Deal Reached on 9th Season for ‘Roseanne’; Fees to Be Cut

ABC and Carsey-Werner Co., the producers of “Roseanne,” have reached an agreement to bring the hit situation comedy back for a ninth season, sources said Monday. But the network will pay substantially reduced licensing fees for the show, which is the most expensive half-hour on network television.

The decision marks a reversal of statements last year from Roseanne, the star of the series, who had said repeatedly that this season would be her last.

Roseanne’s co-star, John Goodman, who indicated last year that he would not return to the series even if it were renewed, is in discussions to continue with the show, although sources said Goodman may not be in all the episodes in the 22-show order.

Although the series will continue to be about the blue-collar Conner family, there will be some dramatic changes behind the scenes.

ABC will be paying considerably less for the right to broadcast “Roseanne” next season. The series currently has a license fee in excess of $3 million per episode, making it the most expensive half-hour on network TV.

Sources said the new fee will be about one-third less than the current license fee.

Carsey-Werner Co. and Roseanne agreed to the reduction, even though CBS offered them more money than ABC--though also less than current fees--to move the show to their network, insiders said. Carsey-Werner and CBS had been in discussions for months about moving the series.

“In the end, I guess Carsey-Werner felt it was worth more to just stay where they were and not uproot to go to another network,” said one source.

Representatives of ABC, Carsey-Werner, Roseanne and Goodman could not be reached Monday for comment.

“Roseanne” is still a popular television series with viewers, consistently landing in the top 20 weekly shows. It currently ranks as the 17th-most watched show this season.

However, its ratings are down 22% from the same period last season, and 35% for the same period two years ago. The series aired on previous seasons at 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, an hour later than its 8 p.m. slot this season.

ABC moved “Roseanne” this season, over the protestations of its star, to do battle with NBC’s “Wings.” Despite the decline, the show improved the network’s 8 p.m. Tuesday rating with the key 18-49 demographic by 34% over last season, when “Full House” aired in that time period. “Roseanne” consistently beats its competition on the three other networks.

Sources said it is likely that “Roseanne” will be in the same time period next season.

Roseanne is also moving ahead with a planned late-night comedy series for Fox, although it was uncertain how the newly struck agreement would affect those plans. Fox has not yet set an airdate for the show, which would be produced by Roseanne. The actress is scheduled to host the first episode and would appear in other episodes.