Roseanne Barr making shock TV comeback with Trump-supporting stars

Roseanne Barr is returning to scripted comedy more than eight years after her hit sitcom was cancelled over a racist social media post, with a new series featuring several outspoken supporters of Donald Trump.

The comedian, 73, is set to star in Meemaw, a comedy about a patriotic grandmother who becomes embroiled in a mission to save America while organising her granddaughter’s bat mitzvah.

According to Page Six Hollywood, the production will feature Randy Quaid, 76, Drea de Matteo, 54, Jon Lovitz, 69, and Tony Hinchcliffe, 42.

The announcement marks Roseanne’s most significant reported return to television comedy since ABC cancelled the revival of Roseanne in 2018 following her remarks about former White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, 69.

Speaking to Page Six Hollywood about the new programme, Roseanne described it as “every bit as revolutionary as The Roseanne Show, if not more” and claimed her “work has improved with time”.

She added: “I thought now would be a great time for people to actually hear from a Jew.”

The series will centre on Roseanne’s character, described as “a fiercely patriotic prepper grandma”, who lives with a “mixed-race family” and “sets out to save America, take down a criminal empire, and throw her granddaughter the perfect Bat Mitzvah”.

Randy, whose film credits include National Lampoon’s Vacation, Independence Day and Kingpin, will play her husband.

Drea, best known for portraying Adriana La Cerva in HBO’s The Sopranos, will play their daughter.

The cast also includes Jon, a former Saturday Night Live performer who appeared in A League of Their Own and voiced Jay Sherman in the animated sitcom The Critic.

Tony, the stand-up comedian and host of the podcast Kill Tony, is another prominent name attached to the production.

The comedian attracted widespread criticism during the 2024 US presidential election campaign after describing Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at a rally supporting US president Donald Trump, 80.

His comments prompted condemnation from politicians and public figures, including members of the Republican Party, during the closing stages of the election.

Randy has also publicly supported Donald and questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden, 83.