‘The Conners’ Premiere Holds Steady With ‘Roseanne’ Finale Ratings

By Claire Spellberg @c_spellberg
Published Oct. 17, 2018, 2:53 p.m. ET

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How did The Conners stack up to its predecessor Roseanne? Pretty darn well, it turns out. The premiere of The Conners brought in a whopping 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, numbers that are on par with those of the Roseanne finale in May (10.58 million viewers, 2.5 rating). The Conners‘ success will be a huge boon to ABC, which announced today that the spin-off series was Tuesday night’s highest-rated TV show among adults 18-49. The first episode of The Conners was also the top-rated debut of the 2018 season and the most-watched premiere since The Good Doctor Season 1 hit ABC in September 2017. So yeah, ABC execs have got to be feeling pretty good right now.

Despite facing difficult competition on Tuesday night, The Conners managed to lead the pack by a narrow margin. This Is Us, a consistent performer, came in at a 2.2 rating, and The Voice earned a 1.7 rating. But that’s not the only reason ABC is celebrating: The Conners was the network’s most-watched comedy series debut in four years and the highest-rated among adults in three years, two statistics that will surely factor in as ABC decides whether to renew the sitcom for Season 2.

But that’s where the good news ends. While The Conners held steady with Roseanne‘s season finale (an episode that soon turned into the series finale), the spin-off’s debut lagged far behind the Roseanne Season 10 premiere. Back in March 2018, the Roseanne revival premiered to a staggering 18.2 million viewers and a 5.1 rating among adults 18-49. The 35% drop-off shouldn’t be too surprising, because, as we all know, The Conners doesn’t feature the controversial Roseanne Barr (although her presence does loom large over the show).

It’s likely that some fans only tuned in to The Conners to see how Roseanne’s character dies, so it will be interesting to see how the show’s ratings shake out as the season progresses. Will viewers stick with the series even though Roseanne is gone for good? Or will the ratings drop off as fans realize that The Conners is now just another family sitcom (albeit a very good family sitcom)? Only time will tell.

The Conners airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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