John Goodman: Roseanne Barr is 'definitely' missed on 'The Conners'

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- John Goodman says Roseanne Barr is "definitely" missed on the set of The Conners.

The 66-year-old actor discussed Barr's firing from Roseanne on Monday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! ahead of the premiere of The Conners, the Roseanne spinoff.

"She is missed, definitely," Goodman told host Jimmy Kimmel. "After that many years, it's like a family. Last year was so miraculous and so unreal that when it went away it was almost like a dream."

ABC picked up The Conners in June after the Roseanne revival was canceled following Barr's tweet about Valerie Jarrett. Goodman said he struggled in the wake of the controversy.

"I thought, 'Okay, I'll be a big boy and handle this.' And I just crashed for a couple weeks," he recalled. "All kinds of weird stuff happened. My wife got sick right after that. Then I fell down the stairs."

Goodman and Barr played married couple Roseanne and Dan Conner in nine seasons of Roseanne, and reprised the characters in the Season 10 revival. Goodman will return as Dan on The Conners, while Barr will reportedly be killed off.

"It was very weird doing the first show without her because she's my buddy," the actor said of Barr. "I mean, we'd just sit there and she's make me laugh and I'd make her laugh, which is fun because there's always a danger of her peeing herself."

"She gave up a lot for us to be able to do this show and I can't thank her enough," he added.

The Conners premieres Oct. 16 on ABC. The series co-stars Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Lecy Goranson, Michael Fishman and Emma Kenney.