The Conners' Emma Kenney Shares Sweet Post From Her Final Day Of Filming, And I'm Getting Misty-Eyed Wondering What It Means For The Premiere

Harris in Chicago Bears shirt working at Lunchbox in The Conners Season 6
(Image credit: ABC)

The current Fall TV schedule looks far different from how it usually does by the first week of October, with most of CBS’ fare still yet to premiere, and without ABC’s core sitcoms Abbott Elementary and The Conners. The former kicks off October 9, with an It’s Always Sunny crossover on the horizon, but audiences have to wait until 2025’s premiere schedule to see Lanford’s finest return for its “big event” final season. But it looks like production may already be wrapping.

At least that’s what I (and others) are inferring from co-star Emma Kenney, who shared a weekend “wrap” post that very much seemed to indicate she has filmed her final scenes as Harris Conner. Check out the post below, in which the actress very applicably gets her flowers for a job well done.

Assuming this is indeed referencing The Conners' series finale, and not wrapping on an earlier episodeinging Kenney’s eight-year reign among the fourth generation of dysfunctional family members in this sitcom universe. (With the tenth season of Roseanne preceding the follow-up's run.) It's a distinction that isn't so commonly shared in either character lineage or time spent on screen, and deserves a celebratory "Whoop-whoooop!"

To be sure, Ames McNamara is also deserving for having portrayed Harris' brainy brother Mark for that same time period. But since he didn't post about it, Kenney's getting all the love here.

To be expected, Emma Kenney's comment section was full of love and support from her friends and followers. (We're not gonna talk about the negativity mongers.) Also unsurprising is how many of the comments came from Shameless fans who, even if they weren't necessarily Conners fans, were kind and praising all the same.

More than a few familiar names also popped up in the comments, from fellow TV mainstay Kenan Thompson to members of the Hilton family.

  • Kenan Thompson: Congratulations!!!! Great run!!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
  • Harley Quinn Smith: congrats my love 😩😩❤️❤️❤️
  • Sonia Ammar: 🩷🩷🩷!!!
  • Larsen Thompson: 👏👏👏
  • Conrad Hughes Hilton: Proud of you! 🎉🎉🎉❤️
  • Kathy Hilton: 👏👏👏👏👏👏😍😍😍😍😍❤️❤️

To be sure, even if it's 100% confirmed that Emma Kenney is finished filming for The Conners, production on Season 7 likely isn't fully completed just yet. Perhaps other cast members have final scenes to close out with before it's all said and done, on top of whatever post-production work follows the filming process. However it goes, this info gives us an idea of what to expect for the show's return.

When Should Fans Expect The Conners To Return For Season 7?

With the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas / New Years holiday seasons in mind, filming wrapping by mid-October would feasibly allow enough time for everyone working behind the scenes to get the first episodes finished before 2024 is over. Depending on what showrunner Bruce Helford & Co. wrote up for the final episodes, it's possible all the eps could be ready to go by the time new shows arrive in 2025.

Now, as a longtime fan, I'm certainly hoping that the talk about this being a big event season means that the show went outside the box with fewer episodes to put together. Maybe a classic "The Conners go to ___" concept that might require lengthier post-production efforts.

Either way, it seems more than likely that The Conners will be part of ABC's first week of midseason premieres. Unless the network has specific ideas about holding tne new episodes until closer to May finales, which isn't all that out there, I suppose. But for now, even through the bittersweet feelings about the show'd ending being in sight, I'm still optmistic that we'll see its return sooner rather than later.

I'm also optimistic that we'll get more love for Johnny Galecki's David, if not a full-on cameo. But it's too soon to start talking about any of that just yet.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.