Celebrities | TV | Pop Culture | 90s | 80s
'Roseanne' Star Opens Up About The 'Nervous Breakdowns' She Had While Filming The Popular Sitcom
Watching Roseanne was basically a requirement for all families in the 80s and 90s. The Conners were the family that we all became obsessed with because their portrayal of a working-class family actually felt real to us.
It always felt like you could go knock on your neighbor's house, and they would be going through the same things that the Conners were dealing with. It was grounded in reality, yet groundbreaking in popularity.
The show ran for 9 seasons, winning many awards over the years, including Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actor's Guild Awards. The show seemed to have been nominated basically every year it was out, and the ratings stayed high for basically the entire run.
With every show from our childhood's being given a reboot or a reunion, it was only a matter of time before it was Roseanne's turn.
We've all been anticipating the release of the new tenth season that is coming out, but before it is released, Roseanne Barr has taken some time to speak up about what it was like to actually be a part of one of the most successful sitcoms in history, and it's not as positive as you'd expect...
Barr's smash hit sitcom is coming back for a tenth season, but it wasn't always easy when she was first starting out. Speaking with 20/20, Barr opened up about how hard it was to film the original series.
There was apparently a lot of conflict behind the scenes, and several fights that Barr had to get involved with. “I fought too much and too hard and, you know, some of them, I shouldn’t have even been involved in having those fights,” says Barr. “But, you know, it was all just one big fight. And that’s how it felt.”
The fighting and stress got so bad that the stress caused Barr to be hospitalized on several occasions. “I had several nervous breakdowns, but fortunately, no one noticed,” she said. “That was what I always thought. But no, I did have a few nervous breakdowns and was hospitalized several times. It was very difficult. Fame was difficult too.”
Even though it was hard on her at the time, she wasn't concerned about coming back. “This time, I’m like, ‘Okay, I’m 65. Thank God I’ve got Social Security now so I don’t have to worry,'” she joked.
In all seriousness, she is not as stressed about the new tenth season because she just wants a "smooth ride."
“I don’t want to fight no more. I don’t have nothing to prove[sic],” she said. “I already proved it so I just want to be fun and a smooth ride. I want to enjoy the good parts of it. That’s been possible this 10th season. I always felt like 10 was my magic number and I wanted 10 really bad. So I’m so happy that I got them because I feel like I needed 10 years to say all the things I wanted to say.”
The 20/20 special on the new Roseanne season will also feature interviews with Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman, and Sarah Chalke. It'll be your first in-depth look at the revival, and will help you prepare for what's next. You'll be able to watch these interviews on Thursday, Feb. 15 at 10 p.m. on ABC.