‘Roseanne’ Reruns Aren’t Likely To Air On ABC & Other Networks Going Forward

Following the news that the reboot of Roseanne Barr's sitcom had been canceled due to a racist tweet from the 65-year-old comedian, many may be wondering if ABC will air Roseanne reruns on its network. The show, which recently wrapped its first season, had been greenlit for Season 2 and appeared to be part of the network's rerun lineup during the summer, at least through June. (Bustle reached out to ABC for comment on whether the reruns will continue to air, but did not receive an immediate response.)

ABC seemed to quickly wiped the show's presence from its press site and main network website on Tuesday afternoon. The Tuesday night schedule on ABC's website, however, shows, at press time, an episode of Roseanne airing on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET. The episode description read: "Roseanne spars with Darlene over the children." The official ABC schedule for the following Tuesdays, June 5, and June 12, are not available.

Later on May 29, Variety reported that Viacom-owned networks, such as the Paramount Network, TV Land, and CMT, will cease airing reruns from the original nine-season run of Roseanne, beginning on Wednesday, May 30. Bustle reached out to Viacom, who confirmed their cable networks Paramount Network, TV Land, and CMT are pulling Roseanne starting on Wednesday. The network had no additional comment.

On Tuesday, May 29, ABC announced its decision to cancel Roseanne following an offensive and racist tweet from Barr. The comedian posted a now-deleted tweet directed at former adviser to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett. Barr's offensive tweet, which read: “muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj,” quickly caused major stir on social media, prompting many to urge ABC to take action.

The comic later deleted the tweet and issued an apology for her actions, but not before receiving major backlash on Twitter. After the backlash spread, Bustle received a statement on behalf of President of ABC Entertainment, Channing Dungey, which read:

"Roseanne's Twitter statement is abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values, and we have decided to cancel her show."

Barr initially attempted to deny that her comment was racist and tried to defending the tweet as "a joke,” explaining in a tweet, “ISLAM is not a RACE, lefties. Islam includes EVERY RACE of people.” After revealing that she would be leaving Twitter, she later offered an official apology, stating:

“I apologize to Valerie Jarrett and to all Americans. I am truly sorry for making a bad joke about her politics and her looks. I should have known better. Forgive me-my joke was in bad taste.”

The Root wrote that Barr's attack on Jarret was in response to a series of tweets claiming that Jarrett had helped hide Obama administration secrets.

Right before ABC announced Roseanne's cancellation,Wanda Sykes, who worked as a consulting producer on the reboot, tweeted she wasn't returning to Roseanne next season. (Bustle had reached out to Sykes' rep for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.)

The moment also caught the attention of Sara Gilbert, who plays Darlene on Roseanne and serves as an executive producer on Roseanne. The actor quickly took to Twitter to denounce Barr's recent comments as "abhorrent" and revealed that her TV mom's ideals "do not reflect the beliefs of our cast and crew or anyone associated with our show." She closed her comment by writing, "I am disappointed in her actions to say the least."

After the show was canceled, Gilbert added in another tweet, "This is incredibly sad and difficult for all of us, as we’ve created a show that we believe in, are proud of, and that audiences love— one that is separate and apart from the opinions and words of one cast member."

ABC's cancellation of the series was met with great praise by many on social media who were appalled by Barr's statements. Scandal and Grey's Anatomy showrunner Shonda Rhimes tweeted,

"But honestly she got what she deserved. As I tell my 4 year old, one makes a choice with one’s actions. Roseanne made a choice. A racist one. ABC made a choice. A human one."

Meanwhile, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger also chimed in with his thoughts about the network's decision, tweeting: "There was only one thing to do here, and that was the right thing."

Amid the cancellation news on May 29, ICM Partners announced they decided to drop Barr as a client at the talent agency. Per Deadline, ICM released the following statement:

“We are all greatly distressed by the disgraceful and unacceptable tweet from Roseanne Barr this morning. What she wrote is antithetical to our core values, both as individuals and as an agency. Consequently, we have notified her that we will not represent her. Effective immediately, Roseanne Barr is no longer a client.”

(Bustle reached out to Barr's reps for comment about ICM dropping her as a client, but did not immediately receive a response.)

The decision to cancel was a huge and important step for ABC due to the large success of its return. Roseanne was the highest-rated and most watched new series of the 2017-18 season and ranked No. 2 overall in viewership, according to Deadline.

While the future of Roseanne is decided, it's still unknown if the show will continue to live on in reruns, both original and rebooted.