Sara Gilbert dissects ‘The Conners’: ‘If there’s no conflict, it’s not funny’

Sara Gilbert has spent most of her life on TV. She landed the role of surly teen Darlene on the long-running sitcom “Roseanne� at age 13, and cracked sarcastic jokes on the ABC series for the next nine years. At 44, she now plays surly adult Darlene on the show’s spinoff, “The Conners.� In between, Gilbert created and co-hosted “The Talk,� had a recurring role on “The Big Bang Theory� and was a key player in bringing “Roseanne� back last year.

Now headed into its second season, ABC’s “The Conners,� which is executive produced by Gilbert, follows Lanford’s favorite dysfunctional family as they grapple with the death of their matriarch, single parenthood and all the challenges that come with being a blue-collar family in 21st century America.

Portraying the problems of regular folks is in Gilbert’s blood. Her grandfather, Harry Crane, created “The Honeymooners� and her half-sister Melissa Gilbert starred in “Little House on the Prairie.�

Gilbert stopped by the Los Angeles Times studios to talk about her childhood on camera and her career trajectory. She also spoke about the challenges she faced after “Roseanne� was canceled due to the Twitter controversy surrounding the show’s namesake, and what it’s taken to make “The Conners� a success.

It’s all about “meaningful, impactful stories, and conflict. If there’s no conflict, it’s not funny,� she said. “When tragedy happens, we try and find a way to view the humor in it. Something the [show’s] writers have taught me is that anything can be funny … I think of the darkest storylines I can think of and say, ‘What do you [writers] think of this?’ And then it’s like ‘good luck’! They are brilliantly talented at making everyone laugh.�

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