Who Plays Darlene’s Boss on ‘The Conners’?

A lot have changes have come to the Conner family in recent weeks. There was the tragic death of Roseanne, for starters, and the sudden arrival of David’s new serious girlfriend Blue. Jackie started dating Matthew Broderick (okay, a guy played by Matthew Broderick), and just last week we learned that Becky is pregnant. There’s another potentially major change coming to The Conners, and it has to do with Darlene. That’s because Darlene might just be falling in love!

In last week’s episode “Miracles,” Darlene took on a job writing copy for a trashy local crime tabloid. Her boss is a gruff and burly guy named Ben, a guy that’s not too keen on changes or listening to new ideas. Darlene met Ben at the right time, too, as she just realized that she has a habit of dating weak-willed guys ranging from her ex-husband David to Justin Long (okay, a guy played by Justin Long). Ben’s definitely not weak-willed, and their close working quarters have brought them unexpectedly close together. In this week’s episode “One Flew Over the Conners’ Nest,” Ben swings by Darlene’s night job as a casino waitress to confront a lecherous high roller. It looks like Ben… actually cares about Darlene??

The big question is, or at least the question you asked that led you to this very article, is who plays Darlene’s boss on The Conners? The answer is that the Ben is played by none other than Jay R. Ferguson.

Ferguson has a habit of playing the curmudgeonly love interests to strong-willed women, because his most notable role to date is as Stan Rizzo on Mad Men.

Ferguson played the progressively hairier Rizzo for four seasons, evolving from Peggy Olsen’s (Elisabeth Moss) antagonist to her platonic BFF and into the man she sweeps off his feet. Following Mad Men, Ferguson had his own short-lived CBS sitcom earlier this year, Living Biblically. The show ended in July, which freed him up for a recurring stint on The Conners where he’s been paired with Darlene. How far will these two go? Is Justin Long really out of the picture? Or will Darlene end up with Jay R. Ferguson (okay, a guy played by Jay R. Ferguson)? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out.

Stream The Conners on Hulu