Fans of The Conners are freaking out over a new promo in which Darlene (Sara Gilbert) revealed shocking news.
In a new clip from the episode “Birthdays, Babies and Emotional Support Chickens” shared to the official Conners Instagram page, the 40-something Conner daughter told her boyfriend Ben (Jay R. Ferguson) that she was pregnant with their child.
After Ben gave her kudos via a distanced fist bump —”Who’s the mom? You’re the mom!” he screamed —Darlene also realized the perks of raising her baby alongside her sister Becky (Lecy Goranson) and her daughter, Beverly Rose. Darlene told her sis they could even go to Mommy and Me and not talk to any of the other moms.
In the caption to the post, which can be seen below, it was teased that Darlene should be ready for another child because her first two, Harris (Emma Kenney) and Mark (Ames McNamara), turned out just fine. Fans know that both Conner-Healy kids have been a handful for their mom.
In the comments section, followers freaked out over Darlene’s baby bombshell. While some questioned why such a big storyline was spoiled in a promo, others were practically in baby shower mode.
“Ohh my God so happy I can’t wait!! Whoohooo way to go Ben!!” one fan wrote.
“I’m glad that Darlene is pregnant again I think Ben will be a great father! ” another added.
“Please don’t set us viewers up for heartbreak! I really want this for Darlene and her man!” a third wrote.
Others suggested that if the baby is a girl, Darlene should name her after her late mother.
And others questioned the timing of the pregnancy during the global health pandemic that had the while Conner clan in financial distress.
“But…didn’t they just lose their jobs and barely have money?” one viewer wanted to know.
Last season, fans were surprised to see that Darlene agreed to try to have a baby with her boyfriend despite her initial reservations. The couple’s babymaking efforts hadn’t really been mentioned in Season 3, so it’s no surprise that viewers were blindsided by the new promo featuring an expectant Darlene.
This isn’t the first time The Conners has addressed a 40-something family member’s pregnancy. In the first year of the Roseanne spinoff, Becky became unexpectedly pregnant after a one-night stand with a busboy at the Mexican restaurant she worked at. Her “advanced age” and possible pregnancy complications played out through the season.
In addition, late family matriarch Roseanne also had a baby later in life, as was seen in the original Roseanne series. But son Jerry has seemingly been written out of the ABC spinoff.