At the time of its premiere in 1988, "Roseanne," a sitcom about a working-class American family in the Midwest, was groundbreaking on a number of levels, not least of which was that it had a woman, Roseanne Barr, at the helm.
Almost exactly 30 years later, a rebooted version of the show is returning to ABC, and according to author Joy Press, the timing, which coincides with the Me Too and Time's Up movements, couldn't be more appropriate.
Press, who wrote the book "Stealing the Show: How Women Are Revolutionizing Television," noted in an interview with ABC News that like today, the late 1980s and early 1990s were a politically divisive time for America, and Barr's character, Roseanne Conner, acted as a "lightning rod for the culture."
"Roseanne and Murphy Brown [from the soon-to-be rebooted CBS show of the same name] were really beloved but also very polarizing, and I think we're sort of longing for this -- these incredible, fierce, kind of angry female characters," Press told ABC News. "They were always very funny but their anger was something that was at the center of American culture, and they helped us to talk about what was going on in our world at this point."
Cast of 'Roseanne' describes 'surreal' return to iconic set ahead of show's revival First looks at the 'Roseanne' reboot setBarr, 65, who is the executive producer and star of the reboot, which premieres Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, has promised that the new episodes will touch on real-life events, including the 2016 presidential election. And, echoing the makeup of families all across America, Barr's character will be pro-Trump, unlike her sister, Jackie (played by Oscar nominee Laurie Metcalf).
"I have always attempted to portray a realistic portrait of the American people and of working-class people. And, in fact, it was working-class people who elected Trump," Barr said in January. "So I felt that was very real, and something that needed to be discussed."
Press said she was surprised to learn that Barr's character would explicitly express a preference for a specific politician.
"I found an interview Roseanne gave back [in the early 1990s] and she said, 'The Conners don't trust anybody; they're just trying to get by,'" Press explained. But the show always touched on political issues, including gay marriage and contraception. The decision to be more specific this time around makes sense, she added.
"It could allow them to have all kinds of contemporary pathways," she said. "I think it's a very controversial but potentially very interesting way to go."
But of course, Press added, Barr has always been known to do the unexpected -- and impact change along the way. Noting that TV is currently in "a very, very transitional moment," the author added that series written by women, about women, are on the rise, and there's a "new openness to women and people of color" from TV executives looking to greenlight new projects.
On Monday, Vulture reported that currently, of the 75 pilots in production, 24 are directed by 19 women. Of the 19 female directors, three are black and three are Latina. According to the blog, last year, women directed just six of 70 pilots, and all of those female directors were white. From 2013 to 2016, only 42 of 348 pilots were directed by women, and three of those women were black.
Press says that while TV has a long way to go in terms of diversity, there's reason to hope that the future is bright.
"I see an awful lot of female creators and an awful lot of female-centric shows waiting in the wings even for next season," she said. "I feel pretty optimistic that we're not gonna turn back at this point."
