John Goodman Says It’s ‘Really Hard’ to Say Goodbye to The Conners: ‘I’m Old and Resistant to Change’ (Exclusive)

Dan Conner was introduced to fans nearly four decades ago on Roseanne. Now, John Goodman is preparing to move on from the beloved character as The Conners concludes after seven seasons.

 “It’s really hard,” the actor, 72, emotionally tells PEOPLE during a visit to the set of the ABC sitcom, which will air its series finale on April 23. “It’s something I’m going to miss for a while. I’m old and resistant to change.”

Goodman admits that the last seven seasons of the spinoff have gone by “so fast,” adding, “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 adds. “It’s a great place to work.”

The actor couldn’t recall a favorite behind-the-scenes memory from the series because “they’re so jumbled up right now, I can’t pick one out.” 

“It’s just being here every day and like [my costar] Jay [R. Ferguson] said, we just come in and laugh a lot,” he shares. “And it’s hard.”

He believes the show has connected with audiences over the years because of its “focus on just kind of a normal family that’s really been up against it. And a lot of people in this country have been up against it for a long time.”

Despite struggling with The Conners coming to an end, Goodman says he will “be grateful for a long time” to ABC for extending the “courtesy” of giving the show a final six episodes to conclude the story.

As for what fans can expect from the series finale, Goodman’s costars Laurie Metcalf and Lecy Goranson tease that there will be some loose ends.

“There’s a lot to wrap up and I think the writers are really working hard to get everybody’s storylines sort of … not completed,” Metacalf, who plays Jackie Harris, admits. “It’s not going to have a big bow tied up with the Conners.”

“And it will remain true to their storyline, what happens to them in the final episode,” she adds. “But, it’s a very short amount of time to wrap up this many seasons of a family that’s covered decades.”

Lecy Goranson, who stars as Becky Conner, notes they won’t be “doing something wacky or kind of culminating,” adding, “It’s just not really our style. Our show is about real people and real-life situations, so I feel like we don’t need to do that.” 

She concludes: “It’s enough just saying that the characters are moving on in the future together as family.”

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The Conners series finale airs April 23 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.