The Conners fans know it’s only a matter of time before Dan (John Goodman) will end up in a relationship with newcomer Louise (Katey Sagal). The Casa Bonita barmaid (now manager) has been relentless in her pursuit of the widower. And on the most recent episode of the Roseanne spinoff, things moved a step closer as Dan got flustered and called Louise by his late wife’s name.
Last season, Dan and Roseanne’s (Roseanne Barr) former high school classmate Louise returned to Lanford to work at the Mexican restaurant the Conner family frequents. While Louise was very forward regarding her romantic interest in Dan, he shut her down, telling her he’s still in love with his wife who had recently died from an accidental opioid overdose.
But in Sagal’s return to The Conners in the new episode “The Preemie Monologues,” the flirting picked up right where it left off, first in a bar scene and later, at the NICU at the hospital, where grandpa Dan invited Louise to join him to visit his newborn granddaughter.
In a clip posted by E! News , Louise jokes with Dan that he’s “not much of a motivator” when he cuts in and accidentally calls her by his late wife’s first name.
“You know, Rose,” Dan says, before catching himself starting to use Roseanne’s name.
Dan then apologizes to Louise and says he just feels “so comfortable” with her.
But the mention of Roseanne was a bit uncomfortable, considering her unceremonious demise on the ABC franchise. Last year, Roseanne Barr was fired from her own show over inappropriate tweets. She has since slammed producers for killing her character off on The Conners , and she no longer speaks to her former co-stars.
Lecy Goranson, Barr’s former TV daughter who now works for Sagal’s Louise on The Conners , recently told E! News she still thinks about Roseanne all the time.
“We all love her and miss her very much,” The Conners star said.
As for Sagal, her character is poised to be Dan’s new lady love, which will only get more awkward due to the immense guilt he feels over moving on from his wife of 40 years.
Still, Sagal told Cinema Blend she was excited to take on the role of Dan’s love interest after a one-episode stint last season.
“I know John and I had fun last season in that one episode, so I wasn’t sure what they were going to do with that. And, so, yeah I was thrilled when they called and said we’d like you to come and dance around that issue [of dating as a widower].”
The Conners airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.