. >> juliet's pal, sarah gilbert is also executive producer. >> i've known sarah gilbert for a reallyong time and our dynamic in the show is really funny. >> and they were siblings in 1989 o's national lampoon's christmas vacation and this marked his anniversary of his first appearance on the conners. >> it would withant have been the same. >> clearly due to crowd support of my "big bang family". >> a lot of times you're doing a sitcom you don't always get the level of actors that we get but i think because people are fans of the show wooefb e've been fortunate. meghan, harry and do under -- and it tops this weekend's couples news. >> how excited are you? >> very excited. how excitered you? >> i lover it. >> and this giant bear hug that instantly went viral. >> you lifted harry off his -- like hear a was like whoa. >> he liked it. did you see the smile? >> i saw the smile. >> we got a first look that baby bump and then there was this rare rard robe malfunction hanging from the hem of her $513 dress. the week's most exciting event hand friday when they had to afwhort landing because th

i texted sarah gilbert basically, we're screwed. then i started to think about what it must be like for an african-american person in our society to grow up and to read things like that. >> reporter: by june 21st, the notion of continuing without roseanne barr on board had taken shape. eventually, the conners became a sitcom reality, down to its new opening. >> i appreciate the fact that she's allowing us to move forward without her creative or financial participation, so we were able to hire back 200 toto people who were behind the scenes, and you know, the show goes on. >> reporter: what were your conversations like with john goodman in particular as you shaped this first episode? >> we had a conversation very early on. i said, you know, we really want you to do this, and he was, like, oh, man, i think i need to. he's already discussed this before. he went through a tough time with this, but he's also a resilient guy. he's just brought the gravitas, the stature that he brings to the show. >> it's really difficult and difficult in

. >> when it first happened and i just picked up my phone and i -- i texted sarah gilbert, basicallynds horrible. >> after plans for a roseanne-less show those who reconvened on set found themselves grappling with new emotions. >> to do this, this doesn't happen very often where you created a family and then you have to kind of tear it asunder again and heal it up again. >> it was bittersweet, of course. there was the feeling of sadness, of missing roseanne and then there's the feeling of joy of being reunited. >> roseanne is always going to be part of this show and its legacy. what everybody does it's time for everybody to step up. >> as america awaits the details of roseanne conners' departure the series creators are looking for fresh opportunities with the laughter and truth-telling that was always roseanne's biggest strength. >> halloween, thanksgiving and christmas. >> we follow conners tradition, spend everything on halloween so we have nothing to be for. >> the conners premiers tuesday night. thanks for watching. good night, america. america. sfx: tinny headphone music sfx: fe