The Return of 'Roseanne' Boosts ABC

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)

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