Why Roseanne Recast Becky (Then Brought The Original Actress Back)

Roseanne famously recast Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner after season 5, but ABC eventually walked back on the decision and brought her back full-time, When this happened, TV recastings — even on major shows — weren't rare. One of the most famous examples is the recasting of husband Darrin Stephens in the 1960s sitcom Bewitched, with actor Dick Sargent replacing original cast member Dick York, who was in failing health at the time.

There are various reasons for series swapping cast members. Firstly, when studios want more of a show, but an actor no longer wants to participate, a recasting is a natural solution. Either that or create a new similar character to fill the void. This is why Lecy Goranson leaving and being briefly replaced by Sarah Chalke as Roseanne's Becky character wasn't too disruptive in the long run for the show, though the show had an interesting way of dealing with Goranson's departure. Roseanne began to use two Beckys, with fans never knowing for sure who they would see next. Here's why Becky left Roseanne, only to return.

Roseanne's Becky Actress Switch Explained

The Original Becky Actress Quit Roseanne To Go To College

Becky left Roseanne because the original star wanted to go to college. Actress Lecy Goranson was the first to fill the role of Becky Conner and played her for the entirety of Roseanne seasons 1-4, and part of season 5. To accommodate her request to attend Vassar College, Roseanne's producers opted to write Becky out of the show via a storyline in which she eloped with Mark (Glenn Quinn). During season 6, Roseanne wanted to bring back Becky and Mark. However, Goranson's school commitments wouldn't allow that.

The result was a recasting of Becky's role with future Scrubs star Sarah Chalke. Chalke played Becky for most of Roseanne's season 6 and all of season 7. While the change was jarring at first, most fans accepted Chalke into the Roseanne family. That's why it was strange when Goranson returned as Becky in season 8, prompting some to ask why Becky left Roseanne in the first place. When Goranson's college schedule permitted, she would appear, and when it didn't, Chalke played Becky instead.

To the show's credit, it turned this casting situation into an opportunity for gags about Roseanne's two Beckys, cracking jokes alluding to Becky's changing appearance, and having Roseanne ask Chalke's Becky if she was glad she was there "this week" during an episode where the Conners went to Walt Disney World. Roseanne also did a credits gag in which a grown-up D.J. (played by John Goodman) has had a mental breakdown due to no one else realizing that there are two Beckys.

To further confusion surrounding why Becky left Roseanne, Goranson decided not to return for Roseanne's ninth — and originally final — season, allowing Chalke to play Becky full-time again. Goranson did come back decades later, however, when it was time for the Roseanne revival. In the reboot, Chalke was cast in a different role, with jokes again made about their resemblance.

What The Original Becky Is Up To Now

Lecy Goranson Continues To Play Becky

Lecy Goranson continues to play Becky on the Roseanne spinoff series, The Conners, which is her most notable recent project. Closer to the time of the original Roseanne's final season, Goranson had significant big screen roles as Candace in Boys Don't Cry (1995) and Myra in Love, Ludlow (2005). More recently, Goranson has also appeared in the movies, such as Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate in 2018 and Buck Run in 2019, occupying more minor roles in both.

Given that she's been reprising her most recognizable role as Becky Conner-Healy on The Conners since 2018, it makes sense that Goranson's other projects have been smaller and more spread apart. With The Conners season 6 still going strong, and Chalke better known for Scrubs and as a Rick & Morty voice actress than for Roseanne, it seems Goranson has cemented her claim to the title of Becky Conner for good, despite the "why did Becky leave Roseanne?" conundrum.

Who Roseanne's Second Becky Actress Plays In The Conners

Sarah Chalke Plays A Woman Who Becky Almost Becomes A Surrogate For

Keeping the "why did Becky leave Roseanne?" in-joke running, previous Becky actress Sarah Chalke guest stars in The Conners cast as Andrea, the same character she played in the revival. In the Roseanne revival, Becky signs up to be Andrea's surrogate until it is discovered that Becky's eggs are too old to support the child and the surrogacy falls through. Andrea made another appearance in The Conners season 1, episode 6, "One Flew Over the Conner's Nest," as quite the memorable The Conners guest star.

In the episode, Sarah Chalke's Andrea appears at the Mexican restaurant that Becky works at, with her own child. She does express regret over having a baby since babies are so much work. In addition, in The Conners episode, Andrea bumps into Jackie and Mark as she's leaving, and for some unexplained reason, she's blocked Jackie on Facebook. It's a fun cameo role for Chalke, one that pays homage to her revolving door role in Roseanne.

The Becky Switch Helped Sarah Chalke Become A Star

Chalke Had A Chance To Show Her Comedy On Roseanne

Sarah Chalke was only a teenager when she got her role as Becky in Roseanne. She was 17 at the time and it allowed her to show off her comic timing and acting skills on the popular sitcom. It was a perfect audition for her later roles in life. Thanks to the luck of taking on a major character in a show that already had a massive fanbase, it got her a spotlight she never could have gotten on a smaller television series. It all led to her getting signed four years after Roseanne ended on Scrubs.

Sarah Chalke starred on Scrubs as Elliot Reid and was one of the show's main cast members for its first eight seasons before dropping to a recurring role in the ninth season. She has built a huge career thanks to her comic timing and breakout on Roseanne in everything from How I Met Your Mother and Rick and Morty to Paradise PD before she showed she could also do drama in the 2021 series Firefly Lane.

How Becky's Recasting Affected Roseanne (If It Even Did)

Two Beckys Didn't Have Much Of A Difference

As previously mentioned, because recasting wasn't out of the norm, especially with long-time shows like Roseanne, the recasting didn't really have a big impact on its story. ABC and the people behind the series more likely gave the character the same stories and arcs that they intended for her to have regardless of who was playing the character. So while this fun trivia is a great part of Roseanne's lore, it really didn't affect the show at all. Chances are that it also helped that the series was so beloved, that a recasting couldn't topple it. While the ensemble made the storytelling possible, the comedy's narrative was the backbone of its success.

Admittedly, it's difficult to imagine a recasting of a major character nowadays without any big response from fans. However, since Roseanne's original run and recasting happened during a very different time, the transition between Goranson and Chalke, and even going back-and-forth, didn't feel like that big of a deal. In any case, everything worked out for the best in the end.

What Happened To Becky At The End Of The Conners

Becky's Life Was Finally Looking Up

While Chalke returned in The Conners, ABC maintained Goranson as Becky all throughout the spinoff sequel. Admittedly, the micro-continuity in the franchise as a whole had always been problematic, so even with Chalke's return, it was easy to ignore the recasting kerfuffle from Roseanne. Becky was one of the only two kids of Roseanne and Dan to appear continuously in The Conners — the other being Sara Gilbert's Darlene. Michael Fishman was part of the show originally, but was eventually written out. Meanwhile, Jerry was pretty much ignored.

The shrinking of the Conners family in The Conners allowed it to really spend time with its main characters, including Becky. After her unlucky streak in love, the franchise ended with the character finally meeting what could easily be her forever love — Sean Astin's Tyler, who was introduced in season 5 and stayed until the show's end. Beyond that, The Conners also left Becky in a much-better place financially, after landing a well-paying job after years of struggling with money. The series wrapped without a major incident that would have marked the end of an era, instead, capping the family's TV run with a quiet and poignant send-off, allowing ABC to make up for Roseanne's botched original ending in 1997.

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  Roseanne Barr

  Roseanne Conner

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  Dan Conner

Roseanne follows a working-class family navigating daily life on a limited income in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. Debuting in 1988, the series centers around Roseanne Conner and her family as they deal with various challenges and domestic issues while maintaining humor and resilience.