The Return of 'Roseanne' Boosts ABC
March 28 2018 - 05:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
The 1990s hit sitcom "Roseanne" was a hit once again for ABC on
Tuesday night.
The season premiere of the rebooted working-class comedy,
starring the original cast including Roseanne Barr and John
Goodman, averaged 18.2 million viewers over two back-to-back
episodes, according to data from Nielsen. It was the second
most-watched entertainment program of the television season,
trailing only an episode of NBC's drama "This Is Us" that aired
after the network's coverage of the Super Bowl.
The episodes of "Roseanne," which started at 8 p.m., provided
the biggest audience for ABC's prime-time entertainment lineup
since 2006. The premiere also garnered more viewers than the
original series finale in 1997, which averaged about 16 million
viewers.
The success shows that new episodes of old sitcoms can still
attract substantial audiences and speak to modern issues, and is
another indication that the trend of bringing back vintage shows
isn't going away anytime soon. NBC has done well this season with
its reboot of the 1990s comedy "Will & Grace," and CBS is
developing a new version of " Murphy Brown," in which Candice
Bergen will reprise her role as the pioneering TV newswoman.
In the case of "Roseanne," there was particular interest in how
viewers would respond to the show given that both Ms. Barr and her
character, Rosanne Conner, are vocal fans of President Donald
Trump. In addition, Roseanne's sister, Jackie, played by Laurie
Metcalf, is a Hillary Clinton fan, and one of the other characters
on the new episodes is a gender-nonconforming grandchild.
While "Roseanne" never shied away from politics or social issues
during its first run two decades ago, television audiences have
become much more fragmented since then, and broadcast networks are
often wary of potentially alienating viewers.
Last month, ABC shelved an episode of its comedy "Blackish" that
included a debate about athletes kneeling during the national
anthem after a disagreement with the show's creative team over the
show's tone.
ABC ordered nine episodes of "Roseanne." The network hasn't said
if the show will get renewed. But the initial numbers are a good
indicator, even if initial curiosity wears off, particularly given
the sitcom's strong showing among viewers under the age of 50.
For Walt Disney Co.'s ABC, it is the third success of the new
season. The network has the most popular new broadcast drama in
"The Good Doctor, " and the revival of "American Idol" --
originally on Fox -- has also averaged solid ratings.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 28, 2018 16:47 ET (20:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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