Love is in the air on The Conners! Although the show has not even premiered yet as the follow-up to the ill-fated Roseanne, a new love interest has already been cast for Darlene, and sitcom fans may recognize him. Justin Long, who played a memorable love interest on New Girl, is on board to romance Darlene, and hilarity is bound to ensue.
Not too many details are currently available about Justin Long's character, but his name will be Neil and he won't be a one-off guest star. He's on board in a recurring capacity, according to TVLine, so maybe the relationship will go well for Darlene! She could probably use a fun new dynamic in her life considering what happened to her mother, the new responsibilities that will probably fall on her shoulders following Roseanne's death, and the complications that will come with the return of David.
Yes, Johnny Galecki will reprise his role as Darlene's former flame and the father of her children in the upcoming first season of The Conners. He was back as David in the first and now only season of Roseanne, and that season was kind of a bummer all around for the Healy family. The revival revealed that Mark had passed away and David turned out to not be the greatest dad to his and Darlene's kids. Any fans who were hoping for a rekindled romance for David and Darlene may want to resign themselves to the duo remaining separate, at least for now. Darlene isn't the only one with a love interest.
David's girlfriend Blue will appear on The Conners, to be played by Juliette Lewis of Secrets and Lies. As of now, Lewis and Johnny Galecki are only slated to appear in one episode, which also points toward no rekindled romance between David and Darlene, even if Darlene still had some lingering feelings for him after his Roseanne appearance. Maybe Neil will be exactly what Darlene needs! She may need the occasional break from her family.
Darlene isn't the only Conners regular who is getting a new love interest. Love will be in the air for Jackie as well, which may be yet another sign that the show intends to explore new relationships for her character. Steve Zahn will play Jackie's new guy, and she'll come to regret asking Dan to "vet him" in the Halloween episode. Something tells me Darlene won't be asking Dan to vet Neil!
We'll have to wait and see. Although The Conners is keeping the same cast from Roseanne (aside from Roseanne Barr, of course), there are bound to be significant differences between the shows, and not just due to the recasting of a certain character. Find out what the Conners will look like without Roseanne when the show premieres in the fall lineup on Tuesday, October 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
