This is something we don’t see often — reruns of an ongoing broadcast series airing concurrently on another broadcast network in primetime. Under a deal with Lionsgate, the CW has acquired the five existing seasons of ABC’s comedy series The Conners. Back-to-back repeats of the Roseanne spinoff will air Thursdays at 8:30-9:30 p.m., flanked by original episodes of Canadian comedy imports Son of a Critch at 8 and Children Ruin Everything at 9:30. The Conners, which airs Wednesdays on ABC, will begin its CW run Jan. 4 at 8:30 p.m. with the series’ first two episodes.
‘The Conners’: Lionsgate & Debmar-Mercury To Distribute ABC Sitcom In Deal With Werner Entertainment
Tom Werner’s Werner Entertainment, the production company behind ABC’s popular comedy series The Conners, has signed a global licensing deal with Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury to make past seasons of the sitcom available on streaming and in syndication. Under the agreement, Lionsgate’s Worldwide Television Distribution Group will handle global distribution, including SVOD, AVOD, basic cable and FAST rights, while Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury will shepherd domestic syndication for the Roseanne spinoff. The deal covers all five seasons of the series as well as rights to future seasons following ABC’s first window.
Bucking this week’s cancellation trend, ABC on Friday renewed all five of its remaining scripted bubble shows. For those keeping track at home, that includes dramas Big Sky (for Season 3) and A Million Little Things (for Season 5), as well as comedies The Conners (for Season 5), Home Economics (for Season 3) and The Wonder Years (for Season 2).
ABC on Thursday announced that the cast of The Conners will perform Season 4’s Sept. 22 premiere live for both the East and West Coasts. This marks the veteran sitcom’s second live episode, following Season 2’s New Hampshire Primary-themed event.
A crew member for ABC’s The Conners died on set on Thursday. The man, whose identity was not disclosed, had also worked on Roseanne.
ABC has renewed its highest-rated new show, The Conners, for a second season. The show’s stars, including John Goodman, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Ames McNamara and Laurie Metcalf, are all set to return to Lanford, after several of them signed a new deal with the network on Thursday.
Exclusives
ABC’s big, pricey Conners gamble appears to have paid off. The network is eyeing a second season of the Roseanne spinoff, with preliminary talks underway between the network and the series’ primary on-camera players, including John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert and Lecy Goranson.
