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 Ratings data on Wednesday showed that the premiere of the
rebooted series starring original cast members Roseanne Barr and
John Goodman was the most-watched show on U.S. television on
Tuesday night with an audience of 18.2 million Americans.
The original "Roseanne" aired from 1988 to 1997. It featured a
blue-collar family, the Conners, with overweight parents
struggling to get by in the fictional town of Lanford, Illinois,
and was praised for its realistic portrayal of working-class
life.
The revival will deal with politics, topical issues such as
opioid addiction and access to healthcare, and features
Roseanne's grown-up daughter Darlene, played again by Sara
Gilbert, whose young son is gender fluid.
Barr, who says she voted for U.S. President Donald Trump, has
said she wants the revival, in which she is a grandmother who
voted for Trump in the 2016 elections, to portray a United
States in which half the voters chose him.
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. was among those congratulating Barr
on the success of the premiere, which poked fun at both the left
and the right.
"If you’re not too busy already maybe work in a late night show
too ... seems there’s some demand for an alternate viewpoint,"
Trump Jr. tweeted.
Barr, who live tweeted during the premiere, thanked fans on
Wednesday.
"I am so grateful to the fans of the Roseanne show for giving it
a good Premiere rating. You are all wonderful-here is to making
America laugh & talk again! LOVE U," she tweeted.
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Walt Disney-owned ABC said the two back-to-back opening episodes
drew some 1.5 million viewers more than the finale of "Roseanne" in
May 1997 - an era before Americans had wider viewing choices offered
by streaming platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.
It was also the most watched comedy broadcast on U.S. television
since an episode of "Big Bang Theory" in September 2014.
"Roseanne" is the latest hit show from the 1980s and 199Os to be
revived. It follows NBC comedy "Will & Grace" and Showtime's
supernatural crime drama "Twin Peaks," both of which returned to
television in 2017.
"Will & Grace," about a gay lawyer and his three friends, also
proved a hit, although the September 2017 premiere attracted just
10.2 million American viewers.
ABC said the success of "Roseanne" boosted audiences for its other
programs, delivering the network its strongest Tuesday since
September 2013.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Tom Brown)
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