The Beginning of the End: "The Conners" Stars Already Forced to Take Pay Cuts Due to Horrible Ratings

FILE - In this image released by ABC, Roseanne Barr, left, and John Goodman appear in a scene from the reboot of "Roseanne," premiering on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST. For the reboot, Roseanne will be at odds with her sister Jackie, played by Laurie Metcalf, over President Donald Trump. Barr said she thought it was important to show how the Conner family deals with the same issues many American families are facing. (Adam Rose/ABC via AP, File)

It just keeps getting worse for those left on the Roseanne Barr-less Roseanne show, renamed “The Conners.”

According to Radar Online, stars on the show have had to have their pay reduced over the freefall in numbers of viewers watching the show after ABC booted Barr.

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John Goodman and Laurie Metcalf, in particular, had a contract negotiated before Barr’s exit that had them paid $375,000 an episode. It looks like in an effort to balance the budget, the two will have to have their paycheck’s slashed as the audience has been reduced to 7 million.

“Now that the audience has disappeared along with the star, the only way to keep the show profitable is to ask both John and Laurie to take a pay cut,” a source said according to Radar Online.

However, the cut in pay may not save the show at all. Without Barr’s draw and the scandal of her being forced out haunting the show, it looks like The Conners may see it’s final days not long after its first according to Radar Online:

According to the source, ABC Opens a New Window. has ordered only one extra episode to be added to the 10 it already contracted for this season — well below the 22 episodes that would been needed for The Conners to make it through the end of the current TV season.

“The writing is already on the wall,” said a TV insider.

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It might be all for the better, as even some of the show’s stars don’t feel the same about the show since Barr’s departure. In particular, Goodman feels the show has become something a bit more hollow since his partner-in-crime was kicked off.

“It felt great to be back, but there’s a hollow center. I miss Rosie real bad,” Goodman said.

Apparently, America agrees. The Conners lost a quarter of its audience after the first episode, and the ratings continued to dwindle thereafter.

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