‘The Conners’ Star Jay R Ferguson on Candice Bergen and Ben’s Big Discovery

Summary (IA Generated)

“The Conners” returned from its midseason hiatus on Wednesday with special guest star Candice Bergen and a huge surprise for Ben.

“It was great fun to have Candice on the show — obviously a juggernaut in our business — and it was just a lot of fun to be able to watch her and to get to work with her,” Jay R.

The “Murphy Brown” star, who joins the ABC sitcom as Ben’s judgmental mother, first appears in Wednesday’s episode bearing the news that Ben’s father has died — oh, and he wasn’t Ben’s real father.

Ben, it turns out, was actually born of an affair his mother had with a man named Richard, whom he later comes to know as “dead Richard with the heavy coat.

“For Ben, he suddenly, in that moment, realizes why his dad treated him the way he did growing up,” Ferguson said.

“He had always thought it was something that he had done, but to find out it wasn’t … I think that while there’s shock, there’s also a little bit of relief that he has some of the answers he craved for so long.

Toward the end of the episode, Ben expresses interest in learning more about “dead Richard with the heavy coat,” but Ferguson said he hopes for more opportunities to explore Ben’s relationship with his mother down the line.

“I’m sure for character, it’s probably more resolved for her than it is for ,” Ferguson said.

“For Ben, it leaves a lot more questions than answers.

“The Conners” airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on ABC.