'The Conners' star Ames McNamara talks about his character's dark turn

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Season 4 of "The Conners" takes a dark turn, as Darlene's youngest son deals with the many pressures of keeping up with his classmates.

"The viewers get to see a different side of Mark that no one has ever seen before," said Ames McNamara, who plays Mark. "It just shows how he's dealing with a lot of stress right now and it's interesting to see how that comes out."

And while the Conners may be a dysfunctional group, they band together to help the ones they love.

"It's the support of the family, the Conner bond, that's really what helps him," he added.

"The Conners" airs Wednesday nights at 9/8c on ABC.