A Very Emotional Scene From ‘The Conners’ Premiere Was Filmed In Just One Take

Although the ratings for The Conners premiere paled in comparison to the Roseanne reboot’s debut last year, Tuesday night’s television event was still significant in the eyes of many critics and viewers. Not just because of what the writers decided to do with Roseanne Barr’s titular character, but how the members of the Conner family dealt with her absence and the myriad of ways that it affected them. This was especially prevalent in an emotional scene shared between Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and Darlene (Sara Gilbert).

The scene in question concerns a moment toward the end of the episode, when the two women suddenly embrace each other in the kitchen. As Insider reports, Gilbert discussed that scene in particular during a PaleyFest event on Tuesday in New York. Among other things, the actress and executive producer claimed she and Metcalf shot it in one take. “We only did that scene once,” she said. “We just did one take”:

“So we rehearsed it, but we didn’t rehearse it up to speed really. We never fully put all the emotions into it.”

“When I walked in, I knew that those were Laurie’s real emotions, and so, then it was such an easy scene for us to do in a way,” she added. “When we did the one take and they said we don’t need to do it again, Laurie and I were like, ‘Oh, thank God.'”

Considering the real emotional toll that Barr’s firing and Roseanne‘s cancellation had on the cast, it’s no wonder that Gilbert and Metcalf didn’t want to spend too much time dwelling on it while filming The Conners premiere. As for Barr herself, she made it quite clear that she feels otherwise.