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Turns out millions of viewers wanted to see how The Conners solved its Roseanne Barr problem. The premiere of the Roseanne spinoff brought in 10.5 million viewers and a 2.3 rating in the coveted 18-49 demographic.
The finale of the Roseanne revival season had 10.6 million viewers and a 2.5 rating. When DVR viewership was factored in, the Roseanne finale had 15.6 million viewers and a 4.2 rating. The premiere of the revival in March 2018, after DVR viewership was factored in, notched 27.2 million viewers and a 8.1 rating. Expect the premiere numbers for The Conners to go up when Live +3 and Live +7 viewership is factored in. The real test will be how the show continues to perform in future episodes.
In a poll, 71.3 percent of E! News readers said they loved the premiere episode, 28.6 percent said they hated it.
So, what did The Conners do about Roseanne? Spoiler alert!
The Conners picked up after the events of the Roseanne finale. Roseanne Conner had knee surgery, but her dependence on painkiller medication did not subside. She was still abusing opioids and died of an overdose. The family originally thought she died of a heart attack, but later learned she died of an overdose and her addiction came to light for the entire family.
Roseanne was canceled by ABC after Barr’s racist tweet about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. Roughly a month after the network pulled the plug, The Conners, a spinoff starring, well, everyone but Barr, was announced. Barr made a deal, signing away creative and financial ties to the series. John Goodman, Laurie Metcalf, Sara Gilbert, Michael Fishman, Lecy Goranson, Ames McNamara, Jayden Rey and Emma Kenney all returned for the spinoff.
After The Conners premiered, Barr released a lengthy statement decrying the way the show wrote off her character.
“While we wish the very best for the cast and production crew of The Conners, all of whom are deeply dedicated to their craft and were Roseanne’s cherished colleagues, we regret that ABC chose to cancel Roseanne by killing off the Roseanne Conner character. That it was done through an opioid overdose lent an unnecessary grim and morbid dimension to an otherwise happy family show,” Barr and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach said in a joint statement. Read the full statement here.
The Conners airs Tuesdays, 8 p.m. on ABC.