How Roseanne Revival Will Incorporate ‘Second Becky’

It’s been known for months that Roseanne’s second Becky actress Sarah Chalke would be part of the revival, but now her role has been revealed. The role of older Conner daughter Becky was of course originally played on Roseanne by Lecy Goranson, who will reprise the role in ABC’s upcoming revival. Not wanting to leave Chalke out of the series’ big return, producers invented a new role for her that still keeps her close to the Conners.

Goranson’s Becky disappeared from Roseanne in season 5, due to the actress wanting to focus on going to college. Within the series, Becky’s absence was explained by her marrying Mark and moving away. By season 6 though, producers had recast the Becky role with Chalke, who played Becky for the entirety of seasons 6 and 7. In season 8, Goranson and Chalke split time playing Becky, depending on Goranson’s availability. This led to some hilarious meta jokes within the show itself. For the ninth and (formerly) final season, Chalke played Becky in every episode.

Now, EW has revealed Chalke’s role in the Roseanne revival, and it’s almost another meta joke in and of itself. Sarah Chalke is set to play Andrea, a middle-class wife who enlists Becky as her pregnancy surrogate. Unsurprisingly, this development leads to decidedly mixed feelings among the members of the Conner family. The role is quite fitting when one considers that Chalke was in essence Roseanne’s surrogate Becky when Goranson was unable to continue playing the character.

One aspect that isn’t entirely clear is whether Becky herself will already have a child of her own. In the season 9 finale of Roseanne – or at least the part that took place before the big “Roseanne’s book” revelation that turned the show’s plot on its head – it was revealed that Becky and Mark were pregnant with their first child. However, no actor has been cast to play said child in the revival, making one wonder what happened there. Did Becky have a miscarriage, and if so, is that why she’s so willing to be a surrogate at this stage? It’s anyone’s guess right now.

With all the hype and anticipation building among fans for Roseanne’s 2018 return, one wonders if the series will end up pulling a Will & Grace and getting renewed for additional revival seasons. After all, the tale of a working-class American family is likely to be just as relevant now as it was in the 80s and 90s, perhaps even more so.

Roseanne season 10 premieres March 10 on ABC.