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NetflixsHouse of Cardsand ABCsRoseanneare the latest programs to face this conundrum.
Both series have returned after producers devised ways to keep things going.
The newly namedThe Connerspicks up with Roseanne having died of an opioid overdose.
This fact is initially hidden from her family as well as viewers.
As attempts to save a seemingly unsalvageable show go, this ones not bad.
House of Cardsalready had the dramatic architecture in place to cope with losing its star.
But Claire was reluctant because of the political damage it would cause her.
The season ended on a cliffhanger, with Claire declining to mention the pardon in her first presidential speech.
Its Claires turn, all right.
Season six starts with Frank having already expired off-camera.
Theres no visual evidence that he existed.
The exact circumstances of Franks demise are kept vague here.
But theres also a canny dramatic reason for the coyness.
The world naturally measures Claires leadership style against her husbands.
They consider her unqualified to wield power despite her decades-long front-row seat courtesy of Frank.
