If you thought “The Conners” wouldn’t be addressing the 2020 presidential election because the third season of the ABC sitcom won’t premiere until the end of October due to COVID-related production delays, you thought wrong.
“As far as the election and all that, we didn’t know exactly what our airdates would be for a while, because everyone was trying to figure that out,” showrunner Bruce Helford told reporters during a virtual panel with the cast Wednesday. “But once we found out that we were going to be on the air on Oct. 28, we rushed into production to do an episode that discusses Halloween, for one thing, because Halloween won’t be the same this year. So the Conners are going to find a way to make it right. And maybe it will give families a way to kind of figure out how to do it a little better at their own homes without being able to go out and trick-or-treat because of COVID.”
He added: “And we’re going to be discussing the polarization in America and what’s going on before the election. So we’re going to be very much on top of all of it.”
The third season of “The Conners” is set to debut Oct. 21, meaning the Oct. 28 Halloween/election-themed episode will be the second installment of the season and air just under a week before Americans cast their ballots to elect either Joe Biden or President Donald Trump as the next POTUS on Nov. 3.
This won’t be the first time “The Conners” has gotten political. Back in February, the John Goodman- and Sara Gilbert-led sitcom aired a live second-season episode during the New Hampshire primary, which incorporated ABC News’ real-time coverage. The cast performed the episode live for both the East and the West coasts, as results rolled in throughout the night.
Along with Goodman as Dan Conner and Gilbert as Darlene Conner, “The Conners” stars Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy, Jayden Rey as Mary Conner and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben.
The comedy hails from Werner Entertainment and is executive produced by Tom Werner, along with Sara Gilbert, Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez.
“The Conners” Season 3 premieres Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 9/8c on ABC.