Go Live with The Conners

Today, ABC announced that for its season 4 premiere, The Conners will once again be airing a live episode.  But this time, there's an intriguing twist.

At the same time, the network also announced an innovative sweepstakes, titled "You Can Be a Conner."  Winners will receive a call from the cast -- on-air, as part of the episode.

Today at the Television Critics Association teleconference for critics, Executive Producer Bruce Helford referred to the gimmick as "working without a net," because the selected fans will not know what the topic of the episode and thus the call will be -- nor will the producers know what said fans will say, live on-air.  (One would imagine that ABC will be airing the whole thing on the standard 7-second delay, but still, I think the censor should start practicing hitting that button now.)

The episode will air on September 22 at 9 PM Eastern, and will be performed live for both the East and West coasts.  Enter at www.BeAConner.com, and see details below in ABC's press release.

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: ‘THE CONNERS’ IS GOING LIVE!   SEASON FOUR TO DEBUT WITH LIVE PREMIERE EPISODE WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22, ON ABC   ‘YOU CAN BE A CONNER’ SWEEPSTAKES LAUNCHES TODAY GIVING FANS A CHANCE TO WIN AN ON-AIR CALL DURING LIVE PREMIERE BROADCAST

ABC’s No. 1 comedy last season is set to return with more laughs, surprise guests, a live episode and a chance for viewers to win a virtual appearance as a member of the Conner family in the season four premiere when “The Conners” returns WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22 (9:00-9:31 p.m. EDT).    The cast of “The Conners” will perform live for both the East and West Coast broadcasts of the season four premiere episode. The members of America’s favorite family are no strangers to live television, but this time, they’ll need some extra help to pull it off. Starting today, ABC and “The Conners” are launching the “You Can Be A Conner” sweepstakes, offering viewers the opportunity for a once-in-a-lifetime experience by entering for the chance to win a virtual appearance during the live season premiere episode. As part of the storyline, a Conner family member will call each lucky sweepstakes winner for a live conversation regarding how they deal with some of the same life issues that the Conners navigate on a daily basis.   The sweepstakes is open to legal U.S. residents, 18 and older. No purchase is necessary to enter; visit www.BeAConner.com for official rules and full details.   “The Conners” stars John Goodman as Dan Conner, Laurie Metcalf as Jackie Harris, Sara Gilbert as Darlene Conner, Lecy Goranson as Becky Conner-Healy, Michael Fishman as D.J. Conner, Emma Kenney as Harris Conner-Healy, Ames McNamara as Mark Conner-Healy, Jayden Rey as Mary Conner and Jay R. Ferguson as Ben.    “The Conners” is executive produced by Tom Werner, along with Sara Gilbert, Bruce Helford, Dave Caplan, Bruce Rasmussen and Tony Hernandez. The series is from Werner Entertainment.     Follow “The Conners” (#TheConners) on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.    ABC programming can also be viewed on demand and on Hulu.