John Goodman Is Back! How 'Roseanne' Revival Explained Dan Conner's Death in Premiere

Viewers last heard John Goodman's character Dan Conner had a serious heart attack at the end of the Roseanne series finale in 1997

The Conners are back for the Roseanne revival — includingbeloved dad Dan Conner.

Though viewers assumed John Goodman’s character was dead when the series wrapped in 1997, the patriarch is very much alive in the ABC reboot.

The hour-long premiere opened with Dan startled awake by Roseanne as he removed a sleep apnea mask from his face. “What happened?” he said as his wife joked, “I thought you were dead!”

“I’m sleeping! Why does everybody always think I’m dead?” Dan told her, referencing the serious heart attack he suffered at the end of the series finale.

“You looked happy. I thought maybe you moved on,” Roseanne quipped.

After addressing the unanswered question in the first few minutes, the storyline continued with the introduction of Sara Gilbert’s character Darlene, who has moved back into her childhood home with her gender-fluid child Mark, 9, and 14-year-old daughter Harris.

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Dan’s fate was also previously teased in February when ABC released sneak peek clips of the reboot.

RELATED VIDEO: How ‘Roseanne’ Went from a Reunion to a Revival!

The assumed death of Goodman’s character was a shock to fans at the time of the series finale as Barr also revealed that her character was writing her own life story all along since season 1.

Barr along with Goodman, Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman and Sarah Chalke reprise their roles in the revival.

Roseanne airs Tuesdays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.