THE jokes are usually a mile a minute on Roseanne, but the next episode of the sitcom will strike an emotional chord.

The new series, which reunites the original stars of the hit '90s sitcom two decades on, has already tackled Trump's election, modern parenting and bullying.

In tonight's episode, titled Eggs Over, Not Easy, the comedy addresses the death of Becky's husband Mark.

So far in the reboot, Dan and Roseanne's daughter Becky has been laser-focused on becoming a surrogate in the hopes of finally being able to afford her own home. But a crucial medical revelation forces Becky and her sister Darlene to critically assess each other's lives.

"When that whole storyline reaches its peak you realise how clever the whole arc is," Alicia Goranson, who plays Becky, tells Weekend.

"That fourth episode really moved a lot of people here in the States, and people are still talking and writing about it. It addresses what happens to people when they experience trauma or grief. Sometimes it's too much, almost like their life stops, and that's what happened for Becky. She's been arrested because she had a really hard time moving forward after the death of Mark."

The episode, which American critics and viewers have hailed as the best so far, is dedicated to Glenn Quinn, who played Mark in the original series but died of a drug overdose in 2002.

"It was really a beautiful thing to be on set with these people who loved him, me being one of them, and being together to remember him," she says.

"We felt his presence very strongly when we were together and it makes you realise how people's spirits live on in your collective memories."

Goranson hopes the pivotal episode will allow the show's writers to explore new avenues with Becky.

"I hope that she continues her healing process and shifts gears with her work," she says. "I'd like to see her get out of the restaurant and use her brain a little more. She's still a smart one."

Roseanne airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 10.