in

‘The Conners’ star Emma Kenney reacts to onscreen dad Johnny Galecki’s controversial backstory

Has “The Conners” said goodbye to Johnny Galecki’s David for good? It’s quite possible.

David (Johnny Galecki) was revealed as an absentee dad to Harris (Kenney) and her brother Mark (Ames McNamara) in the Season 5 finale. It was a dramatic move for a character who had previously been well-liked. Fans on Reddit even posted angrily about the show “destroying” his character.

The actor, 48, previously appeared in four episodes of the sitcom, which is currently in its sixth season.

David was married to Darlene (Sara Gilbert), Roseanne’s daughter. When the new ABC series premiered in 2018, Galecki was busy on CBS’s hit “The Big Bang Theory,” which aired from 2007 to 2019. 

“I think that the familial dynamic between David, Darlene, Harris and Mark is obviously not where Harris would want it to be,” Kenney told The Post.

Emma Kenney, star of “The Conners.” Riley Taylor
Johnny Galecki played David, Darlene’s ex husband and Harris’ deadbeat dad. Matt Baron/Shutterstock
Maya Lynne Robinson as Geena Williams-Conner, Jayden Rey as Mary, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner, Ames McNamara as Mark, and Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner on “The Conners.” ABC

A spinoff of “Roseanne,” sans the original show’s controversial star, “The Conners” premiered in 2018 and follows patriarch Dan (John Goodman), his sister-in-law Jackie (Laurie Metcalfe), his daughters Darlene (Gilbert) and Becky (Lecy Goranson), and Darlene’s daughter, Harris Conner-Healy (Kenney). Sean Astin is also part of Season 6, as Tyler, Becky’s love interest. 

After David’s backstory was revealed, executive producer Bruce Helford told TV insider, “Johnny [Galecki] is just too busy. We love him, and he would love to be doing stuff with us, but it just hasn’t worked out scheduling wise….We tried to keep him from being a completely negligent father, and then it became a matter of having other characters [to service].”

David seemingly hasn’t contacted his kids in the past four years.

“I think she probably struggled with it a lot more growing up, and I think it’s something she still keeps close to her heart and feels every day,” Kenney told The Post, about Harris and David’s nonexistent father/daughter relationship. 

“But luckily she’s got such a great family support system,” she added. “So I think that everyone else in the family does help fill David’s void.”

“I think she probably struggled with it” Emma Kenney said about Harris’ relationship with her dad. ABC
Emma Kenney said that she was “proud” of Harris’ miscarriage storyline. Riley Taylor

The former “Shameless” star noted that each season of “The Conners” provides “a storyline that I’m excited about.”

For example, she said, “Last season was obviously a bit  more of an emotional storyline I had when Harris was going through getting pregnant and unfortunately having a miscarriage, which is something that happens so often. And I was proud to be able to show that, and have viewers connect to that who may have gone through something similar or the same thing.”

Lecy Goranson, Ames McNamara, Sara Gilbert, and Emma Kenney on “The Conners.” ABC

About her onscreen mom, Kenney gushed that Gilbert, 49, is “so talented” and “focused.”

“She’s one of our producers on the show, so she is really very busy behind the scenes to not just be on camera, but also help put the show on. And it really is impressive. We were doing a scene together last night where it was pretty wordy. And I said to Sarah, ‘I’m always so impressed by how you can do this every day.’”

“Sarah is a great mentor,” she went on. “She’s somebody that I really look up to.”

“The Conners” airs Wednesdays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

This post was originally posted by NYPost

Original Source

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Princess of Wales’ uncle Gary Goldsmith joins Sharon Osbourne in ‘Celebrity Big Brother’ house

Sinbad makes first public appearance since his 2020 stroke: ‘Miracles happen’