Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
ABC’s Roseanne reboot delivered premiere demo ratings we haven’t seen on broadcast TV in awhile. The first of the two episodes drew massive 17.7 million viewers and a 4.9 rating in adults 18-49. The second episode at 8:30 PM rose even higher to 18.6 million viewers and a 5.3 in 18-49. For the hour, Roseanne averaged a 5.1 in 18-49 and 18.2 million viewers.
That was up from the strong return of Will & Grace on NBC last fall (3.0 in 18-49, 10.2 million) and is certain to lead to a quick Season 2 renewal for the blue-collar sitcom starring Roseanne Barr. Roseanne easily ranks as the biggest series debut this season, topping CBS’Young Sheldon (17.2 million, 3.8), which had a big The Big Bang Theory lead-in.
Even more impressive, Roseanne returned last night to an audience that was up 10% from the May 1997 finale telecast 21 years ago and topped the viewership of the final 12 telecasts of the original run’s 1996-97 season.
Roseanne scored the highest rated Tuesday entertainment telecast in 6 years among adults 18-49 and TV’s highest rated comedy telecast on any night in 3-1/2 years– since 9/22/14.
