The Conners Season 7 Episode 1 recap: Will the family let go of Roseanne?

The Conners are back on the screens for one final showdown before the series takes a leave. The Roseanne spin-off has officially returned for its seventh and final season, with its first episode premiering on March 26, 2025, on ABC. The episode is now available to watch on Hulu, and the second episode will be as well after its premiere.

Until then, here's a recap of everything that happened in The Conners Season 7, Episode 1. The first episode of the final season has revealed all the major story arcs that the characters will be tackling in the final season of the show.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from The Conners Season 7 premiere. Viewer discretion is advised.

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The Conners Season 7 Episode 1 Recap

The first episode of The Conners Season 7, titled 'It's Gonna Be A Great Day,' premiered on ABC on March 26, 2025, and is now available to stream on Hulu. The premiere episode reveals the major plot when Jackie, the youngest sister of Roseanne, informs the family that they have the chance to sue the pharmaceutical company for Roseanne's death.

Jackie tells the family that, owing to a new Supreme Court ruling, they can sue the pharmaceutical company responsible for Roseanne's death. Dan Conner is not happy about this revelation as he does not want to dig up the past. It was extremely difficult for Dan to recover from Roseanne's death, so he's reluctant about this turn of events. Dan's second wife, Louise, supports him and stands up to Jackie about this, and understands that the decision to partake in the class-action lawsuit would entirely be his decision.

The Conners premiered in 2018 as a spin-off of Roseanne, a step that was forced on the makers of the show due to Roseanne's exit. The sitcom moved on from this with the death of Roseanne Conner, but it seems this will be the central storyline for the final season. The sitcom focused on the family's day-to-day struggles in the previous seasons. So, it is surprising that the central plot line this season focuses on Roseanne and begs the question, did the spin-off ever let go of Roseanne? Executive producer Bruce Helford explained about this plot,

It was very natural and gave us a way to honor the memory of the matriarch of the family. Despite the things that went on, [Roseanne] was beloved by her family, by viewers, and we really wanted to make sure that there was an appropriate inclusion.

Dave Caplan, executive producer of The Conners, added about choosing this plot,

It also just fed into the themes that we love to write about, which are the big guys versus the little guys, and the Connors are little guys, and they get what rolls downhill, but not much makes it to the bottom of the hill. And so another opportunity to explore that was kind of irresistible to us.

Along with the central story arc for the final season of the show, the first episode also revealed some of the individual character arcs. The episode gives us updates on the couples of the show, starting with Darlene and Ben. Ben is on a journey to move Hardware magazine, his new magazine, to Lanford from Omaha. This decision is taking its toll on his and Darlene's relationship as she's looking to spend more time with him after getting her promotion.

Becky is also figuring out her relationship in The Conners Season 7 Episode 1, as she tries to balance her relationship with Tyler, her family, and life at home along with her master's education. The couple is seen declaring their love for each other by baking quiches. It will be interesting to see if she will successfully juggle the relationship after they are out of the romantic phase and have to face the ups and downs that come with relationships.

Apart from introducing the final storyline of The Conners Season 7, Jackie is also seen considering her future. She's seen considering the idea of rejoining the police force, as her exit from the police department has been troubling her. Producer Caplan explains Jackie's decisions by pointing out that

But also, you get to a certain point in your life and you want to close some loops and check off some boxes. And the way she left the police department has been bugging her ever since

Zoe Perry, the Young Sheldon star, whose mother plays Jackie on the sitcom, guest-starring as a local officer in this episode of The Conners. The local vet is not convinced that Jackie is prepared or ready to rejoin the police force.

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The first episode of The Conners' seventh season has opened up a lot of storylines for the different characters to go through. The second episode synopsis reveals that the Conners will be grappling with the aftereffects of going viral on social media while the family considers joining the lawsuit against the pharmaceutical company. It will be interesting to see how the showrunners will resolve these plots since the series has been announced to be a kind of miniseries with only six episodes.

New episodes of The Conners Season 7 will premiere on Thursdays, 8 PM ET, on ABC. The second episode, 'Fame, Flying Fists, and Cold Feet,' is set to premiere on April 2, 2025. But even if you miss the episodes when they premiere on ABC, they will be available to stream on Hulu the next day.

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