Despite kicking off its fifth season without an abundance of guest stars, The Conners has somewhat reversed that trend in the weeks ahead of its winter hiatus, thanks to Estelle Parsons’ celebrated return and Jane Curtain’s introduction as Louise’s mom. That celeb-friendly run will definitely continue with the sitcom’s January return, too, thanks to Shameless vet William H. Macy’s arrival, but he won’t be the only familiar face involved. That’ll also be the ep featuring the long-teased return of an O.G. Roseanne character, which ABC has at last confirmed with some first-look photos, and it’s a wild and unexpected reveal.
The upcoming episode, titled “Two More Years and a Stolen Rose,” is bringing The Hughleys and Lodge 49 vet Eric Allen Kramer back to Lanford to reprise the role of Bobo, the lunkhead bully who gave Dan a spot of aggro-trouble back in Roseanne’s very first season. Check him out squaring up against William H. Macy’s Smitty Cusamano in the pic below.
It was previously revealed that Macy’s Smitty was a former classmate of Dan’s that Jackie crushed on and Roseanne dated, and that his episode would indeed feature the on-screen return of Lobo’s Lounge, the boozy hangout that the adult characters frequented in the flagship sitcom’s early seasons. It only makes sense that the storyline, which centers on the death of a longtime high school English teacher, would also be the prime placement for an O.G. character to pop back up.
Definitely not a callback for casual fans, the character Bobo’s first and only Roseanne appearance came in the show’s ninth episode, “Dan’s Birthday Bash,” which aired back on January 3, 1989. (Exactly 24 years ahead of ABC confirming the return, funnily enough.) That ep’s central conflict was between Dan and Bobo, all over the use of a pool table, with John Goodman’s birthday boy having to back down from their fight after Roseanne got upset. Dan got the last laugh, though, decking the insult-spewing asshat by the episode’s end. (Shout out to fellow sitcom vet William Sadler as Dwight.)
No sign of Dwight here, but it looks like another Dan vs. Bobo confrontation will take place in the winter premiere.
It's technically possible that the character completely turned away from his verbally abusive and ignorant ways of the past, and has embraced a newly zen outlook on life and women. But that would probably be too big of an adjustment for anyone in Lanford, and he's probably the same ol' dickface. And if that IS the case, then I hope the image below is indicative of Bobo getting audibly eviscerated by Drunk Jackie. I'm pretending the moment after this is Jackie sticking her finger clean through his torso, though with the understanding that The Conners isn't making the jump to body horror in the back half of Season 5.
So not only are Conners fans getting to see a classic Roseanne location brought to life anew decades after it was last seen on TV, but we’re also getting a character that I can’t imagine anyone truly expected to see again without showrunner Bruce Helford teasing that a mystery return was happening. Cheers to more surprise reprisals like this!
The Conners’ winter premiere will arrive on ABC on January 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET. New episodes air on Wednesdays, and are available to stream the next day with a Hulu subscription. Head to our 2023 TV premiere schedule to see what new and returning shows are popping up before and after the sitcom’s newest ep.
