Raising The Barr Roseanne's Blind Ambition

The unstoppable comedy queen is ready for her second coming

Three years ago, comedy icon Roseanne Barr was given news nobody wants to hear – she had a degenerative eye condition and would eventually go blind.

For the actress who created and starred in one of television’s most successful sitcoms ever, it was a terrible shock. But the wisecracking screen queen comforted herself that she was in a great place to navigate her new sightless life, having stepped away from the spotlight in favour of a quiet existence on a macadamia farm in Hawaii.

Then, a year later, it was discovered that Roseanne had been misdiagnosed. The problems with her vision had been caused by a mole on her eye that could be removed.

And it was just the start of the actress’ good luck – because next came the news that the entire cast of her groundbreaking ’80s sitcom had agreed to a reboot. Fast forward to 2018 and the first season of Roseanne since 1997 is now screening on Three.

“Even in the back of my mind, I never thought this would happen,” says the outspoken 65-year-old, who’s stepped back into her roles as one of the show’s writers and executive producers, as well as its pivotal character. But when it comes to success, Roseanne has always been able to pull rabbits out of hats.