Perhaps the return of “Roseanne,” set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, has been over-hyped by people like myself, eager for a network to actually dispatch likable characters on an exploration of the President Trump era with some measure of basic fairness. Other contemporary sitcoms tackle tough topics, but always stop just short of imbibing the oxygen outside the cultural bubble in which they were bred.
Even more than its leading lady’s curious alignment with Trump (which isn’t curious so much from her character, but from the former Green Party presidential candidate), the promise of “Roseanne” lies in its assignment to familiar and sympathetic characters’ views that are rarely afforded any sympathy in popular culture. Among the almost 63 million voters who cast ballots for Trump are plenty of decent people, but that’s not a reality reflected on television — one of the most important arenas of cultural conversation.
“America had no problem inviting Norman Lear’s shows into their homes as guests,” executive producer Bruce Helford argued in a recent Politico interview. “America likes a good, tough discussion.”
That may be true of America, but it’s certainly not true of Hollywood, which adds to the appeal of “Roseanne” from a simple marketing standpoint if you accept Helford’s thesis (which is supported by Lear’s many successes).
The way Helford puts it, the return of “Roseanne” is predicated on the disappearance of constructive political conversations from television. “What’s really important to ‘Roseanne,’ and for all of us, is to put the whole discourse out in the open,” he said. “We’re hoping we can bring a kind of dialogue back.”
“Roseanne,” according to Helford, is written “from the point of view that working-class people are the nobility of this country, and not that they’re rednecks or hillbillies.”
Agree with that outlook or don’t, but the supply of such material isn’t matching the demand for it. Enter “Duck Dynasty,” which didn’t even document “working-class” characters, but wealthy ones living working-class lifestyles, embracing and defying the stereotypes that define flyover country.
If “Roseanne” is able to poke even a small hole in the bubble that incubates Hollywood’s fictional creations, maybe the industry will find a way to address its role in Trump’s ascent to begin with.
