I knew the Roseanne revival would premiere well but I don’t think anyone saw these numbers coming from the latest revival to hit network TV.
The show debuted to a 5.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 18.16 million viewers. Only the post-Super Bowl This Is Us had a better 18-49 rating this season. It also had a halo effect on the rest of ABC’s lineup, as Black-ish (2.6, 8.71 million viewers) was more than double its season average and Splitting Up Together premiered to a strong 2.2 demo rating and 7.20 million viewers. For the People also had it’s best showing to date with a 0.9 demo rating and 3.58 million viewers.
Breaking down the Roseanne numbers, the first of two episodes drew a 4.9 demo rating and 17.7 million viewers while the second episode performed even better with a 5.3 demo rating and 18.6 million viewers, hence the average score for the hour. This premiere is up from the strong return of Will & Grace which scored a 3.0 demo rating and 10.2 million viewers for NBC last fall. Roseanne also easily ranks as the biggest series debut this season, besting CBS’ Young Sheldon which scored a 3.8 demo rating and 17.2 million viewers thanks to a big The Big Bang Theory lead-in.
For network TV, this is a huge win. The comedy series scored the highest rated Tuesday entertainment telecast in 6 years among the coveted 18-49 demo and TV’s highest-rated telecast on any night in 3-1/2 years. Also impressive is that Roseanne returned last night to an audience that was up 10% from the May 1997 series finale 21 years ago.
