The Real Reason Fans Of The Conners Want Them To Reshoot The Opening Credits
A show's opening credits not only tell you the title of the show and its creator, but it also sets the tone. Good TV theme songs quickly establish the series' premise and further the popularity of the show, establishing its branding as well. While there've been some outstanding opening credits over the years, like "Dexter," "Game of Thrones," "Mad Men," and recently "Severance" and "Candy" — which are all from cable or streaming services that don't have to worry about ad revenue — network titles have seemingly gotten shorter, if they exist at all. Can you imagine a serious drama like "Lost" having a theme song?
Good title sequences rarely need reshooting. "The Office" had virtually the same opening credits for six seasons, finally reshooting when star Steve Carell left in Season 7. But a show like "Young Sheldon" might need to reshoot its opener more frequently, since its child star, Iain Armitage, keeps growing and changing. That show plays with its 15-second intro, first featuring Sheldon alone, then upgrading his family to opening-credit status, and tweaking the format to show Sheldon in various costumes, like Spock, The Flash, and Albert Einstein. And "GoT" changed its opening slightly with nearly every episode, depending on which cities the episode's action took place in.
Apparently not so for "The Conners," the "Roseanne" spinoff airing on ABC. Fans are really hoping they will do away with its old title sequence and reshoot it — particularly because of one scene.
There's one scene that really bothers The Conners fans
The credit sequence for "The Conners" has apparently been bothering fans for years. After its third season, Redditor u/jvp180 started a conversation by saying, "I hope they reshoot the opening credits." Besides mentioning its dated look because the kids have grown up, there's one scene that really disturbs them. "I can't stand watching John Goodman spit out that sausage link and slurp it back into his mouth," they wrote. "It looks like a turd."
"The Conners" title sequence keeps the iconic introduction of the characters from the original "Roseanne," but at half its length, 30 seconds instead of one minute — and without Roseanne Barr, of course. The camera pans around the family table as the characters sit down for breakfast. When Darlene (Sara Gilbert) hands Dan (John Goodman) a plate of fruit instead of the eggs and meat everyone else is eating, he steals Harris' (Emma Kenney) plate and sneaks a sausage link into his mouth. Darlene catches him, so he partially spits it back out, then sucks it in again.
Many Redditors agree with u/jvp180, and not only because they think it's gross. "That sausage shot makes my brain switch to South Park's 'Mister Hanky The Christmas Poo' and I DON'T LIKE IT!, HA!" a deleted user complained.
Fans still feel the same, as a May 2022 thread from u/CPAAlfred discussed changes they'd like to see in "The Conners" Season 5. "Dan slurping that sausage down [is] disgusting and that intro is over 4 years old," they pointed out. Many agreed.
Fans might cross their fingers for a new The Conners title sequence
It's possible new titles for "The Conners" could be coming, as the show's producers have been considering it. There certainly seem to be updates that need to happen — and not just in terms of kids Mark and Mary (Ames McNamara and Jayden Rey, respectively). The two youngsters have grown a lot since the spinoff's 2018 premiere. Not only that, new love interests have become recurring guests, including patriarch Dan (John Goodman) replacing his late wife Roseanne by marrying his new sweetheart Louise, played by Katey Sagal. "Honestly, I imagine if we did alter them, we would be including [Katey Sagal]," executive producer Bruce Helford told TVLine back in 2021. But Sagal still hasn't been upgraded to series regular, so it remains to be seen.
It is something Helford and his team have been talking about ... a lot, apparently. In a January 2022 statement to CinemaBlend, the showrunner said they've been "talking about it" at least four times. "I think it's gonna have to be updated," he said, noting that the holdup is a problem with the actors' schedules. "The availability of everybody is so scattered. And then, unfortunately, Katey had her [car] accident. So we haven't had a chance to kind of get everybody in one place at one time."
Helford also said, "It would definitely happen before the end of the [fourth] season if we're going to do it." Hopefully, that doesn't mean it won't ever happen. Maybe they can work it out before "The Conners" Season 5.