Ex “Roseanne” head writer says he ‘always felt bad’ for comedian because he ‘knew she was scared’ of sudden fame (exclusive)

Ryan ColemanWed, November 11, 2026 at 1:30 PM UTC

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Roseanne Barr on ‘Roseanne’Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via GettyKey Points -

A former Roseanne head writer tells EW why he “always felt bad” for star Roseanne Barr.

Knowing she’d been plucked from obscurity to lead her own network sitcom, Danny Jacobson says he “knew” that Barr “was frightened.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Jacobson asks. “You’re working as a waitress, and next thing you know, you’re on The Tonight Show.”

Roseanne Barr is known for her wit, her audacity, and her unapologetic nature. But beneath all that, one Roseanne writer always sensed something much more fragile.

Danny Jacobson worked closely with Barr at the outset of her Hollywood career. It was only a handful of years between Barr testing the waters of the Los Angeles stand-up comedy scene to her being installed at the center of her own network sitcom, and Jacobson saw the transition up close as Roseanne’s head writer in seasons 1 and 2.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Jacobson explains how Barr “made everything so hard, and yet on stage, she was fantastic.” But still, “her offstage stuff made it hard, you know, as everyone has said... I always felt bad for her because I knew she was frightened.”

Laurie Metcalf and Roseanne Barr on ‘Roseanne’Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

“I knew she was scared,” Jacobson continues. “Who wouldn’t be? You’re working as a waitress, and next thing you know, you’re on The Tonight Show, and then you’re on the cover of every rag-mag. It can’t be easy to deal with, but the show, at the end of the day, I think everyone was proud of the work.”

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to a representative for Barr for comment.

Indeed, Barr’s path to the spotlight was turbulent, unpredictable, and took a sudden lurch forward.

Born in Salt Lake City in 1952, Barr left home for Colorado at only 18. She began gigging around Denver and surrounding towns, eventually making her way south to sunny Southern California, where things really heated up in the mid-’80s.

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Barr’s appearances at Los Angeles’ iconic venue The Comedy Store led to a breakout 1985 appearance on The Tonight Show, hosted then by Johnny Carson, but occasionally guest-hosted by one of Barr’s forerunners, Joan Rivers. Further late night appearances led to a call from HBO for a special, and then, finally, to Roseanne.

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Roseanne Barr in Los Angeles in 2024Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty

Though she was by no means new to performing, or to commanding a crowd, she hadn’t ever acted before Roseanne.

That problem was solved with a little help from her friends, Jacobson says. “She had the best acting school someone could want, which is [costars] Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman, not to mention the kids, the two daughters. And she learned fast.”

Roseanne’s supporting cast was a stable of powerhouse talents, including Metcalf, Goodman, Estelle Parsons, Martin Mull, and Sandra Bernhard. Darlene and Becky Conner, the kids of Barr’s and Goodman’s Roseanne and Dan Conner, were played at first by Lecy Goranson and Sara Gilbert.

Goranson is best known for her work on Roseanne and its eventual spinoff, The Conners. Gilbert went on to become a TV legend in her own right, starring on The Big Bang Theory, Bad Teacher, and ER. After Goranson departed the show in season 6, Sarah Chalke took over, and the two famously alternated the role in the ensuing seasons. Chalke would go on to star in two further hit comedy series — Scrubs and Rick and Morty.

Barr recently announced her intention to return to the small screen with Meemaw, a sitcom in development concerning “a fiercely patriotic prepper grandma [who] sets outs to save America, take down a criminal empire, and throw her granddaughter the perfect Bat Mitzvah.”

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

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