'Roseanne' cast returns 20 years later, older and just a bit wiser

The original "Roseanne" comedy series has been off the air for 20 years.

What has the Conner family been up to all that time?

We're about to get that answer, when the Conners return to television with the same cast and all new episodes.

The characters may be just a bit older - maybe wiser - and they were all thrilled at the chance to reunite around that memorable couch and kitchen table.

"It was just easy as pie. There wasn't anything hard or difficult about it at all," said star and executive producer Roseanne Barr. "It was just a pleasure the whole time."

As "Roseanne" returns after two decades away, the show that never shied away from exploring the struggles blue collar families deal with returns - and we find not that much has changed.

"I don't think we felt like we could improve on the original so it was really trying to reach that bar, bring people a family they recognize," said co-star and executive producer Sara Gilbert. "Hopefully we've captured that."

"The family's always been up against it, but the theme is we hang together," said John Goodman, who plays patriarch Dan Conner.

The now grown-up actors who started on the show when they were kids say working on the series offered them invaluable life lessons.

"To see Roseanne, this role model, this woman who knew exactly what she wanted and fought for it and it was a pretty unique way to get to come into this industry," said Sarah Chalke, who played the second "Becky" in the original series and has a new role in the revival.

"I learned how to deal with life with humor and find a way to laugh through the things that are difficult," said Michael Fishman, who plays D.J. Conner. "And I try to pass that on to the young ones as they come behind me."

The return of "Roseanne" airs Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. on ABC.