The Conners is set to make a grand entrance on the 2025 TV premiere schedule in March. Instead of fading away with a quiet whimper or a disgruntled moan, this ABC sitcom is all set to bring a wave of excitement and eventfulness. Fans can anticipate seeing numerous guest stars gracing the set of Lanford. While pop star Sabrina Carpenter might not be among them, it's interesting to think about what could have been if her audition had been successful.

Thank God for the Right Casting

Sabrina Carpenter was apparently in the running to play Darlene's eldest child Harris Conner. Shameless vet Emma Kenney ended up landing the role. Whitney Cummings, the former Roseanne executive producer, believes that the world was fortunate that Carpenter was turned down. She said, "Sabrina Carpenter auditioned … and it wasn’t the right fit. She got a rejection that day when we were casting the daughter. And by the way, thank God we said no to her, because she’d be stuck on a sitcom set and not being Sabrina Carpenter."For seven seasons, Emma Kenney has been outstanding as the slacker-leaning rebel Harris. It's hard to imagine anyone else in that role. Moreover, if Carpenter had been focused on sitcom work for the past seven years, she might not have been able to develop her music career to the extent that she can now, making appearances at Taylor Swift concerts and headlining her own tours. John Goodman has managed to balance his co-starring role in The Righteous Gemstones with playing Dan Conner, but their schedules are not the same.(Image credit: Sabrina Carpenter)

What If Carpenter Had Landed the Role?

Given the timing, it seems that Sabrina Carpenter would have been auditioning for Harris Conner around (or soon after) when Disney Channel canceled Girl Meets World in Summer 2017. She starred in the spinoff for three seasons and co-performed the theme song. So, she was primed for more Disney-produced family comedy. But Emma Kenney won the role for some reason. In Whitney Cummings' mind, this "bad news" can be a blessing. She said, "I think that we’re still trained in our society to want to win and get a yes. Sometimes a yes is the worst thing you can get, because then you’re stuck on the wrong show for 7 years. You’re in the wrong thing."Now that we know this sitcom trivia, there are several questions. Would Carpenter have played Harris only on The Conners, or did she initially audition for Roseanne? Since the People story only mentions The Conners when addressing Cummings' comments, are we to believe that Carpenter would have replaced Harris in the spinoff after Roseanne Barr's firing? Or was it meant to imply that the surname title was a catch-all that included its predecessor?Would Carpenter have dyed her hair brown to play Harris? Sara Gilbert's Darlene and Johnny Galecki's David are both brunettes with wavy curls. A strikingly blonde child would probably stand out. (Also, is it a thing for one's eyes to be too round and open to be a Conner?) Granted, Becky pulled off a blonde look despite Roseanne and Dan being brunettes, so maybe it wouldn't have been too strange.Could The Conners' fame have actually helped Sabrina Carpenter's career? One of the odder things about Sabrina Carpenter's Grammy nomination for Best New Artist is that her current smash Short n’ Sweet is actually her sixth album. She was previously under contract with Disney for the first five albums that didn't quite capture the zeitgeist like #6. But would that have been different if she was starring in one of broadcast's most popular comedies during that time span?Will Sabrina Carpenter make a cameo in The Conners' final season? Similar to how Roseanne and The Conners have had fun with Lecy Goranson and Sarah Chalke swapping the role of Becky Conner over the years, it would be interesting to see an episode's cold open as a dream sequence where Carpenter is in the role of Harris. It might not be the easiest cameo to pull off, but it would be great if the creative team figures it out.Though fans will have to wait a long time for The Conners to return with new episodes, Tim Allen's return to ABC sitcom-dom is on the horizon. His new show Shifting Gears is premiering in January. Maybe we'll find out in a few years that Chappel Roan auditioned for Kat Dennings' role in the show.