Roseanne Barr Starring in New Sitcom with Fellow Right-Wing Stars

Roseanne Barr is refusing to let Hollywood have the final word.

Eight years after the comedian’s blockbuster television comeback came crashing down following a controversial social media post, Barr has quietly completed a brand-new sitcom — and this time, she did it largely outside the traditional Hollywood system.

The 73-year-old comedian has wrapped production on Meemaw, an independently financed family comedy filmed in Austin, Texas. The eight-episode series puts Barr back at the center of a working-class family sitcom, the type of television that originally made her one of America’s biggest stars.

And she is bringing some familiar and outspoken names along for the ride.

The cast includes Randy Quaid, Drea de Matteo, Omar Gooding and Doug Jones, while comedians Jon Lovitz, Tony Hinchcliffe and Kim Congdon are expected to make guest appearances.

Several of those involved have become known for challenging Hollywood’s political establishment. Quaid and de Matteo have publicly expressed support for President Donald Trump, while Hinchcliffe has appeared at Trump events.

But Barr insists Meemaw will not simply be a conservative television show.

Instead, she says everyone is fair game.

“I make fun of everybody ’cause everybody deserves to be made fun of who’s in power,” Barr said while discussing the series.

She added that Republicans will take their share of jokes too, describing herself as an “equal opportunity destroyer.”

The premise sounds unmistakably like Barr.

She plays the matriarch of a mixed-race Texas family of preppers while attempting to pull off what the production describes as the biggest bat mitzvah Texas has ever seen for her granddaughter.

Barr has described the project as partly inspired by her own life, mixing family dysfunction, politics, religion and working-class humor with an intentionally outrageous tone.

“It’s every bit as revolutionary as The Roseanne Show, if not more, and my work has improved with time,” Barr said.

Her goal, she explained, is to get politically divided families laughing together again rather than treating every disagreement as a reason to cut one another off.

“I want everybody who disagrees in a family to sit in the same room and just laugh,” Barr said.

That approach could resonate with viewers who believe mainstream entertainment has become increasingly cautious about political humor and controversial subjects.

Unlike a conventional network sitcom developed inside a major studio, Meemaw reportedly came together with private financial backing after Barr struggled to get Hollywood executives interested in the concept.

Production quietly began in Austin in late 2025.

Barr worked on the series with longtime comedy writer Allan Stephan and filmmaker Allen Covert, known for his decades of collaborations with Adam Sandler.

The project also introduces young social media personality Indy Bugg as Barr’s granddaughter.

Barr says Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique, a longtime friend, helped bring Bugg to her attention.

“Mo’Nique calls up, ‘Check this girl out. She not only looks like you, but she acts just like you, too,’” Barr recalled.

Barr said she was immediately impressed by the young performer and predicts viewers will understand why as soon as she appears on screen.

The comeback carries particular significance considering how abruptly Barr disappeared from network television.

ABC revived Roseanne in March 2018, more than two decades after the original series ended. The premiere became an enormous ratings success, drawing more than 18 million viewers and demonstrating that there was still a massive audience for the blue-collar Conner family.

President Trump even called Barr after the premiere’s huge ratings.

But everything changed two months later.

In May 2018, Barr posted a widely condemned tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama. ABC called the remark “abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values” and canceled Roseanne.

Barr later apologized and described the post as a bad joke.

ABC eventually continued the franchise without her under a new name, The Conners. Barr’s character was killed off, while the remaining cast carried on without the woman who had created the original show.

The Conners ultimately ran for seven seasons before airing its finale in 2025.

Barr has repeatedly argued that Hollywood effectively erased her from the industry following the controversy.

“I’ve been erased from history,” she previously said, arguing that her role as one of television’s pioneering female creators is rarely acknowledged anymore.

Whatever viewers think about Barr’s politics or past controversies, her influence on American television is difficult to ignore.

The original Roseanne debuted in 1988 and became one of the defining sitcoms of its era, focusing on financial pressures, marriage, parenting and working-class life at a time when many television families lived comfortably in homes their characters realistically could never have afforded.

Barr is now betting that audiences are once again hungry for a comedy willing to offend people on both sides of the political divide.

She also appears comfortable poking fun at her own family.

Barr said her daughters are “super woke,” which gave her another reason to make sure liberal viewers get some jokes written for them as well.

At the same time, Meemaw represents something increasingly common among entertainers frustrated with traditional Hollywood: attempting to reach audiences without waiting for approval from major studios.

The biggest unanswered question is where viewers will actually be able to watch it.

Despite production being completed, no television network or streaming platform has announced a deal for Meemaw, and no official premiere date has been revealed.

That means Barr has successfully made her Hollywood comeback project — but she still needs someone willing to distribute it.

After eight years on the outside, however, Roseanne Barr clearly has no intention of disappearing quietly.

Whether Hollywood welcomes her back or she finds another way to reach viewers, the comedian who once dominated American television is betting that millions of people are still willing to laugh with her.