Roseanne spinoff still in limbo; legal issues at the center of the situation

If there is going to be a Roseanne spinoff coming in the future without Roseanne Barr, there is probably going to need to be a decision in the relatively near future. After all, there is only so long that you can leave some of the crew members in limbo. The core cast of the recently-rebooted series is likely going to be able to go off and find jobs without a problem, but for everyone else, it could end up being a little bit more challenging.

According to Deadline, it does still seem as though there is interest on the ABC front in making sure that this new series happens. They’ve heard the pitch and now comes the hard part: Navigating some super-tricky legal waters. The hardest thing that comes with ordering a Roseanne spinoff is finding a way to do it that doesn’t end up giving Roseanne Barr compensation. What makes this so complicated is her own stake in the original show. Technically, Matt Williams is billed as the “creator” — yet, it’s also “based on a character created by Roseanne Barr.” ABC and their legal team need to find a way to differentiate the character from the show, and that’s a challenge given that the show is named Roseanne. There’s likely going to be a lawsuit of some form if Roseanne continues and with that in mind, they need to have a pretty stable case set in stone before they do anything else.

For the time being, we do think ABC is going to give something a try here if they can figure out the best way to do it — they almost certainly know that a spinoff would at least generate huge ratings in the early going. Even if they taper off from there, they’ve established some fantastic momentum that they can use to launch or support another show. We actually think it would save them a lot of hassle if they just came up with a new show that was not about these characters with the same cast, mostly because the Roseanne intrigue would still be there. Either way, you’re losing much of her base.

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Once there is more news on the possible revival, we’ll have it for you here. Meanwhile, we welcome your thoughts in the comments and be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook for some additional news regarding Roseanne once more is known. (Photo: ABC.)