Why the Conners' first has shed light on the opioid crisis

The conners made its official television debut Tuesday without former franchise star Roseanne Barr, but executive producer Tom Werner has no regrets about the decision to have his character die of an overdose of # 39; opiate.

Also at a roundtable on Tuesday night at the Paley Center for Media in New York, hosted by PEOPLE's Julie Jordan, Werner explained that the screenplay seemed natural and "authentic" to the audience.

"I think it was important that we all respect Roseanne Conner and Roseanne Barr, but when we talked about it … what made the series so successful is that I think we have tackled themes that are very relevant to our audience "says the crowd.

"There is a lot of choice on television, but it's a show about a working class family that is very identifiable by the public," he said. "When we discussed what needed to be done to move forward … if you had seen the series over the past year, Roseanne Conner was having problems with a drug. [addiction]. "

Executive Producer Tom Werner

Allen Berezovsky / WireImage)

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Speaking of a scene in the series that Dan (John Goodman) had with neighborhood drug dealer Marcy Bellinger (Mary Steenburgen), Werner explained that it was "so moving" because of the seriousness of the crisis opioids in the country.

"It's a problem – and again, we're doing a comedy – it's a problem that affects tens of thousands of people, opioid addiction – 80,000 people have died as a result of opioid addiction and overdose, "he said. "We thought it could light a light."

"I think there will be people who will talk about that and how it affects the family," he continued. "This obviously affects health issues and the fact that Marcy Bellinger shared drugs with other people in the community. That's partly because we know that prescription drugs are expensive … I think it was an honest and authentic way of dealing with Roseanne Conner.

Roseanne Barr and Sara Gilbert

Adam Rose / ABC / Getty Images

In the first of Tuesday, the Conner family discussed the absence of Barr in the first scene. While the family was gathering in the kitchen to mourn the loss of "Granny Rose" three weeks after her death, a worried Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) asked to speak to Dan alone on the outside.

The family initially thought that she had a heart attack while asleep, but later discovered that Roseanne died of an opiate overdose.

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While the creators and producers of the show thought it was a good idea to kill his character in this way, Barr is not so pleased with their decision and expressed his thoughts in a long joint statement with the Rabbi Shmuley Boteach.

Boteach, who calls himself "the rabbi of America," is best known for his close ties to Michael Jackson, whom he served as a spiritual advisor. He was also connected to former reality star Jon Gosselin.

"We wish the best to the members of the distribution and the production The connersdeeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne's dear colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing Roseanne Conner's character, "begins the statement.

Roseanne Barr and John Goodman during an episode of the Roseanne to restart

"The fact that this was done by an overdose of opioids has given a useless and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show. It was a choice that the network did not have to make. Roseanne was the only television show that dealt directly with the deep divisions that threatened the very fabric of our society, "they continued.

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"Specifically, the series promoted the message that each person's love and respect for personality should transcend substantive differences and ideological discord. The show brought together characters from different political beliefs and different ethnic backgrounds into a single unified family, a rarity in modern American entertainment. Above all, the show paid tribute to a strong and matriarchal woman in a leading role, something we need most in our country. "