The fifth season of The Conners will feel like something is missing for many fans, as series star Michael Fishman has officially exited the cast. Fishman, a former child star who appeared as young D.J. Conner in the original Roseanne, reprised his role for the first four seasons of the reboot series. Recently, reports had begun to emerge that Fishman was on his way out, and in a statement provided to Deadline, the actor has confirmed that he won’t appear in season 5 of The Conners, but says he was grateful for the role.
It wasn’t clear initially why Fishman was leaving the series, leading to speculation that he had personally chosen to leave. In his new statement, Fishman says that this is not the case, noting that he was told by the show’s producers that D.J. wouldn’t be coming back. Fishman did not provide any additional explanation for the character’s removal, whether it’s for creative reasons or issues behind the scenes, but in any case, he holds no ill-will toward everyone else involved in the series.
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Michael Fishman Is Through With The Conners, But Not Acting
Losing his role on The Conners was probably not the greatest news Fishman has ever heard in his life, but he has not let it affect his career in a negative way. The actor is already looking forward to what is coming next, planning to pursue more writing and directing opportunities as well as additional acting gigs.
Fishman is not the original Roseanne cast member to be written out of the series. After the series was revived for a successful tenth season with Roseanne Barr and the rest of the original cast, social media controversy led to Barr’s dismissal from the show. This is what caused the series to be renamed The Conners as it was explained in the show that Roseanne had died off-screen. Let’s hope D.J. does not meet a similar fate, as keeping him alive will leave the door open for a potential return in the future, even if just for special appearances.
