In an almost comical pivot from one working-class family to another, "Shameless" star Emma Kenney says playing Roseanne Barr's granddaughter on the reboot of "Roseanne" is a dream come true -- and that despite the "media hype" surrounding the show's indirect inclusion of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, Kenney says it "focuses on so much more than politics."
"The media's been hyping it up to make it seem like it's a show all about Trump, but it's really not," the now 18-year-old told TooFab in a recent interview. "It's all about family differences, and everybody has different political views on life... It's just a big family, they live in the Midwest, you need to consider their circumstances."
5 Reasons You Should Give 'Roseanne' a Chance, No Matter Your Political Views
View StoryBarr -- a vocal Trump supporter -- recently barked at Jimmy Kimmel at the mere mention of a POTUS complaint, but Kenney -- who told TooFab she does not support Trump -- said there were never any uncomfortable political debates on set.
"Everybody on set is so professional," she said. "Politics are so taboo, especially in a work environment, and I think everybody's aware of that. I'm personally not a Trump supporter, and I worked with Roseanne for five months, and she is genuinely such a good person. Like, she's a very, very kind person. She didn't bring up politics at all. Nobody did. There was no debates."
Born 11 years after "Roseanne" originally premiered, Kenney said she "binge-watched" the series a few days before auditioning for the role of Harris -- Darlene and David's daughter -- who Kenney describes as "Darlene's karma."
"She's got a lot of Darlene's dry wit and comedic timing and sense of humor, and a lot of Roseanne's savageness," Kenney explained.
Regarding growing up on the very-mature set of "Shameless" -- which she's been on for eight seasons -- Kenney said it wasn't nearly as explicit for her and co-star Ethan Cutkosky as it seemed for us viewers.
'Zip That F-cking Lip!' Roseanne Barr Barks Back at Jimmy Kimmel's Trump Criticism
View Story"The writers and production team and the cast and crew have all been very protective of Ethan and I," Kenney said. "I remember when we were 10 years old, they would cut out some words during table reads, and there's certain scenes [that were shot when I was young] that make it look like I was watching somebody having sex, but they would shoot that, I would not be there... Then they would be like, 'Oh, just act like you're seeing something gross.'"
Kenney also said the show's executive producer, John Wells, went out of his way to speak with her parents and Cutkosky's parents to make them feel comfortable.
Roseanne Conner, Like Roseanne Barr, Will Be a Trump Voter on ABC Sitcom Revival
View Story"'I have kids. I don't want this show to corrupt them, so I'm not gonna let that happen,'" Kenney recalled Wells telling her mom and dad. "'I want your kids to feel safe, and I'll make sure that happens.'"
Watch Kenney's full interview above to find out what fans would be surprised to learn about some of her co-stars and what Kenney wants to take on in addition to acting.
"Roseanne" premieres Tuesday night on ABC.