FIRST OFF . . .

Matt Williams, who created this fall’s most successful TV series, “Roseanne,” has walked off the show because of “creative tensions” with the star, sarcastic comedian Roseanne Barr. ABC’s credit sheet for the program lists Barr as creative consultant. A statement released by the show’s publicist said the tensions were “between the executive producers and Roseanne Barr.” Williams, one of the three executive producers for the show, was the only one to leave. The remaining executive producers, Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, said in a separate statement that Barr was given creative control over her own character, and that her insight into working women and housewives is what appealed to the general public. Barr plays a middle-American housewife and mother who works in a factory. The show has consistently been near the top of the Nielsen list since its debut, and was No. 1 in the ratings two weeks ago, the first new show of the season to reach that lofty spot.