John Goodman Came Up with The Conners’ ‘Goodbye to the Audience’ in Series Finale, Executive Producer Says

Warning: this story contains spoilers from the April 23 series finale of The Conners.

• ‘The Conners’ came to an emotional end on April 23 after seven seasons
• The show’s executive producer Bruce Helford shared that the heartfelt conclusion of the ABC sitcom came from star John Goodman
• “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a sitcom, or maybe even a drama, where the actors show the real emotions they are having,” Helford said of the moment

John Goodman knew the perfect way to conclude The Conners after seven seasons.

The beloved ABC sitcom’s final scene saw each family member emotionally say goodbye to Goodman’s character Dan Conner until he was the only one remaining on the sofa. He then broke the fourth wall, turning to the camera and saying “goodnight” as he held back tears.

The heartfelt moment was “a surprise to us,” executive producer Dave Caplan told The Wrap, adding, “We did not know they were going to get there emotionally.”

Executive producer Bruce Helford shared that Goodman, 72, came up with the ending, telling the outlet, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in a sitcom, or maybe even a drama, where the actors show the real emotions they are having. It was so touching and so real that we decided to leave.”

“Dan saying goodbye to the audience, that was all John and it was wonderful,” he adds.

The scene came after Dan learned that the family had only received a $700 settlement check following his charged deposition for his lawsuit against the manufacturer of the drugs that led to his late wife Roseanne’s (Roseanne Barr) accidental opioid overdose.

Helford said that “a lot of research was done” for the storyline, sharing, “What happened to Dan in that interrogation is really what happened in a lot of the cases when they were able to prove that the person knew it was dangerous and still continued [to use opioids], then that person was no longer being jeopardized by the company.” 

“It’s still kind of ridiculous but that’s the way it played out in some of the courts. So we tried to follow what really would have probably happened, and this is probably what would have been the case,” he continued. 

After Dan found out the amount of money he received at Roseanne’s gravesite, he said, “We always wondered how much a Conner’s life is worth. Now, we know,” before the family broke down in laughter.

Caplan acknowledged, “We never really thought about it being a big payoff, because the little guy doesn’t win.” 

“The lesson of The Conners is that if you think you’re going to get over on the big guy, it’s probably not going to happen,” he added. “You’re going to have to struggle. But if you struggle and you hang together, good things can still happen. So it had to be an ending that kept in concert with the tone of The Conners.”

The executive producers “worked pretty hard to avoid end of series cliches,” according to Caplan. 

“There are traps that are easy to fall into, and we felt like our audience needed a more realistic version of where these characters would land at the end of the series, but still have a sense that they would go on with their lives,” he added.

When asked if there could be more spinoffs in the works, Helford said, “We want the sincerity and the legacy of the finale to be noted. No one ever thought any of these things would come back. We started out to do one year of the reboot just to clean up the end of the Roseanne show. Then we had to clean up the end of the reboot, it just kind of kept itself going.” 

“But I think for right now, it’s a good time for one just to kind of appreciate 37 years of knowing this family, and 15 of those years actually on air, this cast, that was a very, very big thing for them to face, the end of that era,” he added.

Goodman previously told PEOPLE that “it’s really hard” to say goodbye to the series, adding, “It’s something I’m going to miss for a while. I’m old and resistant to change.”

The actor admitted that the last seven seasons of the spinoff have gone by “so fast,” sharing, “It was so exciting when we got this together and it seems like it was two weeks ago.”

“Showing up every day and just being here with everybody,” he continued. “It’s a great place to work.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The Conners is available to stream in full on Hulu.