The Conners production officially begins; see first photo

The Conners production has officially begun, and we’ve now got the first official photo to prove it!

This morning, ABC released the first photo of the Roseanne spin-off from the set in Burbank, where work is going to be done for much of the next several months. The Conners is of course entering its run surrounded by controversy, largely inflicted by Roseanne Barr.

Of course, most of the commentary that we’ve heard about The Conners so far is backlash from Roseanne fans, but we do think underneath all of that there is a chance for this show to be a hit. Just remember here that the series is likely going to get off to an enormous start in the ratings — if nothing else, there’s probably going to be a lot of curiosity that comes out of seeing what happens when Roseanne Conner is (seemingly) killed off. The comparison that we routinely draw here is between this show and Two and a Half Men after Charlie Sheen was fired. The first episode of that season drew absolutely enormous ratings, and that helped to sustain the show for a couple more years after the fact. Obviously, The Conners is going to lose a good many of its viewers after what happens in the premiere, but we feel like ABC expects that. If they can even get to where this show averages around a 1.5 rating in the 18-49 demographic and more than 7 million viewers, it’ll be considered a hit for them and could stick around for some time.

Ultimately, it’s all going to be about quality and whether or not the producers can figure out a way to make a show here that really works for everyone and get viewers from all over the country. There aren’t too many shows out there that are so aligned that they are able to court such a large audience.

Do you think that The Conners is going to work well as a solo series? Share right now in the attached comments!