John Solomon’s Just the News partnering on new comedy returning Roseanne Barr to TV as a grandma

Just the Network, the parent company for John Solomon’s Just the News, is teaming up with Roseanne Barr for a new comedy series that would return the legendary comic to television as a grandmother helping to raise her grandkids on a Texas ranch.

The first season of Meemaw has already been shot and is being pitched to streaming television companies for an early 2027 debut.

The show features an all-star cast that includes Randy Quaid as the local sheriff and Barr’s romantic interest. Drea de Matteo, perhaps best-known for her recurring role as "Adriana" in The Sopranos, will assume the role of Barr's character's daughter,  and Omar Gooding as her son-in-law.

Barr also confirmed the partnership with Just the News’ parent in a post on X.

“Been getting lots of questions and excitement about Meemaw and there is one thing I want to clear up - I can confirm we are partnered with @jsolomonReports and his Just the News team on this great new show,” she wrote. “You thought he just reports- Turns out his whole team has a great sense of humor too!”

Just the Network management said the series is part of a larger plan to elevate the Just the News brand into entertainment, comedy and sports over the next year.

“Just the News became a trusted brand for millions by sticking to just the facts and getting big stories right in an era of flawed journalism,” Just the Network CEO Mark Meckler said. “We think the same audience is craving comedy that is just about the laughs, and sports that’s just about what happens on the field. And there’s no more iconic star to start with than Roseanne.”

Solomon said he was proud to take his first journey inside the comedy world with Barr.

“Roseanne scored not one, but two of the biggest comedies in history as television’s first mom. I’m confident she can do it again as TV’s sassy new grandma," he said.

Barr, 73, gave a preview of the first season during a wide-ranging interview with the Reporter. “It’s about a patriotic grandmother who is the matriarch of a mixed-race 'prepper family' in Texas,” she said. "Prepper families" are generally understood as those families who focus on everyday household readiness, communication, and practical skills, not extreme isolation, says Meridian magazine.

“I haven’t really showed it to anybody yet. But it is so funny. It’s the funniest shit I’ve ever done, and I had a ball and I play a really wacky old lady this time,” she added.

Her real-life role of speaking for cancel culture victims

She also discussed the pain of being canceled out of her hit comedy The Conners over a joke about Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett and being blackballed in Hollywood in the decade since.

“I thought of it like, ‘Oh my God, the American people are wanting to see something that talks to them again.’ I lined up with the, what do they call it? The zeitgeist. I mined the zeitgeist again. I knew I hadn’t lost my connection to people’s hearts,” she said of The Conners.

“I was so excited to go back and say something new that hadn’t been said about the working people of the backbone of this country,” she added. “And they didn’t like it, ever, the people at the network, and they tried to derail me. I see that now. They tried to derail me every step of the way. Meemaw is everything that they would not allow me to do.”

She said returning to shoot Meemaw also had a healing element to it.

“A lot of the healing happens through my scenes with Omar Gooding, who plays my son-in-law. He’s also a stand-up comic and he’s a black man. I met a lot of resistance casting black actors,” she said.