Roseanne Barr’s Self-Produced Series Draws Early Distributor Interest

Roseanne Barr’s self-produced comedy series is being shopped to distributors, but no streaming deal has been announced. Allan Stephan, the project’s co-creator with Barr, told The Hollywood Reporter that representatives have sent a trailer to interested companies and are targeting streamers.

Stephan said the series has drawn interest from a few potential distributors. He did not identify any platforms, and his comments do not confirm that a buyer has agreed to release the show.

Roseanne Barr’s Self-Produced Series Seeks a Distributor

The project, titled “Meemaw: A Modern-Day Fable,” is an independently produced comedy co-created by Barr and Stephan. Stephan said representatives are speaking with several places after circulating a trailer. He described the response as “a lot of nibbles,” while declining to name any company.

The series has eight episodes, each 30 minutes long, and was filmed in Austin. Barr plays the matriarch of a Texas family of preppers who tries to organize a large bat mitzvah for her granddaughter. Stephan said the show’s characters are struggling farmers, and described the story as a family trying to keep food on the table and stay together.

Alongside Barr, the series stars Randy Quaid, Drea de Matteo, Omar Gooding, Doug Jones and Indy Bugg. Jon Lovitz, Tony Hinchcliffe and Kim Congdon make cameo appearances. Allen Covert, a writer and producer who has worked with Adam Sandler, also helped write the series, according to the report.

Stephan said the project is intended as a nonpartisan story about a family trying to get by. He described the show as representative of different kinds of people, rather than aligned with a political side. Those are the co-creator’s characterizations; the source does not provide a finished episode or a distributor’s description.

Funding and Buyer Talks Remain Unclear

Stephan said Barr raised money independently for the first season with help from her son, Jake Pentland. He said he did not know details of the fundraising, so the source does not identify who financed the production or how much it cost. The Hollywood Reporter said it had reached out to Pentland for comment.

Stephan also said he knew representatives for the series were in talks with a few potential buyers. He did not name a streaming service or describe a formal offer. Shows made outside a network can be pitched to distributors without securing a release, and the report cautions that interest alone does not establish a deal.

The development follows Barr’s earlier television success and the cancellation of the 2018 ABC reboot of “Roseanne.” The reboot ended after Barr posted an offensive tweet about Valerie Jarrett, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. Barr apologized at the time, according to the report.

For more coverage of entertainment distribution, readers can see AGV’s stories on a Disney+ streaming bundle, a local show’s move to streaming apps, and Naomi Ackie’s Hollywood experience. These cover separate deals, programs and careers.

The Hollywood Reporter story attributes the distributor update to Stephan. Until a company is named and a deal is confirmed, “Meemaw” remains a completed independently produced series being offered to potential buyers.