The Conners

• TV Show

• ABC

• Sitcom

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Conners season 3, episode 6, "Protest, Drug Test and One Leaves the Nest."

Look who's the change agent! On Wednesday's episode of The Conners, Becky (Lecy Goranson) staged a protest at Wellman Plastics to fight supervised drug testing after her boss Robin (Transparent's Alexandra Billings) opted to quit rather than reveal she is a trans woman. EW talked to showrunner Bruce Helford about the episode, Billings' future on the show, and the Easter egg he included in the episode for longtime fans.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Why did you decide to create the character of Robin? 
BRUCE HELFORD: We decided to give Becky and Darlene jobs at the old Wellman Plastics factory where Roseanne and Jackie used to work in the very, very beginning of Roseanne. We thought it'd be interesting to come full circle there. Back in the day, George Clooney played overlord Booker Brooks at the plastic plant. That's how the character of Robin was born. Then we read an article about supervised drug testing, which seems phenomenally invasive because some stranger watches everyone do the urine test. I thought, well, that's gotta be a nightmare for anybody who is trying to be private about their lives, especially people who are trans because it's really nobody's business. Then we thought, wow, that'd be great if Robin was trans. Alexandra was so wonderful in Transparent, so we got her to do this. We never wanted this to be primarily about that. We wanted that she was trans to be secondary to the fact that she was a really tough boss. There's a wonderful moment between her and Becky [in Wednesday's episode] that addresses it in such a way that hasn't really been addressed on broadcast TV very much.

Did Alexandra help with any of the storytelling?
We talked to Alexandra because obviously, I don't presume to know that experience. We were looking for some guidelines as to what is real. Alexandra was very open and very helpful about it. There's a moment when Becky says, "Don't you want to come, help us fight?" And Robin goes, "No, I fought those battles. I have PTSD about that. I do not want to go back to those fights." Those were Alexandra's words. It took her a long time to get freaking happy. It was a great moment to add to the character.

Is Robin sticking around for a while?
We're going to keep her! We like her, she does a bunch. She's already shot a few episodes beyond this one.  

So we can expect more action at Wellman Plastics?
We love tapping into the history. We even brought back an actor who was one of the recurring workers back in the day. Her name is Juanita [played by Evelina Fernandez]. Jackie came to visit the factory, saw her, and said, "Oh my God, why do you still work here?"

The Conners airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC. 

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This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Lynette Rice

Tyra Banks wanted us to talk about it, right? You don't make an entrance in a cumulus cloud like that and not think that people will want a word. My immediate thought was that she cleaned out her local Bath & Body Works of all its exfoliating sponges, while my favorite DWTS publicist thought Tyra was wearing a grownup version of those crocheted toilet paper dresses that your gramma used to display on her commode.**  The freshman host must have known we'd be all pick-a-little talk-a-little after that reveal, so she (blissfully) changed her look during the first commercial. And into a starry halo, no less! God bless you, Tyra. You made it through the COVID-19 addition of Dancing With the Stars! Let's see who's going to win it now.

Nelly and Daniella Karagach: Time has flown by for Daniella; Nelly thought he'd be booted from the show on day one. "I love doing things a lot of people think I can't do," he admitted. Like dancing under a giant, bedazzled boom box in the final? We didn't think you could do it, either. But here you are, revisiting your super samba while planning to donate your Nike dance shoes to a worthwhile charity. "What you have, you have such a spontaneity, you are so engaging to watch," said Bruno Tonioli. "Watching you is great, it's fun." "You're a moment maker, brother. You fill this room with such joy and you make people feel good," added Derek Hough. Score: 27 out of 30

Justina Machado and Sasha Farber: The One Day at a Time may have flown in on a lucky star, but her cha cha and infectious pride about being a hot, 48-year-old Latina reminded everyone that she wears her fringe and Danskins well. "You are exploding with charisma," said Hough. "It was so good. So well done." "You know how to shake those tail feathers," added Tonioli. "You were almost too hot to trot tonight." Score: Perfect 30 

Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson: The Catfish guy used to worry that people would only see him as that Catfish guy. But then he found his inner Hugh Jackman, and now winning is so important that he freakin' shaved his chest for the finale! Who does his earnestness remind me of? Oh, I know. Has anyone seen James Van Der Beek's Instagram of late? He seems to suggest that he moved his family out of California because he didn't win the Mirrorball last year. You already lost your pec fluff, Nev. Don't give up home and hearth if you don't take the top prize! Score: Perfect 30.

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev: It's been a life-changing journey for the bachelorette. And to think she was afraid that she wouldn’t be good enough. But let's get real for a moment: did Kaitlyn, with all of her childhood training, honestly think she wasn't going to make it to the finals? I surely did. So of course she’s here, doing a final Argentine tango that takes Bruno's breath away. "It was so intensely sensuous," he added. "The detail was even better this time around ... absolutely stunning." Continued Carrie Ann Inaba, "I'm so glad you chose to do this dance again, you went from being an amazing dancer to an unbelievable, exquisite...I can't find the words anymore." Score: Perfect 30

Programming break! Let's hear it for Derek Hough, shall we? How can you not appreciate the place he's carved himself in the DWTS universe? First a winning pro, now a judge who occasionally reminds us that we no longer have to wonder who replaced Gene Kelly in the 21st Century. (Sorry, Tyra: he's too sexy and athletic to be the modern version of Fred Astaire). More of these masterful solos in season 30, please!   

Nelly and Daniella Karagach: Oh Nelly, you aren't losing your Nike dancing shoes. You are gaining a sister! I hope she asked to keep her brother's gigantic diamond studs after dancing that wicked freestyle. "Nelly! The king of swag and the king of bling! We are in the presence of hip hop royalty," said Tonioli. "Freestyle, Nelly style." "You guys together has been outstanding. This dance gives me hope," added Inaba. Score: Perfect 30

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev: Artem is right; he couldn't have asked for a better partner. As if I haven't reminded you a gazillion times before, Artem hasn't won a trophy in the nine seasons he's been on the DWTS. It's definitely time — and that freestyle sure helped. "What I love about it, you really captured the feel and style of Baz Luhrmann extravaganza," said Tonioli. "Dazzling." Score: Perfect 30

Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson: The duo made for an excellent partnership. Nev appreciated their bond and judges certainly liked her choreography. But does she have to call him Neevy? Then again, I'm sure he really didn't care since she gave him the best number of the season. They literally danced in the rain! "You can't pull off Gene Kelly or 'Singing in the Rain' unless you are a leading man," said Hough. "You are a leading man." "It was showstopping!" added Tonioli. "I wasn't expecting that." Score: Perfect 30

Justina Machado and Sasha Farber: Justina is right; it’s hard teaching a middle-aged woman with no experience. But I feel pretty confident he had a ball. And they’re in the finals! So let’s get loud, already. “The freestyle is all about strategy. You used this moment to send out a powerful message about you,” said Inaba. “I couldn’t think of a better freestyle to finish this entire season. That was so good! The intro was such fire.” Score: Perfect: 30

The time has come. No judges to save you now, dancers!

Fourth place went to Justina and Sasha.

Third place went to Nelly and Daniella.

Second place went to Nev and Jenna.

And the winner is... Kaitlyn and Artem! They're so excited.

** Remember?

Related content:

Author:Lynette Rice - Source: EW

Longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, who announced in March of 2019 that he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer, died on Sunday. He was 80.

The show confirmed the news in a statement to EW.

“This is an enormous loss for the Jeopardy! staff, crew, and all of Alex’s millions of fans," said Mike Richards, Jeopardy! Executive Producer. "He was a legend of the industry that we were all lucky to watch night after night for 37 years. Working beside him for the past year and a half as he heroically continued to host Jeopardy! was an incredible honor. His belief in the importance of the show and his willingness to push himself to perform at the highest level was the most inspiring demonstration of courage I have ever seen. His constant desire to learn, his kindness, and his professionalism will be with all of us forever.”

In a taped message for his fans at the time, Trebek said the prognosis was "never very encouraging but I'm gonna fight this." " I’m gonna keep working. And with the love and support of my family and friends, and with the help of your prayers also, I plan to beat the low survival-rate statistics for this disease. Truth be told, I have to. Under the terms of my contract, I have to host Jeopardy! for three more years. So help me! Keep the faith, and we’ll win! We’ll get it done. Thank you.”

A career emcee, Trebek began hosting game shows in his native country of Canada. He moved to the United States in the '70s to emcee The Wizard of Odds and High Rollers for NBC, as well as Double Dare and Pillsbury Bake-Off for CBS. He joined Jeopardy! in 1984, but continued holding the mic for shows like The National Geographic Bee from 1989-2013 and To Tell the Truth from 1990-91.

In 2011, Trebek earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmys. He's also won seven Emmys for Outstanding Game Show host. In 2014, Guinness World Records announced that Trebek had broken the record for the most game show episodes (6,829) hosted by the same person on the same program.

As a tribute to Trebek's cucumber-cool demeanor, Saturday Night Live in 1996 began airing a series of sketches featuring Will Farrell in Trebek's role. The skits featured celebrity impersonators like Darrell Hammond playing Sean Connery and Norm Macdonald as the late Burt Reynolds. Like in real life, Farrell's Trebek acted like the smartest guy in the room. The last Celebrity Jeopardy! aired in 2015 to help celebrate SNL's 40th anniversary.

When asked about the SNL sketches in 2005, Trebek told EW how much he enjoyed watching Ferrell portray him. "Love it," he said of being included in the popular NBC series. "Will Ferrell did a wonderful job. But when he came back to host, for some reason, he still wore the mustache. I shaved mine a year ago."

And even though it had gone out of vogue trying to stump Trebek on the street with trivia, he laughed he was at least still popular at Studio 8H.

"It used to be fashionable," he said about being quizzed by fans. "But since I’ve been around long enough, I guess there’s no joy in nailing Trebek anymore. Except on Saturday Night Live."

Shortly before his diagnosis, Trebek lamented to PEOPLE that he wished he had met his wife, Jean, a lot earlier. The two have been married for 29 years. "I was thinking about President Bush when he died, and all the comments about his life about what a nice guy he is, and how he and his wife had been together 73 years," he told PEOPLE. "I thought, oh my gosh… if I’d just met Jean in my 20s we could have had a longer life together. I guess if I’d met her when I was in my 20s she wouldn’t have been born yet. But hey, 29 years is pretty good!”

Trebek is survived by his wife of 30 years, Jean, and children Matthew, Emily, and Nicky. The family has announced no plans for a service, but gifts in Alex’s memory could go to World Vision.

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Author:Lynette Rice - Source: EW