I’m Sorry ABC, But The Conners Shaved Ben’s Beard 1 Season Too Late

Warning: SPOILERS for The Conners season 7, episode 1, "It's Gonna Be A Great Day."

Jay R. Ferguson’s Ben shaved his beard for the final season of The Conners, but it would have been better if he’d done it a full season before. Ben’s beard has been a running joke for about as long as he’s been in The Conners’ cast. Although he occasionally trimmed it in his earlier days at the magazine, he’s let it grow out more wildly since taking over the hardware store. In The Conners season 7, Ben has officially quit the hardware store and decided to go back to the magazine business for good.

Although his relationship with Darlene has been up and down, Ben’s ultimately gotten to be in some of The Conners’ best episodes. He stands apart from a lot of the cast as one of the only non-Roseanne characters with main cast billing, so the final season needs to give Ben and Darlene a happy ending. But while the season has a lot of story to get through, one new development with Ben makes it feel as if they missed a golden opportunity for a bit of extra comedy.

The Conners Season 7 Debuts A Beardless Ben

It’s Unexpected After 6 Seasons Of Wolf Jokes

One of the major things that need to happen in The Conners season 7 is to learn whether Ben’s new magazine will prove successful, so perhaps it’s not that surprising he’d do something to look a bit more professional. However, it’s a bit jarring to see a clean-shaven Ben after several seasons comparing him to Wolfman. What’s even more remarkable is that nobody even seems to comment on his new look, despite the fact it’s his first time shaving in half a dozen years.

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With the season running just six episodes, it’s possible that Ben’s new look has something to do with what The Conners cast is doing next. Ferguson hasn’t announced any upcoming projects after The Conners closes its curtains for the last time, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing in the pipeline. And whether shaving his beard was Ferguson’s own decision or a request by the showrunners, it’s hard to ignore how easily Ben’s shave could have set up an easy joke if it happened a year ago.

Ben Shaving For The Conners Season 6’s Nick Offerman Appearance Would Have Been Better

They Could Have Looked Like Relatives

Seth Green’s The Conners character is likely to make unfortunate waves for Ben in season 7, but season 6 started with a more lighthearted guest appearance. The season began with Nick Offerman appearing as Adam Chestnut, a celebrity chef who advised Jackie on how to run The Lunch Box. Ben turned out to be a huge fanboy of Chestnut’s, to the point that Adam actually started to get annoyed by Ben’s presence and addressed his autograph to “Interrupting Wolf-Face."

The Conners to make that joke now, and it stands out as one of the odder missed opportunities they won’t be able to revisit.

Adam might not have been a huge fan of Ben’s, but the similarities between beardless Ferguson and beardless Offerman are such that it would have been perfect to see the two appearing side by side. Having them look like cousins or brothers when Adam so openly disliked Ben would have only made their dynamic that much funnier. It’s too late for The Conners to make that joke now, and it stands out as one of the odder missed opportunities they won’t be able to revisit now that the series is ending.

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