William H. Macy is headed to The Conners.
The Shameless patriarch will guest-star in an upcoming episode as Smitty, one of Dan’s best buds from high school who pays a visit to Lanford. The gig reunites him with former TV daughter Emma Kenney.
An airdate has not yet been announced.
Macy becomes the fourth Shameless star to appear on the Roseanne spinoff. In addition to Kenney, who plays Darlene and David’s daughter Harris, the ABC comedy previously enlisted Noel Fisher to recur as Dan’s half-brother Ed Jr. in Season 2, and more recently cast Ethan Cutkosky to play Louise and Neville’s nephew Caleb in Season 5. (Louise, we should point out, is played by Katey Sagal, who recurred throughout Shameless Season 9 as Dr. Ingrid Jones.)
As previously reported, The Conners this fall will see the “oh s–t!” return of a Roseanne character not seen since the series’ original 1988-1997 run — a surprise guest star the executive producers refuse to spoil ahead of air. It was also confirmed that Season 5 has been extended from 20 to 22 episodes, marking the veteran comedy’s longest season to date. The increase will bring the offshoot to 93 episodes — which, coupled with Roseanne Season 10, brings the revival’s total haul to an impressive 102 episodes.
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