The Conners Producers Explain Why Bev Didn't Return In Season 4 Finale

The Conners producers explain why Beverly (Estelle Parsons) didn't return in the season 4 finale despite her cameo setup in the previous episode.

The Conners Producers Explain Why Bev Didn't Return In Season 4 Finale

Producers Bruce Helford and Dave Caplan explain why Beverly “Bev” Harris (Estelle Parsons) didn’t return for The Conners season 4 finale. Parsons played the mother of Roseanne Conner (Roseanne Barr) and Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf) in the original Roseanne television series. Bev appeared in all 10 seasons of Roseanne, and played a much more prominent role in the later seasons of the hit comedy.

Parsons has appeared as Bev in a few episodes of The Conners throughout the first three seasons, but has been largely absent from The Conners season 4. Her last appearance on the spinoff show came in the form of a Zoom call in season 3. During the call, Bev chastises Jackie for going on an episode of Jeopardy and performing poorly. While that call served as the last appearance of Bev, The Conners season 4 episode “Three Ring Circus” did tease her return when Neville (Nat Faxon) told Dan (John Goodman) he wanted to invite Beverly to his wedding with Jackie. However, it appears that didn’t end up working out.

Helford and Caplan sat down with TVLine to discuss The Conners season 4 finale and explained why Beverly didn’t return. Helford explained that, unfortunately, Parsons’ husband recently passed away. The producer would also go on to say that while Parsons was “ready to go,” she was also offered another spot on Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s show, Grace & Frankie. Additionally, Helford explained that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was “too much” for the actor at the present time. Still, the producer is hopeful that Parsons can make an appearance on The Conners season 5. View Helford’s full explanation below:

“Her husband passed this past year. She was ready to go, she was ready to come out. I think she had also been offered [another episode of] Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin’s show [Grace and Frankie]. She was going to do those spots, then he got very sick and unfortunately passed. And with the pandemic and everything going on, it was just too much for her right now. But I do believe that she’s probably immortal, so we’re hoping [in Season 5] that she’ll come back to make Jackie and Neville miserable.”

The Conners season 4 triple-wedding finale is not the first wedding Beverly has missed. Bev was also absent from Dan and Louise’s (Katey Sagal) wedding in the season 4 episode “The Wedding of Dan and Louise.” Back in October of 2021, Helford explained that Parsons’ absence from Dan’s wedding was due to it being very hard for the 94-year-old actress to “travel right now” because of the pandemic. The producers didn’t want to have the actor get on an airplane and be at risk. Since the pandemic is still ongoing, it once again prevented Parsons from appearing in the finale, despite the cameo setup exchange between Neville and Dan.

Parsons’ absence from The Conners season 4 finale is very understandable, given the actors’ age and real-world vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as her recent personal loss. Beverly appearing in even just a Zoom cameo call would have delighted fans, who no doubt felt somewhat disappointed that the character’s previous cameo setup wasn’t paid off, but it simply wasn’t possible. Nonetheless, ABC has confirmed The Conners season 5, giving Parsons another opportunity to appear next year and see the beloved Bev come back into her family’s life.