Roseanne sitcom to be revived in 2018 on ABC

Roseanne Barr played the lead character in the eponymous sitcom

The US sitcom Roseanne is set for a revival, ABC network bosses have confirmed after competing with Netflix to restart the show two decades after it ended.

Most of its original cast will return for next year's eight-episode revival. It becomes one of a slate of TV series being revived, including Will & Grace, Twin Peaks, The X Files, 24, Prison Break and The Gilmore Girls.

John Goodman, who recently got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, will reprise his role as Dan - even though the character died last time around

Roseanne aired for nine seasons in the late 1980s and through the 1990s. Original cast members Roseanne Barr (Roseanne), John Goodman (Dan), Sara Gilbert (Darlene), Laurie Metcalf (Jackie), Michael Fishman (D.J.) and Lecy Goranson (Becky) have all been confirmed.


But Johnny Galecki, who played David, is busy with his role as Dr Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

Roseanne depicted a normal American family, the Conners, led by Roseanne in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois. The sitcom won many awards and its final episode drew nearly 17 million viewers when it aired in 1997.

"The Conners' joys and struggles are as relevant and hilarious today as they were then, and there's really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne," ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey wrote in a statement.

On Twitter, though, opinions were divided.