The network wants to expand the live and event programming and this broadcast is an experiment. “Our strategy going forward is to present one live or big tentpole event every month” said ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke at TCA last month where the live Conners broadcast was announced.
ABC was at the forefront in the early 2000s with live scripted programming with an annual live edition of The Drew Carey Show, co-created and produced by Bruce Helford. NBC followed with a live episode of 30 Rock, annual live musicals and an entire season with live broadcasts from Undateable (2014).
The live broadcast of The Conners was already promoted by ABC during the presentation of the Oscars last Sunday, as shown below.
“We thought, it’s an election year and The Conners — whether we want to be or not, we are immersed in some politics; the politics that affect every working class family, that they are going through and affected by,” said Burke. In the live episode of The Conners, Mark (Ames McNamara) sees the results of a school report with Harris (Emma Kenney), disillusioned with the election process, and believes that the influence of money in politics means that real change is impossible.
The Conners is a spin-off from the Roseanne comedy series, which revolves around the Conners family without Roseanne. In May 2018, protagonist and co-creator Roseanne Barr wrote a racist tweet, after which channel ABC decided to stop the Roseanne series.
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