714 Delaware St. is a podcast about the television sitcom Roseanne, its reboot and its second reboot, The Conners. Hosts Maura and Katherine are longtime fans of the original series who met in graduate school, where they both studied literature, film and television studies. Roseanne was a groundbreaking series, depicting a working-class family led by strong female characters who broke the mold for women in family sitcoms. It was also a formative cultural text for the two of us, who grew up glued to every episode and feeling like, in some sense, it got us.

This podcast is not in any way intended to excuse or defend the recent racist and offensive statements of Roseanne Barr herself, whose involvement with the show was rightly terminated following a racist tweet about President Obama’s former advisor Valerie Jarrett. Instead, we hope to revisit significant episodes of the original series with a critical eye, celebrating our personal connections to the show and its trailblazing, charming, and moving qualities while also acknowledging its shortcomings and biases. We discuss these episodes side-by-side with new episodes of The Conners, exploring what the series looks like without Roseanne herself and whether the universe of Lanford, though markedly changed since 1988, can still provide the setting for stories and characters that resonate and offer an honest depiction of life for a working class that remains underrepresented on television.

So grab your favorite afghan, pull up a stool at the Lobo or slide into your favorite booth at Rodbell’s, and join us!