been up to. No amount of mental gymnastics can make what Roseanne Barr has said and done in recent years palatable. She is more invested in banal and shallow provocation than engaging with sociopolitical issues in a thoughtful manner. Where once she was edgy and provocative, she is now absurd and offensive. She tweets conspiracy theories, rails against feminism and shares Islamophobic opinions. She is a supporter of Donald Trump, vocalizing her thoughts about making America great, claiming that with her vote, she was trying to shake things up. Whatever charm and intelligence she brought to the first nine seasons of her show, a show I very much loved, are absolutely absent in her current persona, particularly as it manifests on Twitter.
Barr noxious, transphobic, racist and small-minded. I wasn’t going to watch the reboot because I find Ms. In the case of Roseanne Barr and her critically acclaimed television show based on her life, it is nearly impossible. It can be very difficult to separate the art from the artist.