Warning: The following contains spoilers about the Season 5 finale of ABC’s The Conners.
False alarm, Conners fans. Though Wednesday’s season ender saw Darlene and David’s college-bound son Mark work through his feelings about his father, the episode did not culminate in an appearance by legacy cast member Johnny Galecki — though not for lack of trying.
Instead, the Roseanne spinoff cemented David’s revival status as an absentee parent, revealing that he hasn’t bothered with Mark or Harris in four years. In the end, Mark decided that the only father he wanted at his high school graduation was his stepfather, Ben.
Below, executive producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan — who spoke to TVLine on Monday, ahead of the writers’ strike — defend their decision to cast Galecki’s alter ego in a negative light after an extended period without a David sighting.
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Image Credit: ABC screenshot TVLINE | When we last saw David, he was walking out of therapy after breaking things off with Darlene. At the time, though, it was established that he’d moved back to Lanford to take a more active role in his kids’ lives, which he feasibly could’ve been doing off screen. So, why the heel turn? Why declare David a deadbeat?
HELFORD | You know, we’re approaching the grand bow of the show, maybe next season or whatever, and there’s only so long we can go [without seeing David]. And Johnny is just too busy. We love him, and he would love to be doing stuff with us, but it just hasn’t worked out scheduling wise. And Dave, you can address the relationship with Ben…
CAPLAN | There are a couple of things in play here: One of the things we’re implying is that zebras don’t change their stripes; it’s one thing to talk a big game, and it’s another thing to show up, which is what parenting is about. You’ve got to be there, and you’ve got to show up, and what we’re saying is that David didn’t come through for [Mark] and Ben did. With all of the complications of being a Conner, Ben stepped up. Sometimes as a kid, when you’ve got a family that’s reconstituted, your eyes are not in the right place, and that’s what this episode is about.
HELFORD | It really felt like we were doing a disservice to the character of Ben, as well, to not have [Ben and Mark] bond over this thing that he has done. He built a house for the family, he [convinced] Darlene to take that job and get Mark into college… We felt it was a major turning point that was required, so we went for it.TVLINE | Johnny took a step back from acting after The Big Bang Theory ended in 2019, but you did manage to get him for a pair of Season 2 episodes. Have there been subsequent attempts to get him back here and there?
HELFORD | Oh yeah! He and Sara [Gilbert] are very close, so on occasion we would say, “Hey, come on out!” We even approached him for this episode, to be honest with you. It was just one of those things where it didn’t work out — and like you say, he’s certainly taking a step away, taking a breather, and we understand that. But we have to deal with what’s going on in the Conners’ lives, so we just decided this was the time [to address David’s absence]. But we’ve been in touch with him, and it has always been cordial.
CAPLAN | The last time Johnny was here, he really went out of his way to say how much he loved not only the legacy of the show, but what we’re doing with The Conners. He’s a big fan, and he loved being on the show. But real life tends to take priority, and if he needs to step away, we all respect that. -
Image Credit: Courtesy of Carsey-Werner Company/Everett Collection TVLINE | There have been plenty of instances since David’s last appearance where there would be a big parenting decision and I’d ask myself, “Why isn’t David at least mentioned?” or “Why don’t Mark and Harris ever mention seeing their father?” Was that ever brought up or debated in the writers’ room — the idea of keeping David a more active presence off screen?
HELFORD | We did talk about that, but it was more a matter of not wanting to say that David is an a–hole. [Laughs] For the longest time, we didn’t want to say anything negative [about the character] because you never know if Johnny’s going to want to come back, and we didn’t want to have to repair a relationship. So we did, on a few occasions, allude to the fact that the father was involved, but not involved as much as Darlene would want. We tried to keep him from being a completely negligent father, and then it became a matter of having other characters [to service]. And we wanted Darlene [in the finale] to say that he’s never going to change. We didn’t want to make it feel like Darlene was just holding her breath that he’s suddenly going to become a good father. It would have cast a negative shadow on her.
CAPLAN | From a writing standpoint, we also felt that there’s an expiration date on off-screen mentions. After a while, David becomes Norm’s wife on Cheers, or Niles’ wife on Frasier. It becomes a gag, and we didn’t want to go there.TVLINE | Mark eventually tells David if he really wants to see him, they can get together in a couple weeks — and we leave it at that. But given his track record, it’s hard to imagine David following through. And now that both his kids are adults, or on the verge of adulthood, he has even less of a reason to be actively involved in their lives. Do you see this as a cutting off point? Or the definitive end to David’s arc? Or do you think there are stories to be told if Johnny expresses interest in coming back?
HELFORD | I think the journey of Roseanne and The Conners proves that there is never a cutoff on anybody. [Laughs] They can die, there can be dreams, a lot can happen. So we would never rule out the opportunity for Johnny to come back and join us. You never know, he could call up and say, “I’m bored.” Anything can happen! We always leave the door open, and certainly there will be discussions about David because he’s the father of Harris and Mark. -
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC TVLINE | As hard as it is to accept David’s fate, having Darlene land with someone as great as Ben makes it easier to move past it. I can’t think of another sitcom that broke up a fan-favorite couple like Darlene and David, then found success pairing one of them off with someone new who was embraced by audiences the way that audiences have embraced Jay R. Ferguson’s character.
CAPLAN | So much of that is the amazing chemistry between Sara and Jay. That’s a wave we just rode as writers.
HELFORD | And they crack each other up. In the episode where she danced for him, the tag scene was almost going to be [bloopers] of her and him making each other laugh because they could not stop laughing during that. They just love each other’s company. They’ve been friends since they were children — and as Dave says, they really gave us a groove to fill there.
CAPLAN | They did. And we really look at this episode not so much as diminishing the role of David, but really recognizing the strength that Jay has brought to the show. For us, it’s a celebration of that.Were you pleased with how The Conners handled David’s absence in the Season 5 finale? Grade the episode, then sound off in Comments.
