A reboot of the iconic show 'Roseanne' will return to TV with some new faces

While the original cast has all signed on, a newcomer playing Darlene's son Mark has been added

Promo shots released Saturday show Mark, played by Ames McNamara, and he dresses in feminine clothing in the series

Sara Gilbert is reprising the role of Darlene and is also executive producing

She says Mark dresses like a girl but is not transgender, transitioning or gay

A reboot of the iconic show 'Rosanne' will return to television, and while it features the old cast, one of the new characters that will be introduced is Rosanne's grandson, who dresses like a girl.

The character is a nine-year-old named Mark, played by Ames McNamara. The show's executive producer Sara Gilbert, who is returning on screen as Darlene, explains he is not transgender, transitioning or gay.

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Gilbert, speaking to Entertainment Weekly explains: 'He’s not a transgender character. He’s a little boy. He’s based on a few kids in my life that are boys who dress in more traditionally feminine clothing.

'He’s too young to be gay and he doesn’t identify as transgender, but he just likes wearing that kind of clothing and that’s where he is at this point in his life.'

New face: Ames McNamara, eight, plays Mark, Roseanne's grandson on the show who wears feminine clothing

McNamara

Emma Kinney

Back to basics: The Conner family was a mainstay on TV throughout the 80s and 90s

Gilbert explains having a character like Mark in the 2018 version is important to maintaining the integrity of what 'Roseanne' is all about.

'It represents the world,' Gilbert said. 'This is a show that’s always been able to represent the world and talk about it without being so issue-heavy. We can do it through the dynamics of the family.'

Gilbert said: 'We did a lot of research because we wanted to make sure and do it properly.'

Mark's clothing choices will remain consistent through the season, and there will be one episode that will address it specifically.

'He happens to dress that way but he’s an amazing, creative, brilliant kid, which you will see, and so is the kid, Ames, who plays him,' she adds.

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The show will bring back all of the original stars, with Roseanne Barr and John Goodman, both 65, starring as Roseanne and Dan Conner, with Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman and Alicia Goranson reprising their roles from the first run.

On Saturday, ABC released a fresh set of shots of the cast of the rebooted Roseanne, which returns for an eight-episode slate in the upcoming months.

Sarah Chalke, who played Becky after Goranson's 1993 departure to attend college, will play a new role on the reboot as a character named Andrea.

McNamara joins Emma Kenney and Jayden Rey as being among the new cast members on the comedy, which originally ran from 1989 thru 1997.

As many fans remember, Goodman's paternal character Dan died in the show's 1997 finale, but that storyline twist will be disregarded in his return to the show.

The program itself nodded at the change of direction in a teaser clip released last month in which Dan - alive and well - sat on a couch with Becky taking in a basketball game.

Comeback: The iconic comedy returns to ABC after a 25-year absence

Keep on moving: Goodman reprises his role on the show as Dan Connor, whose character was killed off at the end of the show's first run

Bragging rights: Goodman's career has thrived since the show went off the air, with his most bandied-about performance coming in 1998's The Big Lebowski. Gilbert has had tremendous success with The Talk on CBS

Reassuring: Roseanne has maintained her presence on TV throughout the years, with special cameos on shows such as The Office, My Name Is Earl and 3rd Rock from the Sun

Strong run: Roseanne (L), with Laurie Metcalf (R), parlayed her success into films such as Look Who's Talking and the cult classic She Devil

Legend: Roseanne was one of the preeminent names atop TV and comedy in the late 80s and 90s, and looks to be headed for a huge revival

He's back: Goodman's death at the end of the series in 1997 will be disregarded in his return to the show

Familiar faces: Metcalf and Gilbert reprise their roles from the series' first run

Familiar faces: Metcalf and Gilbert reprise their roles from the series' first run

Becky squared: Both the actress who originally played the Becky character, Alicia Goranson, and her replacement, Sarah Chalke, have signed on for the series

Becky squared: Both the actress who originally played the Becky character, Alicia Goranson, and her replacement, Sarah Chalke, have signed on for the series

Dan mused: 'I still think the Bulls of '96, '97, would have beat these guys anytime,' to which Roseanne shot back, 'You can’t live in the past, Dan! When things are gone, they’re gone forever.'

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Goodman earlier this week told Entertainment Weekly that things had hardly missed a beat when the cast reconvened for the new programs.

'It was like we wrapped last week instead of 20 years ago,' said Goodman, who's appeared in notable films such as The Big Lebowski, Argo and Flight since the show went off the air. 'The hair on my arms stands up. It’s like if I was going to put my Boy Scouts uniform on again and it still fit.'

In announcing the program's comeback after more than two decades, ABC Entertainment's president Channing Dungey said in a statement that 'the Conners' joys and struggles are as relevant - and hilarious - today as they were then, and there's really no one better to comment on our modern America than Roseanne.'

Roseanne returns to the air March 27 at 8/7c on ABC.

The next generation: Jayden Rey and Emma Kenny are newcomers to the rebooted program

The next generation: Jayden Rey and Emma Kenny are newcomers to the rebooted program