Laurie Metcalf may be a Tony Award-winning Broadway veteran, but she doesn’t think it will help her when The Conner s broadcasts its first live episode next month.
At ABC’s Television Critics Association panel, Metcalf told Fox News she’s putting “extra pressure” on herself for the landmark episode, which will take place in conjunction with the New Hampshire Democratic primary. The actress noted that a live TV episode with the need for ad-libbing is very different from a well-rehearsed stage show.
“My stage background will not help at all, because even though stage is live, I’ve rehearsed the hell out of it and I know what I’m doing,” the 64-year-old Conners star told Fox . “So in a live show, it’s going to have some wiggle room either the improv or, you know, something’s going to not stick to the script. That scares the sh*t out of me.”
The live February 11 episode will address the Conner clan’s “differing takes” on why everyone should vote, including the family’s “working-class perspective that you may have to vote for a candidate you don’t love but one that will ‘screw you the least.’” Live ABC News coverage of the New Hampshire primary will be incorporated into the episode with real-time election results, as previously reported by The Inquisitr .
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Metcalf’s co-star Michael Fishman (DJ Conner) seems more excited for the episode, or at least hopeful that it will inspire viewers to take action and vote in the 2020 elections.
The 38-year-old Conners star added that the politically-charged episode will show “how a family comes together and maybe disagrees about certain things, but that we all encourage people to vote, and we can do something positive and bring some humor.”
While this is the first time The Conners has gone live, it’s not the first time the Roseanne spinoff has dabbled in politics. Last year, the midterm election-themed episode titled “The Separation of Church and Dan” featured Darlene’s (Sara Gilbert) son, Mark (Ames McNamara), and his first-hand look at fractured political lines at the polls. After Metcalf’s character, Aunt Jackie, helped Mark with a polling assignment for school, the tween saw how volatile things are on the front line.
Jackie even found herself in a heated debate with a Republican after instructing Mark to just record answers and not take sides. After Jackie went after a man wearing a MAGA hat, Mark had plenty of material to write an essay about how heated today’s political divide can be.
The Conners returns Tuesday, January 21 at 8 p.m., and the live episode airs Tuesday, February 11 on ABC.
